Widnes head back on the road in search of their first victory at Post Office Road since Super League relegation
Allan Colemans men go into this weeks game against Featherstone full of confidence following a string of three consecutive victories, the latest a 14-20 victory away at Barrow Raiders.
A settled team selection and bodies on the training field has proved the key to Widnes discovering some end of season form. A late charge for a play-off spot is still not out of the question.
The mission for Widnes is to win all of their remaining fixtures, which would guarantee them a 7th placed finish at the least. Doncaster are the only team in the play-off race the Vikings will not face between now and the end of the season, meaning to finish above Richard Hornes men results elsewhere will have to be relied on.
In more positive news for Widnes, Doncaster’s remaining fixtures include clashes against Barrow, Oldham, York and Halifax a tough group of games to guarantee themselves a play-off place.
It is all to play for heading into the remaining matches of the season and once again the Championship has delivered in yet another compelling conclusion to the season.
How Featherstone shape up
The Rovers will go into the game no doubt as favourites having only lost two from their last eleven matches. They have only fell to defeats against Toulouse and York who currently occupy the top two places in the Championship.
Points have been plenty for Rovers in recent weeks and as a result they go into this round of games as the second top point scorers in the division.
In form Ryan Hampshire will miss the clash following a suspected broken Hand sustained against Doncaster last week. Jimmy Beckett was also helped from the field and remains a doubt despite being named in the matchday 21 man squad.
Veteran Hooker Will Jubb is another player who remains a doubt after also picking up a minor knock against Doncaster despite playing on.
Former Super League and NRL Centre Carlos Tuimavave remains side-lined, whilst former Widnes academy product Jayden Hatton departed the club several weeks ago to take up a contract with Swinton Lions till the end of the season.
One to Watch
This weeks player to watch is Celeb Aekins. Due to the injury of Ryan Hampshire it is unclear if the Australian will feature at Full-Back or at Half-Back.
Where ever selected Caleb will be a threat all day with his running game and ability to accelerate close to the defensive line. A product of the Penrith Panthers system, the versatile back has NRL experience both with Penrith Panthers and Cambera Raiders.
A player with NRL experience at Championship level is a dangerous weapon to have in your playing roster and head coach Paul Cooke will no doubt instruct his team to create as much space as possible for Aekins to exploit.
Defensively the Vikings Centres and Half-Backs will have a difficult afternoon monitoring his movement off the ball. They will need to be sharp to shut down his time on the ball and stop his influence on the game if Widnes are to escape victorious.
Previous 5 meetings
- Widnes 16-38 Featherstone – May 11th 2025
- Widnes 0-8 Featherstone – August 11th 2024
- Featherstone 32-24 Widnes – April 21st 2024
- Featherstone 62-10 Widnes – September 23rd 2023
- Widnes 0-30 Featherstone – May 14th 2023
Trivia
- Widnes have failed to beat Featherstone in 11 attempts. The Vikings last win over Featherstone came back in June 2019.
- Widnes have failed to beat Featherstone at Post Office Road since February 2011.
- The two teams have met on 122 occasions since 1906. Widnes have claimed victory on 61 occasions compared to Featherstone’s 56.
- Andy Currier is the only player to score 5 tries in the fixture. This came in a 58-2 victory back in September 1988.
