Widnes Vikings head coach John Kear has praised his players for the manner in which they booked their spot in the fourth round of the Betfred Challenge Cup.
The Vikings ran in a total of 15 tries to defeat amateur side Wests Warriors 80-4 at the DCBL Stadium.
The fixture saw six different players score twice, while Ant Walker also crashed over on his 150th career appearance.
Discussing his side’s performance, Kear said: “I thought they were really professional, the players, because we could have been sloppy.
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“Obviously, the quality of the players is high on our team and they were playing a team of amateur lads who came up here and did themselves proud.
“I thought that Wests Warriors represented their club, I thought they represented their competition, and I thought that represented the game in a very respectful, dignified manner.
“I thought we were respectful as well. I brought them in earlier to show them some video of the opposition because I didn’t want our players to go in with a lackadaisical manner.
“Credit to them, but we’ve got a great test now in front of us next Saturday when we play Toulouse.”
The cup fixture also allowed a number of the squad to gain their first minutes of the season, with Brad Holroyd, Will Tilleke and Aaron Brown all returning to the side.
They were also able to call upon winger Ollie Brookes and hooker Jordan Johnstone, both of whom came back into the starting 13 following recent injury lay-offs.
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“I thought Aaron Brown did well and both wingers,” Kear added.
“Ryan Ince playing out of position, Will Tilleke – I thought they seized their opportunity, so that’s good.
“It means that you can look at them as well for later down the line when there might be an element to squad rotation, so it’s been a good day, but it’s been a cold day!”
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