The Vikings fell to a 50-12 defeat against Warrington Wolves at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in their final pre-season outing.
Allan Coleman’s side found it difficult to match a strong Warrington team that featured several established first-team players, with the hosts asserting control from the early stages.
Josh Thewlis opened the scoring inside the opening 10 minutes, finishing in the right-hand corner after a neat attacking move.
The winger then struck twice more in quick succession to complete a hat-trick before the 20-minute mark, giving Warrington a commanding 16-0 lead.
The Vikings had an opportunity to respond through Ryan Ince, but the winger was unable to take the ball cleanly as he went for the line.
Warrington continued to build pressure and extended their advantage before the break, with Ewan Irwin and Luke Thomas both crossing to send the hosts into the interval with a 28-point lead.
The second half began in similar fashion as Leon Hayes capitalised on a spilled kick from Matt Fleming, before Ben Hartill powered over from close range to further stretch the Wolves’ lead.
The Vikings showed resilience and were rewarded with their first try of the evening when 18-year-old Deacon Connolly claimed Toby Hughes’ cross-field kick to score a memorable try for the young centre.
Mike Butt added a second for the Vikings shortly after, diving in at the corner following a well-worked passing move.
However, any momentum was quickly halted as Tommy Rhodes intercepted Joe Lyons’ pass to score, before Ewan Smith crossed to bring the game to a close.
The Vikings turn their attention to a big clash with London Broncos next week at the Cherry Red Records Stadium as we get our Betfred Championship campaign underway. Tickets are available HERE.
TEAMS AND SCORERS
Warrington Wolves: Taylor-Wray, Thewlis, King, Smith, Thewlis, Irwin, Sneyd, Byrne, Walker, Philbin, Stone, Tanginoa, Crowther
Interchanges: Holden, Webster, Duffy Rhodes, Hayes, Thomas, Hartill, Wood, Smith, Yates, Williams, Holdsworth, Coop, Cooper, Lund
Tries: Thewlis x3, Irwin, Thomas, Hayes, Hartill, Rhodes, Smith
Goals: Sneyd x4, Irwin x2, Hayes
Widnes Vikings: Fleming, Connell, Owens, Edge, Ince, Lyons, Abdull, Murray, Johnstone, Chapelhow, Wilde, Roberts, Gregson
Interchanges: Butt, Bent, Fozard, Hall, Bibby, Taylor, Hughes, Connolly, Houghton
Tries: Connolly, Butt
Goals: Abdull, Edge
