Ahead of our trip to Newcastle live on Premier Sports, let’s take a closer look at Monday’s opponents…
Monday sees the Vikings travel North East to Kingston Park in Round 7 of the Betfred Championship against Newcastle Thunder.
Both sides have had the weekend off after bowing out of the Challenge Cup and 1895 Cup competitions at the earlier stages, so have had longer to prepare for the game.
We are coming off the back of back-to-back losses for the first time this season after losing out at the LNER Community Stadium to York City Knights in our last game.
Newcastle’s previous fixture saw them travel to the Tetley’s Stadium, where they came out narrow winners over Dewsbury Rams with the game finishing 22-24.
After the opening six games Thunder sit 8th on the ladder after winning three games and losing three. Their three wins came against Workington, Whitehaven and most recently Dewsbury. Their three losses came against Batley Bulldogs, Barrow Raiders and Leigh Centurions.
The Vikings sit two points ahead of Newcastle as it stands, and we will be looking to stretch that gap to four points when we travel to Kingston Park.
FORM GUIDE
Newcastle Thunder
RD1 Workington Town 6 – 20 Newcastle Thunder
RD2 Newcastle Thunder 14 – 32 Batley Bulldogs
RD3 Barrow Raiders 14 – 6 Newcastle Thunder
RD4 Newcastle Thunder 40 – 24 Whitehaven
RD5 Leigh Centurions 34 – 18 Newcastle Thunder
RD6 Dewsbury Rams 22 – 24 Newcastle Thunder
Widnes Vikings
RD1 London Broncos 12 – 34 Widnes Vikings
RD2 Widnes Vikings 70 – 18 Workington Town
RD3 Halifax Panthers 8 – 9 Widnes Vikings
RD4 Dewsbury Rams 10 – 36 Widnes Vikings
RD5 Widnes Vikings 24 – 34 Barrow Raiders
RD6 York City Knights 32 – 6 Widnes Vikings
ONE TO WATCH
Craig Mullen
Thunder fullback Mullen came through the junior ranks at Wigan Warriors’ academy. He represented the Cherry and White in Super League on a number of occasions before appearing on loan for Swinton Lions, London Skolars and Leigh Centurions.
After his loan spell at the Centurions, he signed ahead of the 2021 Super League campaign. Upon their relegation from Super League, Mullen opted to join the ambitious North East club ahead of this season.
Mullen has been in fine form for the Thunder this season and his elusive running has caused opposition defenders trouble when he has the ball in hand. His ability to bounce out of tackles and pick a pass in attack will be a big threat to the Vikings defence.
VIKINGS CONNECTIONS
Four members of the Thunder side have represented the Vikings – Ted and Jay Chapelhow, Jack Johnson and Pat Moran.
Ted and Jay are products of the Vikings Academy who progressed through the ranks before playing first team. The lifelong Widnes fans signed for Canadian side Ottawa Aces ahead of the 2021 season before joining Newcastle Thunder a short time after.
Jack Johnson is a product of the Warrington Wolves academy who played for the Vikings in the 2020 season under Tim Sheens. He also had a short spell on loan in 2017.
Pat Moran also joined the Vikings ahead of the 2020 season which was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He later joined French side Avignon before coming back to England to play in the capital for London Broncos. Pat signed for Thunder ahead of the 2022 season.
Thunder Coach Eamon O’Carroll spent six seasons at the Vikings, representing us on 73 occasions. After retiring from the game at the end of 2017, Eamon cut his teeth in a coaching capacity at the club before joining Catalan Dragons as their assistant coach under Steve McNamara. An impressive spell at the French side saw Thunder keen to capture his services which they did in 2020.
TICKET INFO
Supporters are able to buy tickets for the game from our Club Shop at Widnes Market or online directly via Newcastle Thunder now for just £5.
The Club Shop at Widnes Market is open from 10am – 4pm every Thursday and Friday and 10am – 3pm every Saturday.
The match will be held at the Kingston Park Stadium, with parking limited on match-days. Parking can be booked in advance.
Supporters travelling via public transport can get the train to Newcastle Central Station, with the Tyne and Wear Metro the easiest way to get to the stadium from there.
STREAMING INFO
The match will be streamed live on Premier Sports for supporters unable to make the trip up to Newcastle.
