Widnes Vikings head coach John Kear admits he is pleased with where his side are situated after a third of the Betfred Championship season – but says there is more still to come from his players.
The Vikings recorded back-to-back wins for just the second time this season on Sunday afternoon, overcoming a dogged Barrow Raiders to win 23-14 at the DCBL Stadium.
That result leaves the Vikings fourth, with six wins from their opening nine league fixtures.
“We spoke about the fact that we’re now a third of the way through the season,” Kear said post-match.
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“You know, everybody always says they don’t look at the league table. Well, they’re all telling fibs, aren’t they?
“We’re fourth, a third of the way in, and with the run of fixtures that we had, especially at the very start, I’m really pleased with where we’re at league-wise.
“Performance-wise, I think we’re growing as a team, but there’s still improvement in us, which is really pleasing as well.”
As for Sunday’s game, the Vikings were made to work hard for the competition points, having briefly trailed the Raiders early in the contest.
They went on to score four tries in total, with Zach Eckersley marking his home debut with a first half try.
Kear believes his side did what needed to be done, against a side fighting for their Championship status after a difficult run of results.
“What we’ve got to realise and what we spoke about – they’re desperate,” he said.
“They are in a relegation scrap, and I think they would admit that as a club. When you’re in a relegation scrap, your sleeves get rolled up and you just become desperate.
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“You grind and your work away, because it wasn’t a fluent Barrow performance like you’d expected last year where the ball was pinging about everywhere.
“It was a very disciplined one where they tried to grind out a win. Thankfully for us, we have enough quality to counter that and to come out on the right side of the scoreboard.”
Kear also confirmed that February Player of the Month Shane Grady and fellow forward Aaron Brown missed the Round 9 clash after picking up minor hamstring tweaks during team run on Friday.
They will be assessed over the coming days, with the Vikings now set for a mini mid-season break as they enjoy a 22-day gap until their Round 10 trip to Batley Bulldogs on Monday 8 May.
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