Widnes Vikings head coach John Kear has praised the resilience of his players after they were narrowly beaten 16-12 by St Helens in Mark Percival’s testimonial.
Having trailed 16-0 early in the second half, tries from Ryan Ince and Brad Holroyd brought the Vikings right back into contention at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
Despite dominating the final quarter against Saints, it was the Super League champions who held on to win ahead of their trip to Australia for the upcoming World Club Challenge.
Speaking post-match, Kear admitted that there was lots to be learnt from Friday’s clash.
“You’ve only to look at the level of opposition that we played tonight, especially in that first half,” he said.
“It was a quality team that St Helens turned out, and I thought we showed great resilience.
“There were lots of plus points from that, but because of the standard of opposition, they’ve also exposed some things that we’ve got to work upon and improve, so it’s been a very worthwhile exercise.”
Both Ince and Holroyd, the Vikings’ scorers on the night, came off the bench to impress, while fellow wingers Ryan Millar and Kieran Dixon also produced solid displays during the opening 40 minutes.
Kear insists there is much food for thought before the new season begins, with many of his players competing for a starting shirt.
“He [Ryan Ince] went out there and he had a really good second half,” Kear admitted.
“I’ve got to get my thinking cap on, weigh up all the pros and cons and I’ve got to attempt to come up with the best 17.
“It won’t be easy, but I’d sooner have that headache than thinking ‘woah, they’re totally out of form and individuals haven’t put their hand up’.
“I like where we’re at and the headaches that I’ve got.”
On the injury front, the Vikings lost Aaron Brown in the first half due to concussion protocols, but he subsequently passed his head assessment.
Owen Farnworth suffered a minor shoulder injury and will be assessed ahead of next weekend, while Will Evans and Max Roberts are doubtful to feature away at York RLFC Knights as they continue to work their way back to full fitness.
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Featured photo credit: RLPIX
