LLOYD ROBY RETURNS TO THE VIKINGS FOR 2024

Widnes Vikings is delighted to announce the signing of former player Lloyd Roby from Keighley Cougars on a one-year deal.

Roby played for the Vikings from 2017-2022, scoring 23 tries in 52 appearances.

Having joined Keighley for 2023, he returns to the club to link up with new head coach Allan Coleman for the upcoming season.

Upon his return to the club, Roby said: “I’ve obviously had the year away, which was probably the right thing for me to do off the back of my injury to get some games under my belt.

“But once I spoke with Chris (Hamilton) & Allan (Coleman) about coming back, it all happened quite quickly, so it was an easy transition.”

Roby explained how much he is looking forward to playing under Allan Coleman and his goals for 2024.

He said: “I’ve played in the championship against teams of Allan’s before and he plays quite an expansive game, which is how I like to play.

“Obviously my brother (George Roby) played under Allan last year, so I had some conversations with him about how he likes to play and what his philosophy is, which definitely fit with what I want to do coming back to Widnes.

“One of the main things for me is getting back to enjoying the game, I fell out of it a bit last year off the back of my injury.

“I just want to get back to a place where I’m comfortable, playing with players I’ve been around before, to try and help the club achieve its goals.”

Allan Coleman said: “It’s great to welcome Lloyd back to Widnes.

“I’ve seen a lot of him over these last couple of years and I think he has played his best rugby at Widnes, which is something that excites me.

“He is a natural player with a fantastic running game, which adds a lot to our backline.

“He was very keen to join us and that says a lot to me, the fact that he wants to play for Widnes. Because when we have a full squad of lads who want to play for this club, we will be a lot closer to where we want to be.”

Roby gave a message to the Vikings fans ahead of 2024, saying, “I’m going to bring energy and hopefully something different.

“They know what I’m about but I’ve had that year away where I’ve grown up a bit now.

“We can’t do what we do without the fans. Widnes is a good town and if we start to play well, we’ll see the stadium filling up slowly.”