Widnes Vikings winger Ryan Ince says the squad will learn a lot from Friday’s trip to Super League champions St Helens.
The fixture will be the Vikings’ final pre-season run-out ahead of their Betfred Championship Round 1 trip to York RLFC Knights on Sunday 5 February.
John Kear has already named his 23-man squad ahead of the clash, while Saints have opted for a mixture of youth and experience with their upcoming trip to Australia for the World Club Challenge in mind.
Ince admits there is a really good feeling among the players, and he has also revealed the message from head coach John Kear ahead of Friday.
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“We all know St Helens are a good team,” he said. “They’ve won Super League for the past few years and are the best team in the country.
“To go against a team like that, you’re only going to get positives out of it and can learn a lot from those matches.
“On the outside, some people might feel like the pressure is off a little bit, but as players, we’ve got to go and do our jobs.
“John just told us to give our best. We’ll learn a lot, because of how good they’ve been. They’re not going to give us any easy chances, so if we don’t start at 100%, we’ll run into some trouble and that’s something we want to avoid.”
Ince has been handed the number two shirt for the upcoming campaign, having scored 14 tries in 24 appearances on his return to the club last year.
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But with five wingers in the Vikings squad for 2023, the 26-year-old knows that having one final chance to impress before the new season begins is an opportunity he and his team-mates cannot pass up.
“It’s the first time that I’ve had that many wingers at a club,” he admitted.
“It’s good for competition because you’re always looking over your shoulder. You’ve got to be on the ball all the time, and it makes you a better player.
“It’s a healthy environment in training. All of us understand that we want to play and get better, so when these trial games come, we know we need to perform.”
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