Team Talk – Leigh Centurions (A)

2022 Widnes Vikings Team Talk - Leigh Centurions home preview

This week sees us host Barrow Raiders in our third Monday night game in a row, live on Premier Sports. The Vikings come off the back of their first loss of the season at the Leigh Sports Village, going down 38-4 against the Centurions, ending our run in the Challenge Cup and 1895 Cup respectively.

All focus now turns back to the Championship and we will be looking to make it five wins from five in the league against an in-form Barrow side who have three wins from their first three outings.

Monday’s game at Leigh saw Lloyd Roby hobble off with a leg injury sustained in the first half and not return for the second half. He will be assessed by the medical staff through the week and a decision will be made on Friday whether he is available for selection for the upcoming game.

Ollie Brookes also came off during the game with a suspected hamstring injury and will more than likely miss the home fixture against Barrow. He will be checked over this week to determine the extent of his injury.

Kenny Baker will miss his first game of the season after picking up a one-match ban for dangerous contact in last week’s game away to Dewsbury.

Levy Nzoungou suffered a lower leg injury in training on Friday evening and will see a specialist in the coming days. He will not be available for selection this week.

Danny Craven and Jack Owens have been back running on the field with the medical staff and will  be upping their running speeds during the week, leading into full speed. If their rehab programmes run as planned, they could both feature on Monday night. A call will be made on the pair later in the week.

Owen Farnworth has been on track with his recovery from a foot injury. He has returned to running on the field with the physio and may come into contention for Monday night depending on symptoms.

After following the concussion protocols set by the RFL, Ryan Ince will now be available to come into his wing spot after missing the defeat at Leigh due to a head knock against Dewsbury.

Liam Bent is also available for selection after overcoming a back problem during the past few weeks. He has been high speed running with the Strength and Conditioning team and is back to full fitness.

Dec Gregory, Joe Edge, Will Tilleke, and Jake Spedding are all fit and available for selection.