On Sunday we travelled to the LEL Arena in Cumbria to take on Whitehaven in Round 23 of the Betfred Championship in a game that was played in difficult conditions. On the back of consecutive losses we were looking to get back to winning ways and post another two points on the league table.
Two converted first half tries through Matt Fleming and Sam Wilde, had us 12-6 ahead at the break with a solitary try by Will Evans in reply for Whitehaven.
The first points of the second half came through the boot of veteran centre Tyrer who extended the lead to eight points. The lead was soon reduced to two with a piece of individual skill from ‘Haven back rower Ryan King.
Liam Bent was the first to react to a Matty Smith kick to crash over for his first try in Vikings colours, converted again by Tyrer to restore our eight point buffer.
The final try of the afternoon came through hooker Matty Fozard who darted over from close range to put the game out of sight, resulting in a 26-12 win and two points being taken back to Cheshire.
This Sunday we are back at home as we prepare to face Sheffield Eagles at the DCBL Stadium. The Vikings currently sit two points ahead of Sheffield and will be eager to extend that gap on Sunday afternoon.
On the back of the Whitehaven game, we have no new injury concerns heading into this week.
Jack Owens will still be unavailable for selection as he enters his final phase of running with the physio staff before returning to team training.
Lloyd Roby is progressing well after ACL surgery, he is tackling his rehab and treatment programme with the Conditioning staff and physio. Further updates will be given on Lloyd on a weekly basis.
Levy Nzoungou is now joining in some of the team training sessions after a long lay off with an achilles injury. The medical team will determine when Levy is available for selection again.
Luis Roberts will come back into selection contention this week after serving his one-match suspension.
Shane Grady is closing in on a return to the field following a groin problem, he will be assessed through the week and a decision on his availability will be made before the visit of Sheffield.
Kenny Baker, Aaron Brown, Will Tilleke, Lewis Hulme and Brad Holroyd are all available for selection this week.
