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Dewsbury Rams 10-36 Widnes Vikings: Highlights, player ratings and talking points

Widnes Vikings returned to the top of the Betfred Championship with a comprehensive yet challenging 36-10 away win against Dewsbury Rams.

Removed from pole position by Featherstone’s win over London on Saturday, the Vikings simply needed a win away at Dewsbury to return to the top due to their superior points difference and continued their fast start to the season at the Tetley’s stadium. They led throughout the contest but had it hard early on as the Rams gave as good as they got. At 12-10 after the first 40, it was game on but a further four tries without response saw the Vikings home and to the top of the early season table.

Highlights:

Lloyd Roby’s two tries

The full-back scored both his side’s first half tries with plenty of ingenuity in them. The first saw him chase and ground a superb reverse kick from half-back Joe Lyons. For the second he started a blind side move that released Ryan Ince down the wing before a couple of passes inside helped him ease over, despite a hint of a forward pass during the move.

https://twitter.com/PremierSportsTV/status/1495850823623999488?s=20&t=ko3LkKB106LVdnkKHPWjtQ

Brad Graham’s try saving tackle

Just before half-time, the Vikings almost extended their lead but winger Brad Graham produced a magnificent try saving tackle on Brad Holroyd. Holroyd was forced over the dead ball line and Dewsbury were awarded a 20-metre restart. A remind that you never say die in this sport.

Andrew Gabriel’s close call

Perhaps the game breaking moment was Dewsbury winger Andrew Gabriel’s very close effort to score a try. The flyer chased after a Matty Beharrell cross-field kick and managed to get into position for a try but unfortunately lost possession whilst attempting to ground the ball, resulting a 20-metre restart for Widnes.Shortly after, Widnes forward Tyler Dupree powered over to score, taking the Vikings up to a 24-10 lead that effectively ended the Rams’ hopes of a fightback.

Major Talking Points:

1. Adam Lawton impact
Man-mountain Adam Lawton was awarded the Player of the Match award by the Premier Sports punditry and it was perhaps the right call. Lawton came off the bench and became a real handful for the Rams, scoring a try and providing an assist here and there to help Widnes to what was eventually an easy victory.

2. Dewsbury Rams’ spirit
Dewsbury were maybe given a reality check following their first win of the season last week. They stood toe-to-toe with Widnes for large periods of the game and had they had a bit more ‘rub of the green’ it could have been an entirely different story. Though it was not meant to be, the Rams should take pride for the rest of their season that they can indeed provide anyone a challenge.

3. Widnes Vikings to contend promotion?
An obvious question really. Four wins from four, top of the Betfred Championship, can Widnes Vikings mount a serious challenge in the race to Super League? They played some superb rugby league tonight, scoring 36 points on the road is another impressive feat for them, with several players starring in the game. They have a mouth-watering clash with the Leigh Centurions in the Challenge Cup next week. In a battle against one of the two white hot favourites for promotion, that game could really shed some light on the Vikings’ chances.

Player Ratings:

Dewsbury Rams
1. Calum Turner – 4
2. Andrew Gabriel – 7
21. Brad Graham – 7
4. Davey Dixon – 5
5. Lewis Carr – 6
40. Paul Sykes – 7
7. Matty Beharrel – 7
8. Jimmy Beckett – 7
14. Dom Speakman – 7
10. Harry Kidd – 7
15. Keenen Tomlinson – 6
3. Adam Ryder – 7
23. Jon Magrin – 6
Substitutes
9. Reiss Butterworth – 6
16. Jordan Schofield – 6
17. Ross Peltier – 6
29. Robson Stevens – 7

Widnes Vikings
20. Lloyd Roby – 8
5. Ryan Ince – 7
18. Matt Fleming – 7
4. Steve Tyrer – 8
25. Brad Holroyd – 7
14. Joe Lyons – 8
7. Matty Smith – 7
13. Kenny Baker – 7
9. Matty Fozard – 8
16. Tyler Dupree – 8
11. Sam Wilde – 7
19. Olly Davies – 7
15. Aaron Brown – 7
Substitutes
10. Shane Grady – 7
12. Adam Lawton – 8
24. Lewis Hulme – 7
27. Eribe Doro – 8

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. PAUL G WRIGHT

    February 21, 2022 at 10:24 pm

    it’s a bit harsh saying the game swung on Gabriels fail to ground the ball as you make it sound like it was poor play, when in fact it was a sniff of a chance he almost made happen with a fantastic diving catch attempt.

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