T'Other Side: Widnes Vikings

  

Head Coach: Neil Belshaw

 

John Kear was appointed as the Widnes head coach on July 1^st last year and was their head coach when we played them earlier this year.

After they lost at home to Swinton on June 25^th (their fourth successive defeat) Kear was sacked and Neil Belshaw was appointed as caretaker coach for the rest of the season.

He had been appointed as assistant coach at the beginning of this year after following a rather unusual route. From 2012 he had been a volunteer at Widnes in several capacities including coaching with their academy squad.

We can find no record of Neil Belshaw having been a professional rugby league player.

 

 

 

Captain: Jack Owens

 

Jack Owens made his professional début with Widnes in 2011. In 2015 he played one game for Whitehaven on dual reg and then he joined St. Helens in 2016 playing 28 games in his first year.

After a few games for Saints at the beginning of 2017 he went on loan to Sheffield Eagles in May and signed for them in late July (in order to be able to play for them in the Championship Shield). He spent 2018 at Leigh and returned to Widnes in 2019.

In 2011 he played for the England Academy.

He usually plays at fullback but he has also played on the wing and as a halfback. In 2013 he played four games for Workington on dual reg.

Whilst at St. Helens he played two games for the England U18 team.

 

 

Loans and Dual Registration

 

Widnes had a dual registration agreement with Rochdale Hornets in 2023 but it only involved three Widnes players turning out for Rochdale.

Currently on loan at Widnes are Tom Forber (hooker from Wigan) and Huw Worthington (forward from Leeds).

 

The Fev Connection

The full list of Fev players who also played for Widnes includes some stellar Rovers names of the recent past. We have singled out three in particular – Liam Finn, Ian Hardman and Tangi Ropati.

 

Liam Finn has been the head coach of Dewsbury Rams this year and guided them to automatic promotion to the Championship for 2024. Next year he will be head coach at Halifax Panthers.

He was a hugely important player for Fev during the period from 2010 to 2013 when we won the Championship League four years in a row. He also played for Fev during the 2005 season. He played half a dozen games for Widnes in 2018, on loan from Wakefield.

In 2012 he scored 436 points for Rovers, a record that is still standing for points in a season. In the same year he set a new world record by kicking 41 successive kicks at goal. That record has since been equalled by Jamie Ellis and Rhyse Martin but it has not been surpassed.

Ian Hardman hails from Widnes but he only ever played for his hometown club on loan from St. Helens in 2008.

Tangi Ropati played for Fev in 2012, signing from Widnes where he had played in 2011. He became very popular with the Rovers fans. Unfortunately, a vicious high tackle, during the famous Challenge Cup win against Castleford, broke his jaw and kept him out of the team for three and a half months.