Monday 17 August 2015 12:53, UK
Widnes coach Denis Betts was pleased with the cutting edge shown by his side in their 48-12 rout of Super 8 strugglers Sheffield on Sunday afternoon.
Stefan Marsh scored a hat-trick of tries - two in three first-half minutes and an easy effort three minutes from time - with Kevin Brown, Charly Runciman (two), Rhys Hanbury, Danny Galea, Joe Mellor and Paddy Flynn also touching down for the Vikings.
Only four of the 10 tries were converted - two successful efforts apiece from Danny Tickle and Lloyd White - but overall Betts was delighted with his team's ruthlessness.
"I'm satisfied with that," he said. "It was a lot better this week (than last weekend's 14-0 win at Halifax) as we were more clinical. They scored two scrappy tries (through Scott Turner and Keale Carlile), which we should have dealt with, but to be fair to them they took it well. We should have dealt with those scores but it's fish and chip paper now.
"We showed a great desire in wanting to be successful today. We know that points difference might be important and we've nearly hit 50 but it could have well been 60 if we kicked (more of) our conversions. But ultimately it's about
winning games. If you win games by good margins you are happy, but winning is important.
"Joe Mellor was great again today. He's a great runner and is hard to stop, but defensively he was outstanding. I'd like to see a little more from him with the ball in hand but I couldn't fault him.
"Kev's assists were outstanding too. He's scored and had a hand in a few.
"We missed the eight by one point and we missed being in the top six by three points. We've got quality in there, so I'm not concerned about our ability to stay in Super League - we know what we can do.
"Stef enjoys playing on the wing and he took his three tries well. We're strengthening in that area at the moment, so there's plenty of competition."
It was not all good news for Widnes, though, with both Macgraff Leuluai and Willie Isa suffering nasty injuries.
"The win does come at a cost - we've lost Macgraff Leuluai with a broken leg and Willie Isa with a medial ligament injury," Betts added. "It's a big blow for us."
Eagles director of rugby Mark Aston, who also lost a player - Steve Thorpe - to a broken leg, felt the outcome of the match would stand his side in good stead in the long run.
"We certainly learned a few lessons today," he said. "We had a dig, but you have to be clinical and we weren't. They scored on 19 minutes and we collapsed. We got ourselves in a pickle and lost our way. We had a chat at half-time and we addressed it a little.
"Mistakes can hurt you and we made fair few. I'm disappointed that we didn't show ourselves in the best light. It's the week in, week out stuff and we're not ready for it.
"Steve Thorpe has broken his leg and he's out for the season and pre-season. It's a big blow as he's been one of our best players. Steve did 55 minutes and then we lose him. He's in the hospital now and they'll sort him out. We are
waiting on news on him but he's being looked after well.
"The system has given us an opportunity (of Super League) but it's tough for us at this moment in time."
