Widnes make players available for Workington

Widnes have announced that the majority of its first team squad has been dual-registered with partner club Workington.

Up to five players from the Vikings’ squad could play for the Cumbrian outfit at any time, with the exception of recent loan signing Gareth Hock, and overseas players Gareth Hock, Willie Isa, Cameron Phelps, Patrick Ah Van, Rhys Hanbury and Frank Winterstein.

Widnes head coach Denis Betts said: “Like ourselves, Workington have huge ambitions and following their promotion they are hell-bent on making massive strides and continually moving forward.

“Having spoken to our players about their recovery from non-selection or injury, playing for Workington is seen as a big step back into the Widnes first team. The players believe that this is something they will want and need, so it will puts both clubs in a far healthier position and means that we will both benefitting from our first teamer’s ambitions to be the best player they can be.”

It could mean players such as Danny Craven, Stefan Marsh and Joe Mellor could turn out in the Championship for Workington, who were beaten 30-6 by Widnes in a pre-season friendly earlier this month.

Workington coach Martin Oglanby said: “It is absolutely fantastic news that we will have Super League quality players at our disposal as part of our partnership agreement and it shows the commitment by Widnes to the arrangement.

“With a number of our first choice players currently unavailable through injury and suspension, it’s great to know that have access to Super League quality players to help compliment our squad.”