Cahill: We had no luck with injuries

An injury crisis was one of the main reasons behind Widnes’ downfall at the back end of last season, according to Widnes forward Hep Cahill.

After a flying start the Vikings won just two out of their seven matches in the Super 8s.

“When we had that drop off at the end of the season we did suffer a lot of injuries,” Cahill said.

“I’m sure other teams did as well but there wasn’t much depth in the squad so it took a while to get back on track.”

Widnes already has injury problems to contend with early with Joe Mellor, Chris Dean and Eamon O’Carroll all currently out.

In terms of aspirations for this year, Cahill said a spot in the top eight is the basic aim.

“Top eight is a minimum standard and anything from there is a bonus for us,” he said.

“Denis said when he first came to the club he was just going to build every season.

“There were never going to be any dramatic changes.”

Cahill admitted the arrival of Tom Olbison in particular has meant there is plenty of depth in the forwards.

“Olbo is a big strong forward and so it keeps competition for places healthy,” he said.

“There are a lot of fit players and everyone’s vying for positons.”