WIDNES VIKINGS are still hunting for the ‘X factor’ after missing out on now-departed Warrington fullback Matt Dufty.
The Vikings are desperately seeking a replacement for Jake Maizen, whose premature departure from the club for personal reasons has been confirmed.
Their interest in Dufty, as reported by League Express, was confirmed by coach Allan Coleman, but the Australian has decided to return home after Warrington announced his release.
Coleman said: “We certainly had a good conversation. We expressed our interest, we met Matt and spoke with him and he was great.
“But obviously he had a big decision to make and I know his partner’s pregnant and she was in Australia, so he chose what was right for him and his family which we fully understand.
“We were deadly serious and we were keen to bring him in.”
Matty Fleming, handed the number-one shirt due to Maizen’s hasty departure, started at fullback in the warm-up game defeat at Warrington on Friday, while Widnes also have Jack Owens, Joe Edge and Nathan Connell who can slot in there.
Having missed out on Dufty, Widnes have identified another couple of targets and were close to confirming with one over the weekend.
Coleman added: “We still need that X factor. The club’s quite openly said if you see somebody, we’ll back you. We’re speaking with a couple, one in particular that we’re trying to get over the line, and hopefully we’ll get a decision on that.
“We’re not that club anymore that if we lose somebody we’ll just get by, we can’t afford to be like that. We need to bring competition, but it’s got to be quality and whoever we bring in will certainly be a quality addition for us.”