Matty Fozard is aiming to help his hometown club Widnes Vikings back into the big time, writes JAMES GORDON.
Expectations are rising at Widnes after they finally ended their wait to reach the Championship play-offs with a fifth placed finish in 2024.
The Vikings have virtually disappeared from the Super League conscience since relegation at the end of 2018, which was followed by a turbulent period where the club went close to liquidation, was forced to revert back to part-time status and scrapped its academy, several products of which continue to play at the elite level.
Up until last season, on-field performances had done little to lift the mood – Allan Coleman is the first head coach to start consecutive seasons at the DCBL Stadium since Denis Betts on the back of guiding the Vikings to the play-offs.
Hooker Matty Fozard forms part of a hometown spine of the Vikings team that includes Jack Owens, Tom Gilmore, Joe Lyons and honorary Widnesian and club academy product Jordan Johnstone, added to further by the arrival of Dec Patton.
Fozard told Rugby League World: “No matter what, we have to get into the top six again. We have to make the play-offs, that has to be a regular thing now. When we speak about what Widnes are as a club and as a town, with the players that are in the team, we should be making that top six.
“Every year we should have been in the play-offs, but we’ve massively underachieved, especially with the squads we’ve had. That could just be because we never had the balance right. Al (Coleman) has brought something in and completely changed our mentality on how we wanted to be, how we should perform as a team and what we should do as a team, and it’s worked.
“Is the club ready for Super League yet? Probably not. But is it somewhere that the club should be? 100 per cent.”
After losing his number nine shirt to Jordan Johnstone, Widnes’ Player of the Year for 2024 – albeit Fozard himself wasn’t too far behind – the Wales international might have a point to prove.
The pair worked effectively in tandem last year, Fozard being introduced as a lively mid-half interchange option at hooker with tough-tackling Johnstone reverting to loose forward having soaked up the early intensity from the game.
It breathed new life into Fozard’s game, now with the freedom of playing at full tilt for the entirety of his 60 minutes or so on the pitch, rather than having to pace himself to last the full 80 as he had regularly been asked to do for large parts of his career.
But a back injury has sidelined Johnstone indefinitely, meaning 2025 may look a bit different for Fozard and Widnes, with former Warrington youngster Aiden Doolan brought in on trial as cover.
“I had to completely change my game last year with JJ starting the games,” added Fozard. “I’d always been an ‘everything come through me’ type of nine and controlled the game, whereas when I came here I’ve had the likes of Matty Smith, Danny Craven, Tom Gilmore and now Dec Patton.
“I probably play 50 to 60 minutes and just go out there and blow everything away, take more carries and put extra effort in some areas rather than conserving energy and I think personally, last year was probably my best year at the club and that’s probably thanks to JJ taking the heavy hits and taking the crap out of the game, and then I can come on and be free and try to change the game to benefit us.
“We’ve had some serious conversations about it because Al’s openly said that he’s going to have to rely on me quite a lot this year, maybe even the majority of the year depending on when JJ is back. Do I go back to my old self? I don’t think so. Because I think, personally, now I know what I can do, I think it’s just balancing what I did last year with what I used to do.”
Fozard is now in his fourth season at his hometown club, having arrived ahead of the 2022 season via Sheffield and London Broncos, where he played a season in Super League. As a boy, Fozard was on the club’s scholarship programme but ultimately came through the academy at St Helens.
There are no fewer than eight Widnes lads in the Vikings squad in 2025 and as well as reaching the play-offs, they have set their sights on reaching the 1895 Cup final and playing at Wembley.
“For anyone, if you get the chance to play for your hometown club it’s special for you, especially with the history behind Widnes. There are eight of us who are hometown lads and it means that little bit more to people, looking up to the stands and seeing your mates. I think us Widnes lads have a little bit more to prove and show why we should play for the club.
“It’s a level playing field this year. With Wakefield last year, it was almost guaranteed that they were going to win it. Now the competition is tighter than ever. It’s probably going to be the hardest it’s been. There’s no team that’s going to blow everyone away.
“We’ve put a massive target on the head of the 1895 Cup, getting to the final. I know some of the lads have already played at Wembley (for Widnes), Dan Murray has won at Wembley (with Halifax in 2023), but we all want to get Widnes to Wembley again.
“And if we can go one step further (than 2019, when they lost the inaugural 1895 Cup final to Sheffield) and win it, I’ve never won anything in the game, so it’d be something special for me and for the club.”
Like most of us, Fozard too will be keeping an eye out for announcements regarding the international calendar at the end of the year, as he looks to add to his 15 caps for Wales. Though he can’t hide his disappointment that he won’t be turning out at the World Cup in just under two years time.
“It’s by far the best time of the year. We all speak about it, the likes of Rhys Williams, Ant Walker etc. You want to stay fit because you want to be representing Wales at the end of the year. We’re all coming from different backgrounds, different clubs and we’re there for the same reasons. It’s just something really special, and I think that’s what makes the experience so fun and enjoyable.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play in two World Cups, but it’s sad what they’re doing with the international game now, decreasing the number of teams. I don’t know why you’d do that. It’s an opportunity for lads who have never played for England or New Zealand or Australia to play against the best players in the world, get the experience of that, especially for the younger lads, to see what they want to be. Look at Morgan Knowles, he played with me in the World Cup in 2017 and then played for England in 2022.
“You’re taking the opportunity away from some players who play part-time to play in the biggest tournament against the best players. To take that away from some people and deny them that chance is a shame.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 506 (March 2025)
