WIDNES VIKINGS coach Allan Coleman is remaining patient in his search for new additions to his squad.
Talk of a fullback replacement for Jake Maizen has quietened, after they missed out on Matt Dufty and another couple of targets, one thought to be Cesar Rouge, who swapped Catalans for Toulouse.
It’s an awkward time to be in the market, with clubs having got their squads together, players waiting to see how the start of the season goes and Super League sides putting greater focus on their second teams.
“Super League clubs are putting their energy into the Reserve system now to make that a really good competition, so if they do that there’ll only be certain types of players you can get (temporarily),” he said.
“If there’s a better player than what I’ve got, then we’ve got to utilise that option. But if not, we don’t. I don’t want to disrupt what we’re trying to build, but we’ve got to win games.
“It’s quality we are looking for. It’s not as though we’re panicking. We need to get it right.”
Coleman says he has stronger strength in depth to his squad for 2026, hence the move to send Toby Hughes and Deacon Connolly on loan to Salford.
He added: “Our strength in depth is much better. I’d have no issues throwing our 25/26/27 into our squad this year. I’d have no qualms about that whatsoever
“We’re quite injury-free, so it’s vital we get the players not getting in playing games so that when they do get called into our squad, they’ve been playing at other clubs.”