JACK OWENS is taking encouragement from Widnes Vikings’ 1895 Cup final display into their Championship play-off campaign.
The Vikings were beaten 32-10 by London Broncos in the Bank Holiday Monday showpiece at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium, but were within two points of the Championship table-toppers before they cantered to victory inside the final 20 minutes.
Widnes captain Owens admitted the Broncos were worthy winners, although saw enough from his team to give him belief they can match anyone.
“Overall the better team won,” Owens said. “We probably matched London in that first half and knew they were going to come out strong, which they did in the second half.
“We put up a good fight for as long as we could but they just put the roll on against us and the big boys started going through the middle.
“Fair play to them, they’re a good team. They won the league for a reason and they’re going to be favourites going into the play-offs, but our effort is there.
“I’m really proud of everything we’ve done this week – not just on the pitch. It’s a proud moment for us, but we’ve got the task next week to worry about.”
The Vikings, who finished fifth in the regular season, begin the play-off campaign away to third-placed Oldham on Sunday.
The Roughyeds are the only team to defeat the Broncos in the Championship so far this year, and also beat Widnes 28-10 in their most recent meeting in June.
Owens was unsure what to make of Oldham’s win over London, but is eager to give the fans something else to cheer about after they made up a significant proportion of the 4,829 at the 1895 Cup final.
“We watched a bit of video from Oldham and it was a bit of a mad game,” Owen said. “I think both teams scored some quite scruffy tries.
“We’ve got some things to work on, but we’ve got a big game against Oldham to look forward to.”
Centre Max Roberts and winger Frank Sergent have signed one-year contract extensions.