Defence plays an integral part in the world of rugby league, and for Widnes coach Dennis Betts, he had nothing but praise for the way his side performed their defensive duties, as they downed the London Broncos 24-14 in London.
Widnes initially jumped out to an 18-0 lead at the break, before the Broncos started to mount a mini-comeback, one that was not ultimately enough – with Betts pleased that his side took their opportunities when they had them.
“Defensively we were outstanding today and that was the big factor for us,” said Betts.
“We had to get through a lot of work and I was really pleased to see how hard the players worked for each other.
“That was really important for us, as I did not think we did that well attacking-wise. But when we did create opportunities, we took them.
“The key though was the attitude and that is something we are trying to breed among all the players at the club.
“We do have good players that are going to come back from injury, but everyone is fighting for their shirt at the moment and that is great to see.”
For Broncos coach Tony Rea, instead of choosing to dwell on the loss, his plan is to focus on ways for his side to get better in their next game and have a better overall game.
“There are a different set of expectations at the club now compared to last season. We want those expectations, but we have to learn to deal with them,” said Rea.
“We didn’t deal with them today and I was surprised by the error count. We must not dwell too much on this result, as all this tells us is how we performed today.
“We have to take a look at the game, look for solutions to the problems and find those solutions fast.”