Promoted Keighley Cougars had won their previous nine games before running into an expansive Widnes Vikings who passed and offloaded well and had a backline that was full of pace and strength. It was a complete mismatch at the Stobart Stadium Halton.
Centre of attention were the Vikings two young middle backs, Dean Thompson and Shane Grady. Both showed a hunger to take the ball in and their prowess inside the Keighley twenty metre area was impressive, resulting in try hat-tricks for the pair with Grady also booting ten goals.
The rout began in the 4th minute when Grady went through. The form of dual contract signing Liam Farrell was also impressive and he set the tone and position for the second try when good passing left saw Grady find Matt Gardner at the corner. A touchline goal from Grady made it 12-0 and the Cougars began to stir with props Andy Shickell and Brendan Rawlings making yards. Unfortunately on the back of their good work little followed.
Twenty two minutes in, the Vikings third try came when a quick tap penalty saw Farell accelerate, twist and spin out of a tackle only for Cougars fullback George Raynor to chase back and then deny supporting Dave Houghton. The ball then moved right at pace and Anthony Thackeray sent Thompson in for his first try. The centre was then held up over the line but that only delayed the inevitable and Dave Allen finished by the posts for Grady to goal and make it 22-0.
On the half hour, Farrell notched a well earned try when he followed Houghton before the Cougars scored their only try of the first half. It was a well worked effort, stand-off Jon Presley slipping a tackle before grubber kicking to the corner for Gavin Duffy to finish well. Danny Jones added the difficult goal but 28-6 was as close as it got for the Cougars despite some impressive work around dummy half from Jamaine Wray.
With time ticking away in the first half a late raid on the left brought a powerful finish from Grady and he booted a fifth goal to make it 34-6 at half-time.
Cougars held their line for five minutes of the second half before Grady stormed through for his hat-trick off Farrell. Thompson had seen a try disallowed but there was no denying him after 49 minutes when he took a Thackeray pass and bludgeoned over. Grady goaled both tries but narrowly missed the conversion attempt to Thompson's hat-trick which brought up the fifty point mark for the Vikings and came after more good work from Thackeray.
Keighley gave a spirited response and pulled a try back from wing Craig Moss after a peach of a pass from Danny Jones, but this only seemed to antagonise the Vikings and they cut loose to score four more tries before the end. First Thomas Coyle scurried over after 66 minutes before Richard Varkulis cut in from his unfamiliar wing position to carry a defender over. Five minutes from the end Thackeray claimed a deserved try thanks to a combination of trickery and footwork before Scott Yates burned off the cover before the end to take the Vikings to 72 points and end a satisfactory afternoon's work.
WIDNES: Scott Yates, Richard Varkulis, Dean Thompson, Shane Grady, Matt Gardner; Anthony Thackeray, James Webster; Ben Kavanagh, Mark Smith, Jim Gannon, Liam Farrell, Lee Doran, Dave Allen. Subs: Thomas Coyle, Chris Gerard, Ben Davies, Dave Houghton.
Tries: Grady 4, 38, 45, Gardner 10, Thompson 22, 49, 56, Allen 27, Farrell 30, Coyle 66, Varkulis 71, Thackeray 75, Yates 77.
Goals: Grady 10/13.
KEIGHLEY: George Raynor, Craig Moss, Tom Burton, Ollie Pursglove, Gavin Duffy; Jon Presley, Danny Jones; Andy Shickell, James Feather, Brendan Rawlins, Will Cartledge, Richard Jones, Ben Sagar.
Subs: Jamaine Wray, James Haythornthwaite, Scott Law, Ryan Benjafield.
Tries: Duffy 34, Moss 62.
Goals: Jones 1/2.
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