Widnes coach Denis Betts knows former Huddersfield Giants captain Kevin Brown holds the key to success for his side in tomorrow’s clash at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Influential half-back Brown was at the heart of the Vikings’ 58-16 home Super League XX thrashing of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats at the weekend.
Brown was back after missing his side’s heavy 38-6 defeat at Leeds Rhinos in the previous game with a bout of concussion.
And boss Betts knows how much difference it makes having his 30-year-old playmaker pulling all the attacking strings.
“Kev guides us around because he’s got a fantastic rugby brain,” said Betts.
“People might say Wakefield were poor but we played well, we did some really good things, and Kev was key to that.
“We knew when he came to us from Huddersfield a couple of years ago exactly what we were getting, and he’s lived up to all our expectations.
“We know how important he’s going to be to our success once again this year.”
Wales hooker Lloyd White was also in destructive form against the Wildcats, running in four tries to cap a great all-round display.
And the 26-year-old knows the Vikings can now “kick on” after securing their first win of the 2015 top-flight campaign.
“It’s always nice to get a win on the board. We had that draw with Wigan, but we’ve got two points for the win now,” said White.
“I think we had a bit of luck go our way. We stuck to our gameplan but I don’t think we expected a score like that, to be honest.
“It’s really important and we can kick on from there now.”
