WHEN I look back at the victories we have achieved so far this season, last weekend's win over Widnes has to go down as one of the most satisfactory.

I have to admit I was feeling very nervous before the game and didn't really know quite what to expect.

For a start, I didn't know what to expect from Widnes.

It was the first match the Vikings had played since the sacking of Neil Kelly as their coach.

Such action at a club usually results in a greatly-improved performance from the team in the game that follows. That was the game against us.

But, more importantly, I wasn't sure what to expect from us.

I didn't want to make a big deal over the fact that it was our third game in eight days, with punishing matches against top sides Hull and St Helens in the build up to it.

All that would have done would have been to have given the players a ready-made excuse if things against Widnes didn't go according to plan.

We didn't train on Thursday (the day after the Saints match), and the sessions on Friday and Saturday were pretty low key.

On the day itself, I don't think I can ever remember being in a dressing room before a game which was quite so quiet. At that stage I was worried.

And I was even more worried with the start we made.

We looked extremely sluggish and we very quickly found ourselves 10-2 behind.

But this set of players never ceases to amaze me.

Once they had got into their flow, Widnes didn't really stand a chance.

At half-time, our completion rate was 100% and in my 20 years in the professional game I have never known that,

What that means is that in 40 minutes of rugby league we didn't make one error. With ball in hand the first half the boys were faultless.

OK, the final margin of our victory may only have been 26-20.

But no-one could deny that the scoreline flattered Widnes.

After we had opened up a 26-10 lead, Hefin O'Hare then dropped the ball in a tryscoring position and James Evans had a try disallowed which he is convinced was a dead-set score.

Had these two scenarios produced positive results, we would have been totally out of sight.

It was disappointing to see Widnes score those two late tries, but I don't think it would be fair to criticise the boys for that.

It was no great surprise that in the last few minutes the boys had little petrol left in the tank.

The late sin-binning of Sean Penkywicz also didn't help the cause.

But after the recent tough spell we've been through, any positive result last weekend had to be applauded.

However, there's little time to dwell on what has just gone on.

Between now and Sunday it's all systems go to make sure we're in the best possible shape to face Castleford this weekend.

The boys have been given an extra day off to recover after last week's exploits, and hopefully that will be reflected at The Jungle in a few days' time.

I'M happy to report that I'm once again suffering headaches!

But it's great to report that they are of the selection variety.

It's been a number of weeks since I last experienced anything like this, but I couldn't be happier.

At this particular moment, I'm still undecided as to who to play at Castleford and who to leave out.

This welcome problem has obviously been caused by the return after a five-week absence of injured duo Paul March (torn calf muscle) and Mick Slicker (hernia operation).

They have been added to the squad that beat Widnes last weekend, and I can't rule out re-calling Julian Bailey (fractured cheekbone) for next week's home game against Warrington.

Also back after missing the Widnes match is Marcus St Hilaire, who picked up a leg injury against St Helens.

So, going into the game against the Tigers, the only players missing will be Bails and Stanley Gene, who suffered a dislocated right foot at the weekend.

The initial fear with Stanley was that he had suffered both a break and dislocation, which meant he could have been sidelined for six weeks.

In that sense, the dislocation was a bonus and he could be back within four weeks.

But when it comes to medical matters, we obviously can't take anything for granted when it comes to Mr Gene.

We still can't believe he recently returned to action less than a fortnight after undergoing a groin operation, so we know anything is possible!