Surviving adversity a big achievement

In Part 2 of the Wids review, Press Officer Steve Clark looks back on the second half of the 2024-25 campaign

- BY STEVE CLARK

WITH a 50% return from their opening fourteen matches; the Wids were able to enjoy a fortnight’s break before returning to action in early January 2025.

The result of the first game of the New Year was always going to be vital, and it was a Mike Jones hat-trick of tries that inspired them to a 35-17 win at Winnington Park to get themselves off to a great start.

By now, though, the harsher weather had begun to set in, and the following week’s game against Eccles was then postponed because of the snow and ice.

Apart from the weather, injuries and unavailability were now beginning to have a real impact on the squad, and when the senior XV then entered a tough sequence of fixtures that saw them pitched against the top three teams; Vale of Lune, Bowdon and Sandbach, they went on to suffer a series of heavy losses.

Further defeats then followed at the hands of in-form Altrincham Kersal and Burnage, who secured revenge for a home defeat at Varley Park earlier in the season.

Back luck wasn’t helping either, as the ‘red-and-blacks’ then suffered narrowly at the hands of Northwich although they did pick up a valuable losing bonus point.