ON-SONG Widnes Vikings bounce into Good Friday’s derby clash at second-placed Warrington knowing that it will take a repeat of last week’s heroics at Wigan to stay on top of the Super League pile.

The match against a Wolves side boasting the only unbeaten record in the competition could not have been set up any better.

Vikings go into the first match of the Easter double header without skipper Kevin Brown, Hep Cahill and Charly Runciman but Lloyd White is expected to return after a calf injury.

Chris Bridge, who has slight nerve damage, remains unavailable.

Vikings boss Denis Betts said: “This is the game the locals want. It is first and second and nobody would have predicted that at the start of the year.

“It is great for us as a town, and given where Warrington have put themselves over the last 10 years, to put ourselves in a position where we compete with them at this end of the table is tremendous.

“We have had some fantastic games in Super League, close ones too, where they took it on the death.

“All in all it is set up for a fantastic game and with it not being on TV, hopefully it will mean a bumper crowd.”

After passing one test, against a relentless and physical Wigan side last week, Betts knows only too well that the off-loading, sharp, snappy free-scoring Wolves offer an entirely different sort of threat.

“Warrington have turned the corner a bit. Their recruitment has been very good - and although they never stopped being a side that had the ability to compete, they ran into some adversity (last year).

“But if you look at Tony Smith and Richard Agar, you realise that they are a side that have never stopped being coached or stopped having a belief system in place.

“Kurt Gidley was a fantastic acquisition and he has really helped Chris Sandow, and he is starting to boss it a little bit.

“On top of that Daryl Clark came back last week, Ben Currie is turning into an international back row.

“And Chris Hill has probably been the best front row in the world this last year and a half.

“They have set themselves up to be a quality team which is the challenge again that we go there with.

"We have to be at our best again, because everyone wants to be the team that causes us to fall over," Betts said.