WIDNES Vikings overcame a stubborn challenge from the west Cumbrian Championship outfit before eventually triumphing, but it was not the walkover fans had expected.

At first it looked too easy for the Vikings, playing their second of three warm-up games, when they rattled in three tries in the first 13 minutes.

A half break from full back Rhys Hanbury provided the spark for the opening try which saw Danny Craven go over after three minutes.

Craven, operating at scrum half, tagged on the extras but he was unable to improve Chris Dean’s try moments later.

It was all one-way traffic, with Jon Clarke dashing through the middle only to be recalled for a forward pass.

Joe Mellor grabbed Vikings’ third, again converted by Craven to push the lead up to 16-0.

But then the scoring stopped, with numerous penalties and a succession of handling errors making it something of a disjointed encounter.

But at least it served to blast off a few more pre-season cobwebs from the Vikings team ahead of the Super League campaign kicking off in three weeks.

Workington got over the line, but lost it on impact and that is how it stayed at the break.

However, with the Vikings defence guilty of knocking off at times Workington took advantage with a fine break through the middle eventually being finished off by Town substitute Jack Gaskell. Carl Forber added the goal to cut the lead to ten points.

However three unanswered scores saw Vikings pull away with the first of those coming when prop Eamon O’Carroll won the race to Craven’s clever grubber.

And after a Mellor break had been stopped on the right, the ball swung right where Willie Isa motored home for a try improved by Craven.

Young substitute Declan Hulme was gifted a late score in the corner, courtesy of a Isa pass to conclude the scoring.

Vikings: Hanbury; Flynn, Marsh, Dean, Isa; Mellor, Craven; Joseph, Clarke, O’Carroll, Allen, Leuluai, Sarsfield. Subs: Winterstein, Kavanagh, White, Davies, Gerrard, Gilmore, Hulme.