VIKINGS’ last game of the regular league season ended in a bitterly disappointing defeat at the hand of the division’s table toppers.

Not only did Rovers look by far the classier of the teams, they physically worked the Vikings over too.

It was always going to be a tough afternoon at the office for a Vikings, who needed a win to get a home play-off, and it got harder when they suffered a succession of penalties against them.

They were in the wars too with Steve Tyrer leaving the field in the first half and Lee Penny carried off on a stretcher at the start of the second half.

Rovers held all the aces with props Tony Tonks and Stuart Dickens pounding up the middle giving a great platform for creative players John Hepworth and Liam Finn to open up the Vikings defence at will.

Vikings withstood the early Rovers pressure but eventually cracked when wing Ben Cockayne was sent over for a brace of scores on 17 and 23 minutes.

When Widnes had the ball they offered little in attack and were unable to break down the aggressive Rovers unit, which forced them into a succession of errors and penalties.

The visitors effectively sealed the game two minutes before the break when the ball was swiftly transferred along the line for Tommy Saxton to cross in the corner - Rovers giving a lesson on how to run from deep and give the ball air.

Liam Finn’s two goals made it 16-0 at the break for the Yorkshiremen.

Widnes old boy Ian Hardman got the first of his brace within a minute of the restart, with his footwork bamboozling the home defence.

When Widnes were penalised for crossing Rovers created space for Saxton to grab his second to make it 26-0.

Vikings broke their duck on 55 minutes when the ball flew along the line for full back Danny Craven to cash in on the overlap to slide over.

Kurt Haggerty missed the conversion from the touchline and the rest of it became a Rovers cakewalk.

Hardman immediately backed up Hepworth up the middle to finish off a long-range move under the sticks.

Then big man Tonks rumbled over under the posts with opposite number Steve Pickersgill yellow yarded for an incident in that movement.

Hardman, who had a blinder against his old club, sent Liam Finn in for the concluding try to cap a miserable afternoon for the Vikings.

Widnes: Danny Craven; Paddy Flynn, Shane Grady, Steve Tyrer, Kevin Penny; James Coyle, Joe Mellor; Steve Pickersgill, Thomas Coyle, Joe Mellor; Steve Pickersgill, Thomas Coyle, Ben Kavanagh, Macgraff Leuluai, Dave Allen, Kurt Haggerty. Subs: Richard Varkulis, Chaz I’Anson, Logan Tomkins, Dom Crosby.

Featherstone: Ian Hardman; Ben Cockayne, Sam Smeaton, Greg Worthington, Tommy Saxton; Andy Kain, Liam Finn; Tony Tonks, Ben Kaye, Stuart Dickens, Jon Grayshon, Tim Spears, John Hepworth. Subs: Andy Bostock, Ross Divorty, Mufaro Muvududu, Kirk Netherton.

Att: 5,021