In this N F P match played on 09 Jan 2000 at Auto Quest Stadium , the referee was Steve Nicholson, and 3758 people watched. In cold but dry weather, the half time score was 12- 12, and Widnes received 7 penalties to Hunslet's 6.		GAMESTAR Phil Cantillon League Express: David Hulme
Widnes Vikings	30
Hunslet Hawks	21

HAWKS FAIL TO TAKE FLIGHT

Hunslet Hawks came to Widnes with a plan to play one-man rugby. This they did adequately enough. After all, their forwards were strong enough to score two tries and make another. They resolutely refused to pass the ball out further than the centre, and went away with the defeat they deserved.
Widnes on the other hand, played fluent rugby, and passed the ball out whenever the woefully ineffective referee allowed them room. The truth is that Hunslet were creeping up on Widnes before they played the ball for the whole match. This stifled the creativity of Paul Mansson, meaning that players such as Phil Cantillon, David Hulme and Gareth Adams would shine.
It was Cantillon who tirelessly exposed the Hunslet offside by swerving and sidestepping the advancing hawks with embarrassing ease. Although the impressive David Hulme was the sponsor's and the press's man of the match, Phil Cantillon deserved it for me.
Andy Cheetham shows a lot of potential, and he was tackled in a last ditch attempt early on as he sprinted down the touch line, beating off most defenders. But he opened Widnes' account with a slightly less spectacular try after Paul Mansson opened up his former team-mates defensive line.
When Jason Donohue exposed the visitors' frailties under a high ball, the Widnes fans couldn't cheer for laughing. The hapless Hanger overestimated where the ball would land. So, in a desperate attempt to keep it from the advancing Widnes players, he stretched out and slapped it... straight into Jason's grateful arms. The try was a formality.
One of the Hunslet tries was clearly a double movement, but the referee allowed it to stand, giving Hunslet a 12-12 lifeline at the break. This was helped by a baffling farce where a Widnes player forced his way over the line with the ball. The referee looked at both linesmen (who had retired to the corner, signalling their approval of the try) and then decided the defenders had held him up, disallowing it. I know (and applaud it when) a referee can overrule his touch judge, but why did Nicholson check with them before disallowing it?
In the second half, Simon Verbickas scored a wonderful four points by skipping around three defenders and narrowly avoiding the touchline to dive in at the corner. Although his kicking was a less impressive than last week's, most of Bing's attempts were very difficult and he did well to come away with 5 goals.
David Hulme capped a fine performance when he scored a Mark-Hewitt-esque individual try from close-range. This brought the memories flooding back to many of the fans from the eighties, and it was truly a joy to see. He has proved so far that he can only improve an already formidable try.
When Lee Hansen went over from even shorter range with eight minutes left, the gap was just too big for Hunslet to bridge. Their consolation try was almost cancelled out by a late Widnes attack, but they were beaten by the hooter.

WIDNES

1. Damien Munro
2. Andy Cheetham
3. Chris Percival
4. James Briers
5. Simon Verbickas
6. Paul Mansson
7. Jason Donohue
8. Lee Hansen
9. Phil Cantillon
10. Cliff Eccles
11. Dave Smith
12. George Mann
13. David Hulme
14. Danny Myler
15. Gareth Adams
16. Afi Leuila
17. Steve Gee