In this N F P match played on 21 May 2000 at Auto Quest Stadium , the referee was Colin Morris(Huddersfield), and 3170 people watched. In sunny but fairly cool weather, the half time score was 16- 6, and Widnes received 15 penalties to Rochdale's 5.		GAMESTAR Phil Cantillon
Widnes Vikings	38
Rochdale Hornets	10

HE'S A RECORD BREAKER

Can Phil Cantillon go any higher? If he can, let's hope it's with Widnes. The best player in the NFP gets better and better with every game, and he's becoming the difference between a close shave and a good win.
The record for number of tries scored in one match is 5. This has now been done on eight occasions. Phil has done it twice, along with John Basnett, and has guaranteed himself a place in the record books. With his haul of 23 tries (in 22 games!) he has now scored more tries in a season than any other Widnes forward (a record formerly held by the great Jimmy Hoey).
In the early encounters, Rochdale looked hungry to work and ran hard. But they soon degenerated into a violent gang of thugs as they repeatedly tackled high, flopped late and punched hard. That the referee was Colin Morris served to anger the Widnes fans even more. His reknowned reluctance to send anyone from the pitch meant that Rochdale had a free reign until the 14th minute when Dorahy was sent to the sinbin. But even then the Hornets refused to start behaving, and Robinson was sent off in the 19th minute.
In the second half, Bunce was sinbinned and Maher sent off, so Widnes had a numerical advantage for the majority of the game. But somehow they failed to make it count.

Cantillon's tries were mostly individual flashes of brilliance.
Just as Widnes started to get frustrated, he popped up from the play-the-ball and made a short run, sidestepping the defence to open the scoring. His second came at the beginning of the second quarter, again taking the ball from acting halfback to score.
When he got his hat-trick, his defence-splitting run brought the crowd to their feet, in recognition of a marvellous first half.
Slack tackling enabled Danny Wood to run in and out of defenders like slalom poles before scoring almost on the stroke of half time.
In the second half, Cantillon was on form again. He looked to be about to cross for his fourth, but despite the yawning gap he had created, he passed outside to Kilgallon for the centre to record his first senior try.
Cantillon grabbed his fourth and fifth courtesy of a long range sprint and a beautiful pass from Paul Mansson. But when the hooker made his last break of the match, with just the fullback to beat, he wouldn't have been blamed for trying to take Maher on himself, but instead he supplied Damian Munro with the ball for an easy thirty yard sprint to the line.
It's easy to overlook the other players in this game, where one man shone out so much. But despite a lack of excitement from the backs, when the ball should have been used at every opportunity against the fewer men from Rochdale, the forwards really played well.
Steve Argent looks more and more mature, Simon Knox is now showing his Super League strength, Tommy Hodgkinson always looks dangerous with the ball in his hands, Steve Gee is running fast and strong, and Mick Hill tackles well and is always eager to take the ball up. With Hansen, Murphy and Smith on the bench, the pack is fast becoming our biggest asset.
Just as last year, Widnes are getting better as the summer wears on, and Hull KR are dropping out of the race. Here's hoping Widnes can go two steps better this year!

WIDNES

1. Damian Munro
2. Liam Jones
3. Afi Leuila
4. Eddie Kilgannon
5. Andy Cheetham
6. Paul Mansson
7. Karl Fitzpatrick
8. Simon Knox
9. Phil Cantillon
10. Steve Argent
11. Steve Gee
12. Mick Hill
13. Tommy Hodgkinson
14. James Briers
15. Chris Murphy
16. Dave Smith
17. Lee Hansen