Barrovian Brad Walker was able to enjoy his return to his hometown, after he scored a try to help Widnes Vikings see off a determined Barrow Raiders at Craven Park.

Walker’s score was a crucial one in the context of the match, as he crossed the whitewash in the early stages of the second half to extend the Vikings’ lead not long after they have overturned the Raider’s 4-0 half-time advantage last Sunday.

Widnes eventually ran out 20-4 winners on an afternoon where Barrow gave plenty of positives to take into Saturday’s tough away trip to Toulouse Olympique.

Walker told the club’s website: “It was nice, it was good to get against them and the fans were class, as always. It was good to get the win, but also good to play against my hometown club.”

Walker, 21, attended Dowdales School and played for the youth teams at Askam, and he was watched by his family, who he admitted may have had ‘split loyalties,’ at the match.

His try was his third in three games for Widnes, who are trying to claw back the 12-point deduction imposed on them for going into administration last month.

“It was a great result - they really shocked us in that first half,” Walker said.

“They came out firing and we weren’t at our best in the first 20 minutes but we held in there and we knew in the second half, when we had the wind, the game would change quite a lot, and it did.”