Castleford's Gareth Widdop insists he doesn’t need to prove anything as he faces former club Warrington on Friday for the first time since his exit.
The ex-England stand-off, 34, left Wolves at the end of last season with Dary Powell undergoing a major squad overhaul. They were wretched last term but have won all five games so far this time around. Castleford finally got up and running against Leeds last week and Widdop said: “I wouldn’t say I’ve anything to prove.
“It’s enjoyable facing your old team-mates and also some of the Aussie lads who’ve come over this season, I spent a lot of time with them in Australia. But I don’t have any regrets. You make decisions in life and things happen for a reason. Things don’t always go to plan.
“It was a rollercoaster at Warrington. I had some good moments and some really difficult ones. That's life. It was challenging but I made some really great friends and I’ve moved on now and am really enjoying it at Cas. I just want to put in a good performance. It’s a really important game for us.”
Widdop scored 20 tries in 49 games for Warrington after joining as a ‘marquee’ player from St George-Illawarra in 2020 but struggled to really click in the primrose and blue. A badly dislocated shoulder ended his season early last year but he's looking sharp again for Castleford. Former St George team-mates Matt Dufty and Paul Vaughan are the Aussies currently starring for Wolves.
Widdop hopes to help fire Tigers who ended a four-game losing run with a 14-8 success against Rhinos. He said: “That was obviously a great win for us. After a slow start we needed to perform. I thought we did that and showed what we’re capable of. When we do the little things well we show what we can achieve. But the most important thing is to now back up against a good team.”
Ex-Australia prop Vaughan has been sensational for Warrington so far while fellow new signings Josh Drinkwater and Sam Kasiano have also made big impressions. Asked if he always thought his former side would turn things around in 2023, Widdop said: “Warrington have started the season really well. They had a massive turnover in players especially in the forwards and are playing some good football off the back of some good go-forward.
“With the halves they've got - George Williams has carried on his England World Cup form - and (Matt) Dufty at the back, they’ll be a big challenge. But I’m really excited to get out there against a really good team.”
