Walker handed Vikings release

Brad Walker has been released from his contract by Widnes Vikings in order to secure a move to a Super League club. The loose-forward worked his way through the Vikings Academy and has gone on to score six tries in 40 appearances. Walker penned a new three-year deal at Widnes in 2018 when the club was in the Super League and still has two years remaining from the start of the 2020 season. But with the club back in the Championship, Walker has been given the green light to stay in full-time rugby league at a top-flight outfit. He told the club’s website: “Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone involved with Widnes Vikings for making my time here so special. “I’d especially like to thank all of the people that work here and the fans for making me feel welcome since the day I arrived, and I’ll remember that forever. “There’s a few people I want to personally thank, and that is Kurtis Marsh and Phil Finney. If it wasn’t for both of them spotting me up in Cumbria, and letting me move down here, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I will forever be in debt to them both. “It’s always hard moving on but at this stage of my career, I think to have the chance to go back to Super League is something I couldn’t turn down.”