WIDNES VIKINGS have accepted a transfer fee for star forward Iain Morrison, who has signed for Championship rivals Featherstone Rovers on a two-year deal.
Scottish international Morrison, 26, was rumoured to be on his way out of Stobart Stadium prior to the Vikings’ season-ending play-off home defeat to Rovers, but head coach Daryl Powell was non-committal on the move.
Morrison claims he wants to be closer to home and the ‘impact’ on his family life as the main reason to leave Widnes.
Vikings sporting director Terry O’Connor tried desperately to keep hold of his prop forward but in the end the pull of Yorkshire was too much to bear for the former Hull KR man.
O’Connor said: “We made it clear we didn’t want to lose him, but we have acted in the best interests of the club and the deal with Featherstone recognises this.”
Money changing hands is almost unheard of in the Championship and indeed the majority of Super League, which hints that the Vikings may have come out of this better off, as opposed to keeping a player who was unhappy commuting from Yorkshire.
It’s not the first time Widnes have lost out to Rovers as they lost big second rower Jon Grayshon at the end of the season in what appeared to be a big money pull from the Chris Moyles Stadium.
Widnes have replaced Morrison with Gareth Haggerty but they will need more firepower up front if they are to keep up with the likes of Featherstone next season and a more aggressive transfer strategy may need to be adopted.
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