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Widnes Vikings make dream comes true for disabled young sports fan

A Disabled teenager from Widnes was the Vikings’ guest of honour for Sunday’s thrilling Super League clash against Catalan Dragons.

Will Juniad and his dad, Wal, were given the full VIP treatment with a behind-the-scenes tour of the newly-named Select Security Stadium, a pre-match bite to eat with the club’s senior management team and a seat from which to watch the drama unfold in the comfort of the director’s box.

Will has a huge interest in all sports and wants to work in the sporting environment once his school education is completed.

Will’s day out was funded by the Valhalla Foundation’s Dream Maker initiative, with a percentage of the funds generated by the club’s Dream Ticket lottery subscriptions supporting the Vikings’ charity arm.

Will thoroughly enjoyed the experience and said it was a day to remember. He said: “I enjoyed seeing the gym and it was really interesting to learn about the different types of training the players do, particularly the wrestling.

“I also loved getting to watch the match and I’ve learned some new rules about rugby.

“Jack Owens really impressed me. His two tries and kick at the end were brilliant.

“I’ll definitely be coming back!”

Will enjoys playing wheelchair football and is currently cutting his teeth in a leadership role in the sport. He said: “I coach wheelchair football at my local club Halton Hawks, which is something I would like to carry on doing.

“One day, I would also like to get involved with the media side of sport, too.”

Vikings community coach Kurtis Marsh said: “Today offered us an ideal opportunity to go the extra mile and turn somebody’s hopes into reality.

“Will had a great day and gained a huge insight into the matchday experience both on and off the pitch.

“He was thrilled to meet some of our players and this was etched on his face all afternoon.

“Admittedly, Will’s first love is football but I’ve got a strong feeling that Sunday won’t be the last we see of Will or his dad.

“I’m confident we may have unearthed a couple of new fans.

Article first featured in the Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News