Blog Post
IT'S THE BIG ONE THIS WEEK
Well it's the big one this week and it's always special to play in the Challenge Cup. It is a different mindset, as I have said before, because it's knockout football and there are no second chances after the day. All the players in the game want to get to Wembley and experience that tremendous occasion but you have to play good to get there. We know that Warrington are a difficult side to beat and they have some outstanding performers in their team. But on the day it's all about the seventeen players for each side on the field and we are certainly going into this game with high hopes of progressing to the Semi Final. Warrington will be everyone's favourites because of the way they disposed of Huddersfield in the last round but we have played well lately and are confident going into the game. The fact that it's on live BBC TV will lift the players and we are just glad it's at the Grattan Stadium because a home draw is all you can ask for at this stage of the competition.
It was certainly a case of missed opportunities for us last week against Leeds. We bombed a lot of chances and didn't have the rub of the green - I thought Chris Nero's try was a great effort with absolutely nothing wrong with it - but once you have missed those chances it's difficult to get back in those conditions. They were very draining both physically and mentally and I am sure it would have been the same for Leeds had we got a decent lead. However you can't miss those chances with someone like Danny McGuire sniffing around. He got two real opportunist tries and he certainly knows when and where to run. We can take a lot of positives out of that game because of the chances we made. Remember we were without OX and BK and also a certain Mr Langley and we were still carving out openings against a very good side. I thought both the young lads, Elliott Whitehead and James Donaldson, played very well. They look settled in the team now and that's great for us. It was pleasing to see Danny Addy getting a game. He is still only nineteen and he's really kicked on this year, whether it's for the under 20's or for Dewsbury, where he is dual registered. He is a travelling companion of mine and Langers - he lives at Pontecarlo - so it was good to have him in the side.
Speaking of the Rhinos, they are in action on Saturday against Wigan in the other TV game and I am going to go for Wigan in this one. It's a tough one to call but Wigan have a pretty good record against Leeds at Headingley and they are very much the form team at the moment. The Rhinos picked up a few knocks against us and I don't think JP will be fully fit, despite them naming him in the nineteen man squad. I think it will be close but it's Wigan for me.
I must tell you about James Donaldson last week. There was a quiz night to launch the BullBuilder scheme to raised money for the club's juniors. There were lots of teams and the Bulls had a table of eight or nine players on their side. Such as OX, Lynchy, Heath and Chris Nero all turned out and the first question was; ‘Which European country has the most active Volcanoes?' Donno was quick to throw his answer into the pile and he came up with............................Indonesia!!! He still hasn't lived that down but I am sure he would have been better able to answer questions about milking cows or shearing sheep!!
So it's all down to eighty minutes on Sunday and I hope as many of you as possible come along and get behind us. It could be one step nearer to that Wembley dream!!
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