Kai Pearce-Paul hoping to leave his mark at Wigan Warriors as the club prepares for Challenge Cup semi-final against Hull KR

The 22-year-old, who originally from London, missed the conclusion of last year’s tournament through injury, and is hoping to leave his mark this time round, in what is his last season in cherry and white before a move to the NRL.

Matty Peet’s side take on Hull KR at Headingley on Sunday afternoon for a place at Wembley on August 12, and head into the fixture on the back of a 26-12 win against Warrington Wolves.

“The main thing for us is gaining a bit of momentum because it’s something we’ve lacked at points this season,” Pearce-Paul said.

“Off a good win against our local rivals, hopefully it will snowball into a lot more when we get to the business end.

“We should’ve found a bit of form for the Challenge Cup semi-final, but there’s a lot to work on as always- we’re never perfect.

“We need to focus on ourselves and how we’ll play against Hull.

“I was injured last year for the semis and the final- I was gutted to miss out on some silverware.

“I was happy for the boys and for the town, it was an amazing weekend, but for me, I want to win something at this great club and leave my mark.

“London is my city so getting to Wembley would be exciting for me because my friends and family are local, so I’d get a lot of people to come and watch.

“It does have a different feel to it being down south.

“Hopefully I can make my city proud as well as Wigan.

“Moving to Australia is not something I’m thinking about much, my heart is here at the moment.

“Of course I’d love to leave with a bit of silverware but I’m not looking too far ahead, I’m just taking things game by game, doing what I can to add to the team and make sure we win.”

Pearce-Paul made his return from injury in Wigan’s victory over Warrington, and produced a man of the match winning display from the interchange bench.

“It felt good to be finally back out there,” he added.

“It was a bit different for me playing in the middle, it’s tough in there, but I’ll always do my best for the team.

“It was hard watching the boys go to war from the sidelines, so I was happy again to be able to join in.

“I feel physically good. Off the back of being with England, I didn’t really have the chance to do a pre-season and get much weight on- I was pretty light at the start of this year, but I feel like myself again now.

“Leading up to the Warrington game I was just excited to get back out there, and it just felt like I was back home again.

“I was raring to go and had plenty of energy, I just want to play the best I can every time I wear this badge.

“The performance side of it was the cherry on top, I couldn’t ask for more really.”