Wigan Warriors- The 18th Man: 'We are long overdue a Challenge Cup'

Matty Peet’s side welcome fellow Super League side Salford Red Devils to the DW Stadium for the sixth round tie.

The last time Wigan won the Challenge Cup was 2013, with the fans now hoping more memories can be created.

Darren Wrudd

A bit of chalk and cheese with the last few games, don’t you think.

Starting with Toulouse, they gave us a right fright, which many put down to a few changes in the squad, but last week's brilliant result against St Helens puts it right into perspective.

We were then totally outplayed by a Catalans side who showed all the dominance that we crave so much from our pack.

They put the cleaners through us every time we dropped the ball or gave them another piggy back up field. It was totally unexpected and quite unacceptable from a squad like ours.

Not sure how many nights off the lads were given whilst in France but I would have flown them home for the week and then back out to Catalans with little room outside of a normal training week.

The French side were good value for the win though and it's not all about our errors or lack of discipline.

Then came the Castleford game, which was a potential banana skin if ever there was one. Lee Radford never took a backward step as a player and is trying to instil that same ethos in his squad.

They are doing it tough at the moment and a win is proving very difficult to muster. We leaned quite heavily on Jai Field again for our sparkle, but I don’t mind that because it's what he is here for.

To be honest we were very much in charge of the game until Tommy Leuluai left the field and young Harry Smith took over.

But, after a shaky start to his time on the field it seemed that something just clicked and he started to look more confident on the ball, more decisive and structured in his play, so I hope that is what he takes from the game and builds on it going forward.

I can’t wait to see Bevan French joining the action and for sure he cannot be far away from that. He might be the only one who can keep up with Field on the break, imagine defending against those two.

This week it is trap door rugby and a real test for us against a Salford side who are being coached by Paul Rowley.

He has a good squad this year and with his expert guidance he is coaching a really exciting brand of rugby and causing some top teams a real headache.

This however is not a game we can afford to lose. Our history with the Challenge cup is legendary and it's about time we brought it home again.

I have written in the past about special memories surrounding our fantastic 2002 victory in Murrayfield but thinking back another memory stands out and I hope I have got the dates right.

May 15 2004 saw us go down to Cardiff to fight Saints, but the odds were stacked against us with Sean Long's ban being sidelined by the RFL for an extra week so that he could play.

Well he managed to get the man of the match and sent us home empty handed, but in the bitter disappointment of losing, the club had arranged for the players to arrive back at the stadium the following day and come onto the field for a small presentation to the press.

As they walked out from the tunnel the west stand erupted with the cheers and screams of a few thousand fans who had remained silent in the stands to keep the surprise.

The lads looked gobsmacked and lost for words as they realised we were there to support our team no matter what and it was a special moment to be a part of. It’s great for this club and a fitting tribute to our fans to give them the number for the 18th man.

Robert Kenyon:

In the Catalans game we looked disjointed and lacked direction. I think the changing of the teams so much in the previous games stopped our momentum.

With the Saints game coming up we need some stability in the positions.

We play Salford Friday and with all due respect they aren't the Salford of Ian Watson, but they have some good players especially Brodie Croft, and it will be a good game.

The difference between this season and the last few is I'm looking forward to a game for a change because for the first time in 10 years I like the way we play.

The Challenge Cup is still number one for me, I think it depends on your age as to how you view it.

It's better to be sat in a sunny Wembley than a wet Old Trafford in my opinion plus the respective trophies in their looks and design are like comparing Georgian architecture to Soviet style.

In 2011 when we won it, I sat 20 rows back to get a close up of the Joel Tomkins try. It's great to win a Grand Final but I think we are long overdue a Challenge Cup.