Local twist to RL final

THE final that nobody expected has an Oldham flavour to it.

When Warrington Wolves and Huddersfield Giants step out at Wembley to compete for the Carnegie Challenge Cup final tomorrow (2.30pm kick off), they will be greeted on the field by Roughyeds chief executive and RFL president Chris Hamilton, who is involved in the pre-match presentation party.

Once kick-off arrives for the first final of the Super League era not to feature one of the modern game’s traditional big four, Oldham Referees’ Society members Tony Martin and Clint Sharrad will keep a close eye on proceedings, having been named as touch judges for the showpiece event which is being refereed by Steve Ganson.

Fellow local member Richard Cowling is the reserve touch judge for the final at the tender age of 21, while another Oldham referee, 17-year-old Alistair Schofield, will play a part in officiating the Carnegie Champions Schools warm-up match.

Pre-match, the nerve-count among the players is certain to be high.

Huddersfield’s last Challenge Cup final victory was at the old Wembley back in 1953 and the weight of history also rests heavy on Warrington’s shoulders, having not lifted the famous trophy since Alex Murphy, as player-coach, led his side to a 24-9 win over Featherstone in 1974.

Once the game starts those jitters will no doubt disappear and the expectation is that the game could turn out to be one of the most closely-fought finals in years.

Giants captain Brett Hodgson helped spark the biggest upset of this year’s competition, inspiring his team to a 24-14 semi-final win over holders St Helens which was characterised by uncompromising defence and slick half-back play from Luke Robinson and Kevin Brown.

That result gave an indication as to how the team currently sitting pretty in fourth place in Super League achieved its success this year under new coach Nathan Brown.

Warrington haven’t enjoyed such a good year league-wise and after an horrific start to the campaign, coach Jimmy Lowes was replaced by England boss Tony Smith. However, the brute force up front from the likes of Adrian Morley helped achieve a notable 39-26 last-four triumph over rivals Wigan and with the wily Lee Briers orchestrating their attacks the Wolves will be confident of victory on this, their first Wembley visit since 1990.

Chris Bridge, the Oldham-born player who kicked four goals for Warrington in their 40-28 defeat at home to Wakefield last week, could start the game at centre.