Challenge Cup much bigger than League Leaders’ Shield says Radford

Ahead of Saturday’s Wembley final against Wigan, Hull FC head coach Lee Radford claims that winning the Challenge Cup is a bigger achievement than finishing top of Super League.

Castleford Tigers, who Hull knocked out of the Challenge Cup, won the League Leaders’ Shield for the first time in their history on Thursday but the FC coach says he would rather win at Wembley.

Daryl Powell previously insisted that the League Leaders’ Shield was “the biggest prize” but Radford believes that winning a major final gets greater recognition.

“I’ve been lucky enough to do all three and can categorically tell you that out of all three it ends third,” he told the Hull Daily Mail.

“Don’t get me wrong they (Castleford) have done it emphatically, but you don’t get the build-up like what we are having now before a League Leaders.

“When you turn on Sky Sports and it’s the Gold games they are not regular league games, it’s the big finals you see.”

The Black and Whites will be looking to secure back-to-back Challenge Cup triumphs when they take on Wigan this Saturday, having won at Wembley for the first time in their history last year.