
Zak Hardaker believes the magic of the Challenge Cup is still alive and well as Hull FC prepare to enter the competition next week. The Black and Whites are one of three Super League clubs to have been pitched against community clubs in the third round of the cup with John Cartwright’s outfit set to face off against York Acorn.
Leeds Rhinos and St Helens will also face amateur opposition in the next round with clashes lined up against Wests Warriors and West Hull respectively. The Airlie Birds’ clash with York will be played at the Millennium Stadium in Featherstone, with the amateur club’s home ground seen as unsuitable to host such a fixture.
However, the NCL Premier Division side are still expected to benefit from the clash, with it being a home game and with Hull fans set to travel in their numbers to watch the club’s first competitive run out of the season.
The tie comes following a restructuring of the competition and Hardaker, who opts to look at it from the point of view of an amateur player, is fully behind the concept.
“I think it’s good for rugby league and good for the amateur teams,” Hardaker told Serious About RL. “If the shoe was on the other foot and I was playing for Featherstone Lions and we were playing Wigan it would be an absolute dream come true.
“Some of my mates play amateur and I can only say they thrive off it. I think that’s what the Challenge Cup is about, it’s not about 1st vs 2nd, it’s about 10th playing 1st and winning by one point.
“That’s the beauty of the Challenge Cup, look at Tag’s (Scott Taylor) team Goole, they beat London and no one gave them a chance. To see them beat London at the weekend was brilliant and Tag said that’s the magic of the Challenge Cup but that’s what it’s about.
“Obviously we don’t want to get beat by York but just for them to play a team like Hull, I think that’s going to be great for them. It’s something different for us and another game to get a little bit better before the start of the season.”
Before Hull FC can fully turn their attention to that Challenge Cup game, though, they have a friendly against Castleford Tigers to play this weekend. The game will be Hull’s first run out of the new year while it will also double up as a testimonial game for Tigers forward Joe Westerman, who has enjoyed two spells in black and white over his career.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Hardaker added. “I feel like I’ve done enough pre-season now, it feels like we’ve been doing it for about six months but it’s a game – it’s a friendly but it’s going to be competitive.
“They lost at the weekend and I know Danny McGuire and some of the lads at Cas, they probably wouldn’t have taken that too lightly so they’ll be stepping up. When it’s someone’s testimonial a team always raises their game so it will be tough fixture and we’re looking forward to it.
“Joe Westerman has been a great servant to rugby and I’ve known him a long time. He’s a good lad and he deserves a good turnout so hopefully the Cas fans will turn up and Hull FC always have a good following as well. It should be a good game, we’re going full strength and I’ve heard from some of the boys over there that they’re going for it as well so it should be two teams going at it.”
