‘Won’t have a better chance’ – Who needs to win the Challenge Cup the most

We’ve reached the final four of the Challenge Cup and come Sunday evening we will know who will be taking part in next month’s Wembley final.

Hull KR take on Catalans Dragons in the first semi-final of the weekend on Saturday at the LNER Community Stadium in York, with the Super League leaders the overwhelming favourites to progress there. That’s before Leigh Leopards and Warrington Wolves go head to head in St Helens with the two sides pushing to make yet another final.

All four teams will be dreaming of lifting that trophy on the Wembley balcony on June 7 and they could all do with a trophy win, too. But, who needs to win the Challenge Cup most?

Here, we assess all four teams and try to answer that exact question.

Hull KR

The Robins will be looking to reach their third major final in as many years this weekend when they face Steve McNamara’s side in York. They’ve been one of the outstanding teams in the Northern Hemisphere across that time and in truth, they can count themselves unfortunate not to have already ended that now 40-year trophy drought.

They lost in golden point to the Leopards in the 2023 Challenge Cup final and last years’ Super League Grand Final didn’t go their way, either. It’s really about time they got themselves over the line then and in truth they probably won’t have a better chance to pick up silverware either.

The Robins have invested heavily in their senior group and Willie Peters has a squad that is built to win trophies now. They’re top of the league and will have other chances to win down the line this season. However, getting that first trophy over the line could make all the difference for the Robins as they look to further establish themselves as a mainstay in the upper echelons. Falling short again will only add to the pressure to win one of the two other trophies available.

Catalans Dragons

Catalans had a tough start to the Super League season but they’re starting to build some traction now and they enter the semi-final on the back of seven wins from their last nine games. Of course, you can look at the fixtures they have played in that time, with four of those wins coming against Super League’s bottom three and another coming versus Featherstone Rovers, but the fact is they have built up a head of steam.

They’ll fancy their chances of knocking the Robins off their perch on Saturday then, and with plenty of talk around the future of French rugby league, progressing to the final and winning would certainly send out a message about their worth and what they offer the European competition to those who may have questioned it.

It would certainly do Steve McNamara a world of good, too, with the head coach’s position being questioned by some over the last few months. McNamara was the man that delivered the cup for Catalans in 2018 and under the Yorkshireman, the Dragons have been a force to be reckoned with for a number of years. Success strengthens his position then, and might ease any pressure on the players in the south of France.

Leigh Leopards

Leigh won the Challenge Cup two years ago and they’ve gone from strength to strength ever since, establishing themselves as an elite Super League club and reaching the semi-finals of the play-offs.

The Leigh side that will face Warrington on Sunday will be very different to the one that saw off the Robins at the national stadium in 2023, though, with the Leopards a more well-rounded Super League outfit at this point. They probably don’t need a cup as much as their competition, but their desire is just as strong and after undergoing a big rebuild over the off-season, it would get a new era for the club underway on the right note.

A win would certainly serve to enhance the legacy Chris Chester has left at the Leigh Sports Village, while Adrian Lam might just be regarded as the most successful coach in club history. Success also raises their platform when it comes to recruitment and indeed retention for next season and beyond.

Warrington Wolves

Such is the internal and external pressure at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, it’s fair to say the club could always do with a trophy win. Six years have passed since the Wolves’ last success, though, with the memories of last year’s final still fresh, motivation will be sky high to win the cup this time around.

It’s been a strange season so far for Warrington, but if this is to be the year they finally win a Grand Final, securing the first trophy on offer might just give them the confidence and focus to kick on over the second half of the season.

Sam Burgess could certainly do with a Wembley success, too. He has been openly flirting with the idea of a return to the NRL as a head coach down the line in recent weeks and a cup win would certainly strengthen his standing. Warrington haven’t been at their best this season and few would dispute that, but the Challenge Cup win secures Burgess’ popularity, too.

Like KR, Warrington have a team built to win now and falling short again this year would be a huge disappointment.