Cup means a lot to us, says Moz
11:39am Thursday 8th May 2008
WOLVES captain Adrian Morley has made it clear how much Saturday's Carnegie Challenge Cup tie against St Helens means to his side.
"There is nothing like a cup tie to get everyone fired up," states Morley.
" I think the fact you don't get two bites of the cherry in the cup means I won't need to do much motivation. The boys know that it's do or die."
"We haven't got any injury concerns from the weekend and everyone will be raring to go. It's not everyday that you get to take on the cup holders at Knowsley Road, the boys will definitely be fired up, it's just a case of fine tuning things."
Warrington Wolves have not beaten St Helens in the Challenge Cup since 1969 and have not secured a victory over the Saints at Knowsley Road since 1994.
And with the Saints in great form - evident during their crushing 57-16 win over Wigan last week - the Wolves will need to put in a huge performance to topple the cup holders, something the birthday boy - Morley turns 31 on Saturday - is aware of.
He said: "Saints are playing particularly well at the moment, it was there to see against Wigan in Cardiff.
"They are no mugs and a massive attacking force.
"Up front they have Cayless and Graham who going forward are very tough to pin down.
"Saints are a champion side that are dangerous from one to 17.
"If you let them get on a roll they can score points from anywhere.
"It's all about getting our defence sorted and our forwards win the battle in the middle of the park.
"There is no reason why we can't be as competitive as we have been in the two previous games we have played against them this year, we actually led for the majority of those games and we put ourselves in a position to win those two games.
"We need to do more of the same, it's going to be tough, but we are looking forward to it"
Warrington go into Saturday's game on the back of a nail-biting comeback win over Huddersfield at Millennium Magic.
Wolves were losing 22-6 at half time but rallied after the break to win 36-34.
Morley thinks the game has done the Wolves a power of good.
He said: "It's no secret we were in a confidence lull, losing the last four prior to the Giants and things were not looking good at half time.
"But the manner of our comeback last week has given us a massive confidence boost.
"It proves we can score points and plenty of them. Now is the time to get our defence sorted out."
Pundits and fans alike have debated whether Warrington's failure to defeat St Helens at Knowsley Road in the Super League era is becoming a habit for the Wolves players.
Morley disagrees, saying: "We're conscious that we have to play for 80 minutes against Saints, but I don't think that we have a psychological barrier when it comes to playing them.
"I feel Saints raise their game against Warrington as they should and the fact it is a local derby, as we do, but I think in the past we have been guilty of letting our foot off the gas when we could be putting games to bed."
Morley, himself a Challenge Cup winner, is desperate to repeat his success with Warrington in 2008.
"Winning the Cup with Leeds Rhinos in 1999 at Wembley was so special," he said.
"All my family were there and I remember so vividly my brother coming down the steps after we had picked up the trophy, giving me a hug and pointing up to where my mum and dad were sat. I really filled up when I saw them.
"My mum and dad were stood on the chairs waving and cheering, they were so proud, that will stay in my mind forever"