Higham: Wolves must take next step
Mick Higham has been a Wembley winner three times in the last four years with Warrington Wolves but he acknowledges they must make their mark at Old Trafford if they are to be considered one of the modern great teams.
The Wolves may be specialists when it comes to the Carnegie Challenge Cup but they have a woeful record in the Super League play-offs with just two wins out of 10 ties as they prepare for this evening’s sudden-death clash with Hull FC.
“We’re proud of what we’ve done in the Challenge Cup but great teams back up in Super League as well,” Higham said.
“Not a lot of teams do it. Leeds have not always played that well but they’ve found a way to get there and win it and St Helens know how to win play-off games as well.
“We’re confident we’re as good as those teams if not better on our day and we need to take it a step further.
“I’ve only won the Grand Final once and that was with St Helens 10 years ago now so I’m pretty long-over due for another. It was special in ’02.
“The Challenge Cup is great but there is something a little more special about the Grand Final. The stadium is a lot closer and louder than Wembley, there’s a totally different atmosphere and feel to it.”
Higham, who goes into the game at the Halliwell Jones Stadium needing one more try to reach a career century, admits Warrington were below par in their opening 28-6 play-off defeat by Saints and acknowledges Hull will be on a high after three consecutive victories.
“We’ve got a team down here who will be full of confidence,” he said.
“They seem to have hit a bit of form. Defensively they are looking strong and they’ve got some threats with the ball.
“Saturday’s defeat gave us a kick up the backside. It showed that you can’t just turn up for games, you’ve got to lift the intensity.
“It’s not crisis time, though, it only needs a couple of quick fixes. Our attack was a bit off - personally I was and a few other boys have put their hands up.
“We probably have underachieved in the play-offs but the good thing is we have another chance. We’re confident we’ve got another month’s rugby in us yet.”
