Guisset out to make cup history

Guisset out to make cup history

Catalans Dragons forward Jerome Guisset is confident his side can cast aside their engage Super League woes and create history as the first French team to play in a Challenge Cup final.

The Dragons go into Sunday's second semi-final against Wigan Warriors desperate to arrest their form slump in the engage Super League which threatens to land them with a second successive wooden spoon.

They will go into the game at Warrington Wolves’ Halliwell Jones Stadium on the back of three consecutive defeats. But Guisset, who had a season at Wigan in 2005, is confident his side can spring an upset against the one-time cup kings.

"There is no panic," he said.

"We know we can do it. We know our capabilities and we know we can turn it on.

"A few things have been going wrong, but we will try our best to fix it up this week and concentrate on the things that have been working well for us.

"You get times in the season when you sometimes have a dip in form - but touch wood, we regain our form on Sunday."

Although Wigan have begun to find their form in recent weeks and were 30-0 winners against the Catalans in their engage Super League encounter at the JJB Stadium last month, coach Brian Noble is refusing to under-estimate his opponents.

"That result and performance counts for nothing this weekend," he warned.

"If we show any signs of complacency we will be in trouble.

"Any team with Adam Mogg, Clint Greenshields, Casey McGuire and Stacey Jones and with a substantial pack will be a test. You under-estimate them at your peril."

Wigan are hoping for a return to Wembley - which was their "second home" during their magnificent eight-year run as cup winners from 1988-95 - to help offset their loss of four league points for a breach of the salary cap.

The points deduction has plunged the Warriors to ninth place, which leaves the cup as their best hope for silverware.

The Dragons, too, see Wembley as their only chance of glory after their depressing run of league results - and they rate their chances.

The Perpignan club, who will not arrive in England until after Saturday's first semi-final between Bradford and St Helens, have adopted a low-key approach to the match in a deliberate attempt to take the pressure off their players.

"It’s our normal routine," explained Guisset.

"We’re not going to change for this one. We’ll do the preparation here in France.

"We don’t want to build the pressure too early. We want to be ready at quarter-past-three on Sunday - and we will be."

Wigan Warriors 18-man squad: Calderwood, Bailey, Richards, Barrett, Leuluai, Fielden, Higham, Paleaaesina, Hock, Fletcher, O'Loughlin, Vaealiki, Prescott, Hansen, Goulding, Colbon, O'Carroll, Mcllorum.

Catalans Dragons 18-man squad: K. Bentley, Chan, Croker, Duport, Ferriol, Gossard, Greenshields, Griffi, Guisset, Jones, Khattabi, McGuire, Mogg, Mounis, Quigley, Raguin, Touxagas, Wilson.