The last time Salford Red Devils won the Coral Challenge Cup final was in 1938, a feat that head coach Ian Watson and his men are aiming to repeat this Saturday when they travel to Wembley to face Leeds Rhinos on the big stage.
Salford’s last Challenge Cup Final appearance was in 1969, an unfortunate 11-6 defeat against Castleford Tigers, and Watson has made it clear that his side will not be going to Wembley just to fill the numbers.
Speaking recently, Watson revealed: “We’re not there to make the numbers up, we’ll be going there to win,” Watson added.
“We obviously know Leeds are a good team and they gave us a little bit of a beating this year, so we need to make sure we’re well schooled on what we need to prepare for to go against Leeds.
“But it’s a cup final – we’ve got plenty of players in there who’ve played in cup finals and know what it takes to win.”
Salford’s road to the final was not the smoothest, the Red Devils made it difficult for themselves against Catalans Dragons in the quarters.
12-0 down at half-time, Watson’s men pulled off an impressive comeback in the second forty to level the scoring, clinching a golden point winner through Dan Sarginson to progress into the semi-final.
Warrington Wolves awaited for Salford, who again came from behind to win in a game that they were favourites to lose.
The Red Devils managed to take the lead at the Totally Wicked Stadium for the first time just minutes before the final whistle, which was enough to edge the Wolves out and seal a place in the final.
Salford reached the semi-final stage in 2017 but had their hearts broken by Wigan Warriors, making the victory over Warrington even sweeter.
Now just 80 minutes away from lifting the elusive Challenge Cup trophy, all attention in the Salford camp is now on Leeds Rhinos, the last hurdle for Watson’s men.
Leeds’ journey to the final started with a comfortable 48-18 victory over Hull KR in the quarters.
The semi-final promised to be a more challenging bout as the Rhinos faced off against Wigan Warriors. Leeds’ quality was too much and they ran out 26-12 winners.
Leeds last won the Coral Challenge Cup in 2015, so will be keen to bring the trophy back to the Emerald Headingley Stadium again.
The Coral Challenge Cup Final between Salford Red Devils and Leeds Rhinos kicks off at 4.00pm on Saturday 17 October.
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