Joe Westerman insists that confidence levels at Warrington are not wavering – despite two damaging defeats in the space of a month which could see two trophies slip through their fingers.
The Wolves initially bounced back well from their Challenge Cup final defeat to Hull FC last month, winning back-to-back games to put the race for the League Leader’s Shield in their own hands.
But after a dramatic collapse against Wigan last week, the Wolves are now faced with the prospect of having to win at Hull in tonight’s cup final rematch to secure top spot.
Yet Westerman, who played at Wembley and is a former Hull player, believes that Warrington are more than capable of getting the job done once and for all this evening.
“We’re confident as a group, he said. “The boys are still buzzing.
“We know what we’ve got to do. You don’t want to be going through a season where you can win every cup and end up not winning any.
“We just want to get it won on Friday and get on the other side of it and feel a little bit of what they felt in the Challenge Cup.
“I think we showed for the first 60 minutes of the final that, if you shut them down, we can do a job on them.”
Westerman believes Hull’s real threat lies in the shape of captain Gareth Ellis – who the forward has backed to win the Man of Steel award this year after being named on the three-man shortlist.
“He’s probably one of the greatest leaders and blokes that I’ve ever played with,” Westerman said. “He’s not only the nicest bloke you’ll meet, who will do anything for you, but when he’s on the field he’s one of the best players I’ve played with.
“Him and Danny Houghton have been outstanding this year. He does every little thing right, on and off the field, he’s just a terrific bloke and has led from the front. He’s got to be Man of Steel.”
