WIGAN WARRIORS’ long-serving co-captain Vicky Molyneux admits there was an unusual sense of belief within the squad ahead of their Wembley debut.
Molyneux was part of the BBC presenting team as St Helens played Leeds in the showpiece final last year, but 12 months on she was experiencing the day from a different perspective, admitting after the 42-6 win against Saints that it was a day she’ll never forget.
“Denis (Betts – coach), the girls, the staff – everyone – knows what today means to me, so I’m just going to enjoy every minute of this win,” said the 37-year-old.
“I haven’t really got the words to describe it. The minute walk out onto the Wembley pitch, even in a near empty stadium, fills you with emotion straight away because there is just an atmosphere around it.
“I signed for this club in 2019, and I’ve never beaten Saints, so to do it today feels really good. They’re a tough team, who are inundated with internationals, a physical team with experienced athletes.
“I got asked during the week ‘Did you ever believe this would happen?’ Obviously, if I looked a long time ago, never would I have believed that I would play at Wembley. But did I believe that we’d do the job today? 100 per cent, we felt ready and looked ready.
“I am usually a very nervous person but I actually felt okay, which was a bit unnerving. Grace (Banks) usually gets very nervous too, but she felt really relaxed today, and I said, ‘it’s because we’re ready’.
“We knew that if every single one of us went out there and left everything on the pitch and trusted what we do in training every week then it could be a good day.
“You can only back your defence and take your chances when they come, and we did that. We kept it simple; we were clinical and we trusted the process.
“Denis told us before the game to remind ourselves that we deserved this and we really did feel that.
“We can be humble in our answers when asked about our performance, but we 100 percent deserved that today and won’t take a backward step saying that. We were the better side by far.”