CATALANS DRAGONS are making the Challenge Cup a major focus this season as they bid to return to Wembley for the first time since their historic triumph of 2018.
Joel Tomkins’ side head to St Helens on Friday for their quarter-final, after having beaten Championship sides Batley Bulldogs and Oldham in the previous two rounds.
While Catalans reached the first final at the new Wembley in 2007 – losing 30-8 to Saints – and became the first non-English Cup winners when they beat Warrington Wolves eight years ago, those two visits remain their sole involvement in the showpiece.
Indeed, last season’s semi-final run – they were beaten 36-12 by Hull KR in York – was their first since 2018, when they defeated St Helens at the last-four stage.
Cup-winning coach Steve McNamara left little more than a week after that Robins defeat, with Tomkins stepping up to take his place.
“It’s always a priority,” said Tomkins, a 2011 Challenge Cup winner as a player with Wigan Warriors.
“We see this as a definite opportunity. Any chance you have an opportunity to get to Wembley and take silverware, it’s a huge focus.
“I think it’s a focus for all the Super League teams, because it’s much easier to win than the League Leaders’ or the Grand Final.
“There’s a bit of luck involved, the luck of the draw, and then they’re all last-chance games, knockout rugby.
“Everybody’s hoping for a decent draw and hoping they can get themselves into the big game at the end.”
Catalans will be without Alrix Da Costa, their most frequent starting hooker this season, due to a calf injury suffered in the recent Super League defeat to Hull FC.