Castleford Tigers full-back Luke Dorn is excited about the prospect of tackling Tetley’s Challenge Cup holders Wigan Warriors at DW Stadium, in what will be a “magical” quarter-final tie on Saturday (2.30pm).
The Australian, whose hat-trick at the weekend extended his impressive recent try-scoring record to 12 from his last nine matches, feels a special affinity with the competition as Castleford look to win the Challenge Cup for the first time since 1986.
“We didn’t get a great deal of English games when I was over in Australia but I always remember the Challenge Cup,” said Dorn. “That was the one that always made it back to Australia.
“There used to be a highlights package on the news and it always seemed such a magical thing.
“We don’t have knock-out competitions in Australia in Rugby League and everything about it just seemed really interesting and exciting.
“They had the big old fat ball that they used to play with as well, and since I have been over here in England I have had a real affinity with the Cup. I couldn’t be prouder if we progressed.”
Castleford occupy third place in the Super League table, just two points from top spot, and Dorn wants to see his side continue their impressive form into the quarter-final clash against the current Cup holders.
“We’re confident that we can do well against Wigan, we have performed well against all of the teams this year,” said Dorn. “We’re coming up against a great team in front of what will be a big crowd at a great venue, so we are very excited about it.
“Obviously they are a big team and in the Cup you probably want to play the lower teams for as long as you can, but there are a lot of adages that say you have got to play the best teams to win it
“You want to play the best and you want to beat the best, and we’ll be ready for it.
“People speak about the magic of the Cup – the importance of a one-off game and the team that we are opposing will just generate that big atmosphere and feeling about the game. It’ll make it very exciting.
“They are probably the favourites but if we can get a performance at about where we set our standards then we can have a good crack and we’ll see where we are at, at the end of the game.”
