Tyrone McCarthy hopes his experience in the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup will see Hull Kingston Rovers into the semi-finals when they take on Catalans Dragons on Thursday at the KC Lightstream Stadium.
McCarthy, who won the Challenge Cup twice with his hometown club Warrington Wolves, has taken over the reins as Rovers skipper following the season-ending injury to Terry Campese.
The 27-year-old, who joined Hull KR in 2015 after a year with Northern Pride in Australia, hopes his experience in this competition can provide Rovers with a semi-final spot for the first time since 2006.
“It’s a massive occasion for the club. It will be even more special if we were to make it to the last four,” said McCarthy.
“I think my experience in the Cup will help us, but everyone in the squad knows that they have to perform on the day in a knock-out scenario.
“A semi-final appearance would be great for the club and fingers crossed we can get the win on Thursday.”
Hull KR entertain Catalans on Thursday night for the third time this season, with Rovers defeating the Dragons at the KC Lightstream Stadium in March and Catalans gaining revenge in Perpignan in Round 12.
McCarthy, who made only his fourth career appearance for Warrington in the 2009 Cup final, ranks scoring at Wembley in the 2012 final as one of the highlights of his career.
“Scoring at Wembley is definitely up there with my best achievements in the game,” he said.
“It’s always any player’s dream to play at Wembley from when you’re young, but to also get over the white line in a final was even more special to be a part of history.
“We know what Catalans’ threats are. They probably have the in-form back row in the competition with players like Elliot Whitehead and Zeb Taia, and they’ve got Scott Dureau running things for them in the middle.
“We’re looking to do a job on them, and we need to turn up with the right attitude if we want to be in the hat for the semi-finals.”
