SAM POWELL knows better than most the difference that George Williams can make.
So it’s no surprise the hooker has his “fingers crossed” that the Warrington Wolves captain will win his race against time and play in Saturday’s Challenge Cup final against Hull KR.
The pair were team-mates at Wigan Warriors for seven years and reunited when Powell joined the Wire ahead of last season.
And having won two Grand Finals (2016 and 2018) together, along with the 2017 World Club Challenge, this weekend could bring more shared success – if Williams plays.
The halfback ruptured ankle ligaments in mid-April against Hull FC. Initially given a ten-week recovery timetable after surgery, Williams is attempting to do it in seven – and coach Sam Burgess says he’s “on track” to achieve that.
It would be an almighty boost to a Warrington side that, for all their Challenge Cup exploits, have struggled for consistency in selection and performances all season.
“He’s massive for us,” says Powell, who is bidding to win his first final after losing twice at Wembley (2017 and 2023) and being suspended for Wigan’s 2022 triumph at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“He’s our captain and our leader. On his day he’s one of the best, if not the best, player in the league. It’s going to be tough but hopefully he can make it.”
Powell believes Williams’ absence, along with other spine players including ruled-out fellow hooker Danny Walker, has been the crucial factor in losing more Super League games than they have won this year.
He says: “The big thing has been the changes in our spine. Sneydy (Marc Sneyd) came in and he’s been exceptional, but George got injured, Danny put his hand up and did a great job and then he got injured.
“If you mix the spine up in any good team like we’ve had, there’s going to be disruption and you’re always going to struggle to find results.
“In defence it shouldn’t be too bad, but with the ball it mixes things up altogether. The way certain halfbacks play, the backrowers get their timing off them, our fullback Dufts (Matt Dufty) gets his timing off them.
“Our spine has been one in, one out all season. I’m hoping we’ll get George back next week and we can have a bit of stability in there.
“When Dufts is fit, George is fit and Sneydy’s fit, and when Danny’s fit, there’s definitely some strike there.”
Powell and Williams were both involved last season when Warrington failed to fire against Wigan and fell to an 8-18 defeat.
They were among a small number of Wolves players to have previously featured in major finals, but now the majority of the line-up on Saturday will have past experience.
“We played the game like we had ten or twelve lads who hadn’t played in a final,” believes Powell.
“It was like lads were over-trying at times. We didn’t get into a rhythm. You hope we learn from that experience, and the disappointment of last year, as a team.
“Then it’s about having good leadership and rolling into this week, taking the lessons from last year and hopefully being a better team for it.
“From my experience, I haven’t won a Challenge Cup playing, but I also lost my first two Grand Finals before I won. I wouldn’t say you have to lose one to win one.
“At the end of the day it’s a game of rugby. There’s a lot of stuff going on around it but when the ball is kicked it’s a game of rugby. It’s just about doing the basics really well.
“It needs to be our best defensive performance of the year. It’s easy to say that, but they are red-hot so we will be underdogs.
“But we’ll work hard this week and we’ll give it a crack. We’ll try to deliver out best performance and I think we can do that.”
