ST HELENS fullback Beri Salihi has said games like the one she’ll face on Saturday was part of the draw of returning to the club.
The 18-year-old was originally part of the Saints Academy set-up before the chance came for first team rugby at rivals Wigan.
After impressing for the Warriors last season, coach Matty Smith acted quickly to bring her back to St Helens, and for Salihi victory at Wembley would really put the icing on the cake of being home.
“I watched the final on TV last year and said then ‘I want to be playing with this team’, so I am excited to play there this time,” said Salihi who has cemented her spot in the number-one shirt since returning to the Totally Wicked Stadium.
“I always wanted to play in semi-finals and finals and I knew that coming to Saints would give me the opportunities to play in those sorts of games and improve me as a player.
“All the girls are buzzing about being back at Wembley and the younger girls I know through playing rugby union have been telling me what it was like and how good it was last year. That’s just making me more excited to go there and experience it for myself.”
Saints are so far the only team to beat Leeds this season, winning 12-6 when the sides met in round four of Super League.
But for Salihi, her side cannot expect a similar outcome when the sides meet again as Saints look to make it four Challenge Cup final victories in a row.
“It was a tough game and we have to take how well we defended out of that and into the final,” added Salihi.
“We’ll have to defend with intent and run with intent. If we can do that again I think we can come away with the win.
“It’s my first final and I really want to win it, but I also want to help the others girls win it for a fourth time in a row and it’s really exciting to be a part of that.”
