Wakefield Trinity Wildcats coach Chris Chester insists winning today with his hometown club would eclipse the heroics of last year, when he guided Hull KR to Wembley against all the odds.
Chester was in charge of the Robins as they downed Warrington 26-18 to reach the showpiece final, before losing 50-0 at Wembley against Leeds.
And almost 12 months to the day since that win at Headingley, Chester again faces the Wolves looking to cause another upset and reach the Challenge Cup final.
The Wildcats boss, a Wakefield fan growing up, told TotalRL that it would be the proudest moment of his coaching career.
“It would better it without a doubt,” he said.
“There’d be no prouder person than me to get Wakefield back to Wembley.
“I’ve got family going down to the game so there’s pressure there, but it’s nice pressure. I was very proud to get this job and it’d be even more humbling to walk out at Wembley with this group of players.”
Chester believes the fact Wakefield have already avoided a relegation scrap should ease the pressure on his side heading into the game – before insisting that just like last year, form means very little in a game of this magnitude.
“I think form goes out of the window at this stage: we proved that at Hull KR last year when we entered a semi-final off the back of a big derby defeat and managed to turn Warrington over in some style.
“It’s whoever turns up on the day; there’s no pressure on this group because we’ve consolidated our place in the top eight and we don’t have to worry about relegation, so we go there and we give it a real go.”
It has been suggested that Wakefield’s lack of big-game experience, particularly in the Challenge Cup, could be crucial in determining the outcome at Leigh on Saturday afternoon.
Chester, however, insisted his young squad will cope with the pressure of a major semi-final just fine.
He said: “My job as a head coach is to keep these guys as relaxed as possible and let me deal with all the press and the talking building up to it.
“The experience of the older lads will be key but the younger guys we’ve got are supremely level-headed, they’re very confident and they’ll be alright, don’t worry about that.”