Siddal star Freddy Walker believes his side can inflict more misery on League One opposition this afternoon.
The National Conference League side face unbeaten Rochdale this afternoon, with the prize at stake a potential clash with Super League opposition in the next round.
Walker helped Siddal dump Newcastle Thunder out of the fourth round of the Challenge Cup, scoring a try in an emphatic 30-4 victory over their higher league opponents.
Although the odds are heavily stacked against Siddal, Walker insists they have what it takes to produce another shock.
“We’re all pumped up for it,” he said. “It’s a big game for us. We put a performance in against Newcastle Thunder and we feel like we stand a bit of a chance.
“We don’t know a great deal about Rochdale. We’ve seen a few video clips, but we know they’re a higher end Championship One club. But I don’t think we should write ourselves off. We’ve got to have faith in ourselves and believe we can beat them.
“Everybody would like to play a Super League club. It might be a different ball game then as there’s a big difference, but it would be something for everyone to talk about and it would be good for our profile.”
Walker has previous experience of the Championship leagues following spells at Halifax and Swinton. Having spent last year with Siddal, he believes they would be a force in League One if handed the opportunity.
“I don’t think there’s much different in the standard having played at that level. I certainly think we’d finish mid-table. We beat Newcastle 30 points to four and I felt like we still had more to come because we haven’t really had a massive pre-season.”
The 23-year-old was part of the England Lions team last year, a squad that has produced a number of high-profile stars in the past. With previous experience at Championship level, the lure of returning to those heights might be too tempting for Walker down the line. But for now, he is enjoying life in the amateur scene.
“I definitely want to see the season out for Siddal,” he said. “I played in the England Lions squad last season and this year we go on tour to South America. I want to have a good season and go on that. I enjoyed playing last year for Siddal and because I got more game time I actually enjoyed it more than I did playing at Championship clubs. It gets your name out there if you put in a good performance and everyone would probably take that opportunity, but at the minute I’m enjoying playing for Siddal.”
