SOME almost unspoken traditions of Challenge Cup week were three minutes away from being permanently consigned to the past.
Warrington had almost played down their involvement in the Wembley final with no send-off – much to the disappointment of some fans – no cup final suits and not even a shirt presentation on the eve of the game.
For 77 minutes, their approach had worked almost perfectly. In a game that turned into a real arm wrestle, largely down to the teeming rain which helped Marc Sneyd’s kicking game come firmly to the fore, Warrington defied the odds that had seen Hull KR as heavy favourites as 1/4 pre-game.
They didn’t deserve to lose the game in the way that they did, but as hooker Sam Powell said to me afterwards, that’s sport – it’s cruel sometimes.
Not least for young winger Arron Lindop, whose split-second decision to try and shovel the ball dead in-goal rather than intentionally ground it (an unintended torso is simply not enough to be deemed to have grounded the ball in your own in-goal) unfortunately cost his side victory.
They rolled their sleeves up from the start and put in the sort of workmanlike performance that was an absolute basic of Sam Burgess’ armoury in his playing days, and one that is clearly evident within the team he coaches in the main.
Ben Currie and Luke Yates set their stall out in the opening exchanges with some big one-on-one tackles, and by the end it was almost impossible not to feel sorry for Yates, who put in a typically tireless performance but ended up on the losing side for his third successive Wembley appearance.
The return of George Williams never felt like a gamble, and he looked lively early doors, linking up well with Matt Dufty on the right-hand side. The change in the weather meant any slick ball-handling moves were at a premium, though one neat move left almost created something for Lindop on the left.
Instead it was down to Sneyd to take control of the game, and his kicking game kept Hull KR at arm’s length for large parts. Even when Powell went right to Williams instead of left, much to Sneyd’s frustration, a neat Williams chip kick enabled Dufty to force a drop-out.
Drop-outs weren’t always the positive they usually are, with on at least three occasions, the receiving team not managing to claim them. Lindop let one bounce out, Sneyd himself found touch with an excellent kick when under some Hull KR pressure, and the Robins were able to regather a short effort of their own.
It’s hard to look back at the game and think of exact moments in it when Warrington could have done anything differently. The conditions made for a low-scoring game, perhaps further evidenced by the tryless 1895 Cup final that followed, and even Warrington’s own try was fortuitous, a lucky ricochet off Jez Litten’s foot spinning in to the arms of Josh Thewlis looked for a while like being the decisive moment of the 2025 final.
Maybe the spark of Danny Walker at hooker could have made the difference or maybe if Dufty hadn’t played 20 minutes with a serious facial injury that eventually forced him off, there may have been an alternative gamebreaking moment.
As it was, Mikey Lewis stepped up with the conversion to break Warrington hearts and deny a tenth Challenge Cup title.
But in many ways, the Challenge Cup is not the one Warrington really want. They’ve appeared in eight of the last 21 finals, winning four of them, albeit it’s now six years since the last one.
It’s the elusive league title that they crave, and their wait since one of them is 30 years greater than even the wait Hull KR ended for a major trophy on Saturday.
While they did push the current Super League leaders all the way, Warrington’s league form has been uninspiring this season and there’s doubt even whether they can make the play-offs full stop, let alone go all the way to Old Trafford and end that wait.
And when the dust settles on this latest Wembley disappointment, addressing how they can get closer to meeting that challenge will be the main priority.