Wigan Warriors hooker Micky McIlorum insists his team are ready to take on high-flying Castleford Tigers in the quarter-final of the Challenge Cup at DW Stadium on Saturday (2.30pm).
In what is anticipated to be one of the games of the season so far, McIlorum believes Wigan will use the disappointment of losing to Huddersfield Gants in their last match as motivation to progress in the Cup.
“We are going into the game off the back of a bad result,” said McIlorum. “But we will turn that around into a positive and make sure it makes us even more determined to win on Saturday.”
Castleford beat the Warriors 36-31 in Round 4 of the Super League but McIlorum is hoping it will be his team who are celebrating when the whistle blows at the end of the game on Saturday.
“Castleford are obviously doing really well this season and they showed that when they got the win earlier on in the year,” said McIlorum.
“I’m sure they will be up for the game but so are we, we are ready and prepared to get to the semi-final.”
With a history of success in Rugby League’s oldest and most prestigious competition, McIlorum acknowledges that there is a lot of pressure on the holders, but is hoping they will be retaining the Challenge Cup in their trophy cabinet.
“Wigan have a lot of history in the Challenge Cup and we want to win it again this year, we proved we could do the double last year and we want to that again this year,” he said.
“I’ve won the Challenge Cup twice both of which have been special and I definitely want to repeat those experiences.
“One of the reasons you play for Wigan Warriors is to be involved in the big games like this and I am sure Saturday will be a great day in the Challenge Cup. I’m sure the Cas fans will be making plenty of noise so we need our fans to be even louder to create a great atmosphere and hopefully we will get the win for them.”
