Kris Radlinski reveals Wigan dressing room talk after going through biggest Challenge Cup shock
KRIS Radlinski admits he warned Wigan not to be too cocky as they aim to end a nine-year Challenge Cup drought.
He should know what it can cause after being part of the biggest shock of all time.
But they have the backing of another great as they look to triumph at Tottenham, Martin Offiah.
The Warriors look to win their first Challenge Cup since 2013 by taking on Huddersfield on Saturday – and there can be no presumptions of success.
Then star player, now executive director, Radlinski knows exactly what that can cause after being defeated by Sheffield Eagles in the 1998 final.
So he revealed he told the class of 2022 as soon as they defeated three-times Super League champions and cup holders St Helens in the semi-finals to forget any thoughts of the job being done.
He said: “I played in the famous one when Sheffield Eagles beat us.
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“I spoke to the team in the dressing room after we won the semi-final and said, ‘If you go into a cup final, you go to win.’
“Perhaps we prepared as favourites for that game, we need to prepare as underdogs. Huddersfield beat is in Super League a couple of weeks ago and they‘re a very well drilled team.
“It will take a hell of a game to beat them.”
Wigan and the Challenge Cup go hand in hand after a record 19 triumphs – as does the cup and Offiah after a try in 1994’s final so famous, it is immortalised in a statue outside Wembley.
He may have quipped to laughter about the year in Tottenham: “I won’t get to see it. That will be a bit of a detour!”
But he admitted the team of today should take the opportunity before them like he did, even though there was expectation after a then world record £440,000 transfer.
Offiah, chose to narrate a poem written by celebrated Tony ‘Longfella’ Walsh in a seven-minute film released to mark Wigan’s 150th anniversary, said: “There was a lot of pressure.
“Wigan had won the cup for four years and Maurice Lindsay had spent a lot of money but it was an opportunity to make history.
“That’s what Wigan have again in their 150th year after Maurice’s passing, so you feel like it’s a moment in history.
“But life is about opportunities – you get them and you either make the most of them or you don’t.
“And it’s not just about the Martin Offiahs, the Ellery Hanleys or the Shaun Edwardses – every team needs a player like Billy McGinty or Mick Cassidy.
“People may just see the tries or the performances on the pitch but they don’t see the things Matt Peet and the boys go through – the ups and the downs.
“This final feels like a moment in time.”