The luckless cup final run Sam Powell is desperate to end

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2 days ago

Sam Powell is preparing to play in his third Challenge Cup Final although he has been part of extended squads for two others (Image: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)
IF he was forced to retire tomorrow, Sam Powell could be pretty happy with his lot.
A 13-year career at the top level of the game has seen him win pretty much everything there is to win – but there is one box left to tick.
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For all he has achieved in the game, the Challenge Cup Final has not been kind to the 32-year-old as he has never been on the field for a victory in it.
As his latest chance to change that arrives, the drive to do so is pretty clear – and not just for rugby reasons.
'I'd certainly enjoy it,' he said.
'I've not actually played in a Challenge Cup Final and won it yet for one reason or another, whether it's being injured, banned, not picked or just being on the losing side.
'I've lost in a couple of them so it's one I really want to get my hands on.
'The opportunity for me to take my girls down there and see me win at Wembley is one I really want.'
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As he alludes to, Lady Luck has thrown all sorts of things at the experienced hooker when it comes to this time of year.
In his 12 years with hometown club Wigan Warriors, he was part of two Challenge Cup-winning squads in 2013 and 2022 but for the former final, he was not selected as he still worked his way towards being a first-team regular but for the latter, he was serving the final game of a six-match suspension.
Sam Powell was suspended for Wigan's 2022 Challenge Cup Final victory (Image: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com) He was on the Wembley field in 2017 as his Wigan side lost to Hull FC and upon joining Warrington Wolves last year, he was again part of a defeat as he endured the pain of watching his former teammates lift the trophy.
That came after a Wire performance that was uncharacteristically poor compared to what they had been producing throughout the year, and that remains the low point of Powell's first year in primrose and blue.
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However, the man who has assumed more responsibility of late due to regular starting nine Danny Walker's ankle injury says the team – still largely unchanged from last year – will be better for what they went through.
On Saturday when they step onto the hallowed turf alongside Hull KR, their chance at redemption arrives.
'Our biggest disappointment last season was getting to Wembley and not performing like we had done all season,' he said.
'We looked like a team that was inexperienced and we played like one but that can only stand us in good stead.
'We haven't had a massive turnover of players so hopefully it holds us in a good place for the bigger games like this one.
'As a player, you think 'I've been here before, I've just got to do my job.'
Powell in action during last year's Challenge Cup Final (Image: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)