Phil Clarke: Challenge Cup final could impact Hull and Warrington

Phil Clarke

Rugby League Expert & Columnist

Wednesday 31 August 2016 15:47, UK

Phil Clarke reflects on last weekend's Challenge Cup final and pays his respects to Leeds Rhinos president Harry Jepson...

That's what you call a final. Drama up to the dying seconds and a game that showcased the best things in rugby league. It was a match that had moments that will never be forgotten, the birth of some new Wembley legends.

Congratulations to Hull FC. We first saw their ability to come from behind this season when they beat Hull KR on Good Friday. Without winning that day, I doubt whether they would have won at Wembley.

The line between success and failure, if coming runners-up is a failure, is so narrow.

Once again, Warrington were unlucky with injuries. In the 2013 Grand Final they lost Joel Monaghan and Stefan Ratchford, last Saturday it was Kurt Gidley and Ben Westwood.

I know that it's impossible to say exactly why a team lost, but the departure of their most experienced half-back didn't help as the Hull revival gained momentum. Despite what most coaches say, you need some 'luck' to win in sport.

With less than 40 days until the Grand Final, do the two Cup final teams have enough left in them to do it all again at Old Trafford?

There was an iconic sporting picture at the end of the Cup final which showed almost every Warrington player lying on the floor, a combination of exhaustion and depression.

In contrast the Hull players stood like statues in shock, disbelief and delight. It was as if their team bus had just been in a very serious road accident and they'd all miraculously survived and walked away from the incident alive.

Not only will the intensity of the match and the weather conditions have drained both sets of players, the emotional toll is the one that I think will be the most taxing.

I don't think that either team will win this week, but what about after that?

We often see in sport that players and athletes change their passion for glory when they've enjoyed a little bit of success. They stop doing the little, painful, unnoticed things which had helped them to make them successful in the first place.

Will a Wembley winner's medal stop Hull players from pressuring the opposition kicker, tracking back to help a teammate on a kick return, running in support of a ball carrier even when you think it is unlikely you'll get the ball? The biggest challenge Hull face right now isn't a physical one, it's a mental one. Do they still have the same hunger?

Some people have said that Marc Sneyd's kicking was the difference between the two teams at Wembley, and I agree his kicks in the second half were outstanding, but I think it was Hull's catching - not kicking - that helped them lift the Cup.

Steve Michaels and Jamie Shaul collected some towering kicks in difficult situations and demonstrated skill and bravery near to their own try line.

Plus, Danny Houghton is a tackling machine. Even after the try-saver on Ben Currie, he pulled off two more impressive tackles on Stefan Ratchford and Matthew Russell when the Wolves were launching their final kick return and searching for a tired defender and a quick play-the-ball.

What about the Wolves? Can they recover?

I've always felt that going to a Cup final or Grand Final is a bit like going to a casino. You take with you everything that you have worked for over an entire year. You stand at the roulette table and place it all on red or black. All of the sacrifices you've made and the pain you've endured are thrown into a single game. You either win big or lose everything. There is no in-between.

The other gamblers got a rest last weekend but get to show us their hands again this week. Watching one great final has made me even more excited about the next and I can't wait for October 8.