Winning Wolves so relaxed

Warrington head coach Tony Smith is hoping his side's experience of winning the Challenge Cup last month will boost their bid to reach the Grand Final for the first time.

The Wolves kick off their play-offs campaign at St Helens on Friday night and victory would take them to within a game of Old Trafford.

Warrington missed out on the play-offs last season after also lifting the Challenge Cup and Smith reckons that with silverware already banked, they can relax and enjoy the 'finals'.

Smith told Sky Sports News: "The more you are exposed to situations and some of those pressurised games, it becomes more the norm and people can play their normal game.

"If you start to build them up as if you've got to be extra-special or extra-human in those games - well that's not the case.

"It's when you can relax enough not to freeze and make errors and you can relax enough to play good rugby league. But that comes with experience. And that comes with the experience of playing in those perceived bigger games. Hopefully we are finding that, but time will tell."

Whatever Warrington's fate in the play-offs, Smith is determined to see it as a positive experience.

He added: "We are improving, we are enjoying the journey that we've had this year. We are exposing ourselves to the finals series and last year we didn't. That will be a good experience for us.

"Whether we are good enough to continue improving through that, or we lose and learn some lessons from it... either way we will be better for it."