Warrington star Ben Currie tearful with decade-long Old Trafford nightmare to end
Warrington Wolves star Ben Currie (right) all smiles alongside chairman Stuart Middleton (left) following their 2026 Super League play-off semi-final win at Leeds Rhinos
Warrington star Ben Currie has had to watch four sets of team-mates walk out at Old Trafford: but at long last, he will finally get his opportunity in this weekend’s Super League Grand Final against Wakefield.
Stalwart Currie made his first-team debut for Wire back in April 2012, and since then, the club have played in four Grand Finals.
He has been on the sidelines for every single one of those though, and now 32, will only get to make his Old Trafford bow come Saturday evening in what will be his 345th senior appearance for the Wolves.
As he does so, he’ll aim to help them earn their first-ever Super League Grand Final success and a first league title since 1955.
‘I’ve shed a tear in front of the lads and been emotional because if I wasn’t to win that trophy in my career, I’d probably see it as a failure’
Warrington have lost all four of their Old Trafford showdowns so far, first to Leeds Rhinos in 2012 and then to Wigan Warriors on three occasions in ’13, ’16 and ’18.
Speaking at Tuesday’s pre-Grand Final media day, veteran Currie explained: “Back in 2012, when I made my debut, I didn’t think I’d be sat here in 2026 having not win the trophy or not even played in a Grand Final.
“In 2012, I debuted that year and I only played four games so I was never really in contention to play.
“In 2013, I was the 18th man. We got a lot of injuries in that one and if the game then was how it is now, I probably would have come on as 18th man. But back then, you had no chance of playing as 18th man once the game started.
“2016 really hurt me. I’d played every game all season and made the Dream Team, but I did my ACL two weeks before the final. Unfortunately, we won the League Leaders’ Shield and then got to the Grand Final, but I couldn’t be a part of it.
“In 2018, I did my second ACL early on in the season, so I knew I was never going to be involved in it.
“Every time, you see the emotion of the lads and that feeling afterwards when you’re in the changing room having lost a Grand Final, no one wants to talk. I don’t want that feeling come Saturday.”
Warrington finished third in the regular season this year and have had to overcome both Hull KR and Leeds to reach this weekend’s showpiece.
The semi-final win at Leeds provoked a range of emotions for Currie, who admitted: “Personally, I’ve shed a tear in front of the lads and been emotional because if I wasn’t to win that trophy in my career, I’d probably see it as a failure.
“That guides me and I’ve got a quote on my peg called ‘the fear of failure‘. I don’t want to have that feeling when I retire and finish up, so this is the first chance I’m going to get at Old Trafford.
“Hopefully there’ll be many more chances to play here after this as well, but this is my first chance to reach that goal.”
‘I’ve been at the club 15 years now and I’ve not managed to deliver that trophy to the town, so I put a lot of internal pressure on myself’
Lowton-born Currie was named in the Super League Dream Team this season and has never represented another club, barring three loan appearances made for Swinton Lions between 2013 and 2014.
The 11-time England international also has three Ireland caps on his CV, and said: “Warrington have not won the Grand Final and this is the trophy they’ve been chasing for so many years.
“I’ve been at the club 15 years now and I’ve not managed to deliver that trophy to the town, so I put a lot of internal pressure on myself.
“I’ve sat in pre-seasons for 15 years now and we’ve always set the goal to be the team that changes that. It’s not quite happened, but this team of 2026 now have given ourselves an opportunity to make it happen.
“We’ve given ourselves a chance to be that team, and that’s all it is at the minute. We’ve got to go and take it now.”
Golborne Parkside junior has so far scored eight tries this term to take his career tally up to 115, with 362 career appearances made to date.
He added: “In the last four Grand Finals Warrington have been in, they’ve been leading in all four of them but they haven’t managed to get over the line.
“They’ve always been close but not quite been there. It’s hard to put one thing on it, but hopefully the experience they’ve brought into the squad this year can steer us in the right direction.
“When you speak to your family… I look my mum and dad, my missus and my kids in the eyes, and naturally you do get emotional around games like this. I’m just trying my best to keep it as normal as possible.”
