Carvell hungry for Cup glory

Correspondent

Garreth Carvell has stated he’s hungry for Challenge Cup glory as the Wolves seek to win their third Challenge Cup in a row.

The 31-year-old England prop already has three Cup final shirts and winners medals framed on a wall at home but Carvell admits he’s determined to add more and won’t let Wigan stand in his way, when the side’s clash in next week’s mouth-watering Carnegie Challenge Cup quarter final clash at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Saturday, July 23 (4.30pm)

“The Challenge Cup has been quite good to me to be honest and it would be fantastic if we got to the final again,” he said. “My three winners medals and Cup final shirts are framed and take pride of place on a wall at home and they give me some fantastic memories when I look at them.

“But I want that wall to be full! I want to be framing more shirts and winners medals.”

Carvell has been on the winning side for the last two years with Warrington and also has a 2005 winners medal from Hull’s 25-24 win over his first club Leeds, but he’s also experienced the emotions that come with losing, having played in Hull’s defeat to St Helens in the 2008 final.

“You can never take those memories away,” said Carvell. “The experience of hearing that final whistle, knowing you have won the Cup, is one of the best feelings ever.

“It is something very special and it would be brilliant if we could get to Wembley again – it would be my fourth final in a row.

“However it is terrible getting a losers medal and having to watch the winning team go up and get the Cup. I don’t like to keep those sort of memories, but they do really stick with you and make you more determined.”

The televised quarter-final clash between Super League‘s top two teams will make a fantastic showpiece and Carvell knows that the Super League champions pose a real threat and that defeat will consign the losing team to only one glory bid this season in Super League. But Carvell is determined to bring down the Warriors in the League as well as the Cup.

“We have beaten them once this season but the Challenge Cup is different – it’s do or die,” he said. “If you don’t perform on the day you are out for another year. If you make a mistake it can be ‘good night and God bless’.

“I don’t know if it’s a good or a bad thing getting Wigan at this stage but that’s the beauty of the Cup draw. It will certainly be a fantastic quarter final.

“When I joined Warrington the goal was to start winning trophies and we’ve managed to win the Cup two years on the bounce,” he added. “But we’ve been disappointed with our League position over the last couple of years and this season we want to go one better and try and win both the Cup and the Grand Final.

“Everything is in place, with our attitude and work ethic, and hopefully this is going to be the year of the Wolves.”