Wigan must put cup final to the back of their minds

James Gordon

Wigan coach Shaun Wane says his players must put their Wembley date to the back of their minds ahead of their Super 8s opener at Leeds on Friday.

The Warriors set up a Challenge Cup final date against Hull FC with victory over Salford on Sunday.

However, attention quickly turns back to their chase for a Super League play-off place.

A below average season by their standards sees them three points off the top four places, with 14 points to play for.

Wane told the club’s official website: “We’ve got Leeds in a massive game at Headingley on Friday so we’ll move onto them.

“Because of circumstances earlier in the season we have to go there and we have to get two points.”

Wigan beat a youthful Leeds side 34-0 in their last Super League outing, and the Rhinos were beaten by Hull in their cup semi-final on Saturday.

While Wigan have work to do to secure their top four place, Leeds go in to the Super 8s with a four point cushion, having won 15 of their 23 league games so far – five more than Wigan.