Two Hornets v Warrington memories stick in my mind.

30 years ago this month I saw them beat Hornets in the 1973/74 John Player Trophy final at Wigan. And on Easter Monday 1976 (I think)I saw them absolutely tonk Hornets at Wilderspool - but the moment of the game for me came just after the half time hooter. With the ball still in play, the Warrington players turned to leave the field and Alan Hodgkinson walked the ball under the posts for a try.

And we’ll need that sort of fortuitous luck this weekend if we are to pose a serious hurdle on Warrington’s Cup odyssey.

Without doubt the Wolves are on the up. With the passion of Paul Cullen at the helm, their move to the Halliwell Jones Stadium, the return of talismanic Lee Briers from niggling long term injury and a genuine frisson of expectation in Rugby League circles, people are whispering that this could be Warrington’s year.

And Cullen has the side to push the ‘big four’ all the way this time.

With the mercurial Briers as the fulcrum, he’s built his side around around a mobile pack that’s big on grunt and experience. Warrington stalwart Mark Hilton is joined by hard-running new props Chris Leikvoll and Danny Lima.

The guile in the pack is provided by the vastly experienced MIke Forshaw who marked his debut last week by offloading more than any other forward on the field. Obviously one to keep a close eye on.

Briers is joined at halfback by Nathan Wood who carved his own little niche in RL history last week by scoring the first try at the Wolves’ new home. Add the livewire Graham Appo at fullback and you have a very good side packed with attacking options.

Interestingly, Rugby League World magazine earmarked Richard Varkulis as the Warrington player most likely to have an impact this season. And he has - for us!

There was always good odds that Bobbie Goulding would have come up against one of his old sides - and he’ll be keen to test his mettle against one of the best emerging British coaches in the game.

The Bobster’s stated several times that he’s big on defence - and his strategy will be stretched to the max on Saturday. The signs against Keighley were that the defensive line is gathering steel by the week. Indeed, that Keighley scored two of their tries from kicks indicates that there were few other routes through the Hornets line.

In props Lee Hansen and Andy Leathem, Hornets have plenty of raw go-forward. Andy Gorski provides the aggressive horse-power from the second row. Throw Mark Costello’s Sculthorpe-esque approach into the mix and you have a pack capable of taking defences backwards.

The battle between Lee Briers and Sam Butterworth should be worth the admission money alone. As the finished article comes up against the raw product, it should provide a masterclass in creative half-back play. Indeed, Sam Butt. provides Lee Birdseye with the space he needs to pick his passes and the time he needs to measure his kicks.

Ultimately, it’s always good for players to measure themselves against the best Saturday provides an opportunity for Hornets to step up a level, see what we’re made of and probably learn some lessons that will make us a better side in the coming weeks.

It will be an entertaining and challenging contest - and a rare opportunity to see Hornets give it a go against Super League opposition. An upset? Probably not, but certainly a very important step on ‘New Hornets’ learning curve. And if the lads give 100% and make Warrington think a bit on the way, we’ll have nothing to complain about.

Games like this are what we all get into Rugby League for. Big Cup tie, big crowd, big visitors with big expectations. Rochdale Hornets v Warrington in the Rugby League Challenge Cup - could it get any better?

It’ll be a cracker - get there early!