Ellis: Lifting cup was career highlight

Gareth Ellis says lifting the Challenge Cup after beating Warrington last season was the proudest moment of his career.

Hull begin the defence of their trophy against Catalan on Friday, although Ellis will miss the game through injury.

“Without any disregard to my Grand Final victories and international caps, lifting the Challenge Cup trophy as the captain of Hull FC was the highlight of my career – I’ve never felt a level of happiness and joy like it,” he told The 18th Man.

“When the final whistle blew, it really sunk in that we had won the Challenge Cup Final and that was one of the best feelings in my entire life.

“The whole experience on that day will live with me for the rest of my life and to share it with the players I did made it so much more special.”

The Airlie Birds defeated Catalan at the quarter-final stage last season, but Ellis admits the Dragons are more than capable of causing his teammates problems.

“They’ve got big, strong, aggressive forwards that carry the ball really well,” he added. “But we’re not too small ourselves and we need to showcase our physicality against their pack.

“We’ve got size, power and ability, but so have they so we can’t get too complacent.”