Hull desperate for Wembley return

Hull FC boss Lee Radford says his team will do everything they can to secure a return visit to Wembley this season.

The Arlie Birds host Catalan on Friday in the sixth round of the Challenge Cup, aiming to keep hold of the trophy they won by beating Warrington in 2016.

“This week is our first game of knock-out rugby – we’ve spoken all the way through pre-season and the campaign so far about being at our best for knock-out rugby and that is the plan,” Radford told the Hull Daily Mail.

“We’re happy with where we’re at, but we know that there’s still so much more to come from this group.”

Club chairman Adam Pearson is also keen to repeat last year’s success and has called on the club’s fans to create a special atmosphere against the Dragons to inspire the players to more glory.

“It was such an amazing day last year at Wembley and my proudest moment in sport – when you think about that day and the celebrations that followed in the city, how can you not want that again?” said Pearson.

“We have as good a squad as anyone around and the competition is wide open this year. We’ve a good chance, as do others, and we’re determined to keep hold of the trophy and give the city something to celebrate again this year.

“The cup is vital and massively important to us and we want to establish ourselves as a club that is not just challenging but regularly winning trophies, and we’ll be doing everything we can to be back at Wembley.

“To do that we’ll need the fans right behind us and I’m hoping they turn up in big numbers and make themselves heard on Friday night, because the atmosphere in recent weeks has been great and makes such a difference.

“The team have been playing some great rugby and it’s been really entertaining to watch. It’s been a good start and now we want to kick on and take a step closer to winning another trophy and reaching Wembley again.

“The lads need a buzzing KCOM to help them do that and that’s what we’re all hoping for on Friday.”