“It means the absolute world to me” – Jordan Turner on Wembley dream
Castleford’s hat-trick hero Jordan Turner says he has dreamed of playing at Wembley since being a young boy.
The Tigers set up a final showdown with St Helens on July 17 by knocking out Warrington 35-20 in an action-packed semi-final on Saturday. Saints were 33-18 winners over Hull in the other tie at Leigh Sports Village.
REPORT: Castleford 35-20 Warrington: Tigers to meet St Helens in Challenge Cup final
Turner, 32, scored a hat-trick on the wing on Saturday but won the Grand Final with St Helens in 2014 playing at loose forward.
Fans will be back at Wembley and the Oldham-born Turner, who joined the Tigers from Huddersfield at the start of the season, is getting ready to put his hands into his pocket to fund a weekend trip to London for his family.
He said: “It feels amazing. I’ve dreamed of this moment since being a young boy and it means the absolute world to me.
“We always had a family trip to the Challenge Cup final as a family.
“They always found the money to take us and it’s a chance for me to repay them now.”
Turner, who is hoping to represent Jamaica at the World Cup, is likely to keep his place on the wing but, having also started in both half-back positions and in the second-row so far for his new club, he says he is prepared for anything.
He added: “I’ll just bring my boots and play wherever. There were a couple of times this year when I’ve turned up not knowing where I’d be playing.
“I just thought it would be a good fit for me coming here and it’s proving that way.”
Turner says his team’s priority now is to put the final to the back of their minds and concentrate on improving their league position, starting with the visit of beaten semi-finalists Hull to the Jungle on Thursday.
He said: “Our league form in the past three weeks has been really poor. We’re not going to put all our eggs in the Challenge Cup basket. We need to pick our game up in the league.”
The final will see Castleford centre Peter Mata’utia go up against his younger brother Sione, who joined St Helens ahead of the season from NRL side Newcastle Knights.
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