ST Helens will break with Challenge Cup tradition by rejecting the opportunity to familiarise themselves with Wembley on the eve of Saturday's final against Hull.
The two finalists are offered free run of the final venue for a short period 24 hours before kick-off and Hull will be at Wembley at 10.45am on Friday to look over the facilities and have a run on the pitch.
However, Saints, who were the first cl
ub to lift the trophy at the new national stadium following their 30-8 victory over Catalans last year, yesterday indicated that the visit will not form part of their itinerary.
Daniel Anderson, the St Helens coach, said the players had decided not to bother following problems getting to and from Wembley from their hotel at Runnymede last year.
The decision has not gone down well with the Rugby Football League, whose sokesman Craig Spence said: "I can understand their reason, but it's disappointing because it is an opportunity to raise the profile of the game nationally."
Saints' laid-back approach was revealed at a low-key media conference at Knowsley Road yesterday when Anderson claimed he was paying little attention to the speculation surrounding the fitness of Hull's Australian scrum-half Adam Dykes. "I don't care, it's completely irrelevant to me," said Anderson. "We go into the game confident, but not cocky."
Saints have confirmed that Kiwi prop Jason Cayless will miss the final with a knee ligament injury and give Maurie Fa'asavalu a "less than 50-50" chance of recovering from his hamstring problems to play. .
St Helens squad: Wellens, Gardner, Gidley, Talau, Meli, Pryce, Long, Fozzard, Cunningham, Gilmour, Wilkin, Sculthorpe, Roby, Flannery, Graham, Hargreaves, Clough, Fa'asavalu, Eastmond.
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