Wakefield Trinity boss Chris Chester keen to make amends for Wembley woe

Wakefield's head coach Chris Chester. Picture Jonathan Gawthorpe

The West Yorkshire club are heavy favourites to progress to the quarter-finals at the expense of opponents who were relegated from Super League last term and then ended up in administration.

It is almost 40 years to the day that the same sides met in the 1979 final, Widnes prevailing 12-3 at Wembley, and Wakefield have not won the competition since as long ago as 1963.

But nowadays the Challenge Cup is weighted heavily in favour of Super League sides and Trinity – third in the table – will fancy their chances of ending that long wait for success.

“It is a big game for the club,” admitted Chester, who won the Cup as a player with Hull in 2005.

“We know that a good result takes us into a quarter-final and then we are only two games from a final. It is exciting but we are not taking Widnes lightly.

“The last time we weren’t right attitude-wise we got burnt against London.”

That was on the opening day of the season when Trinity lost heavily at the newly-promoted Broncos but they have generally prospered well since.

Chester, 40, saw them reach the semi-final stage in his first season at Belle Vue three years ago and would love to go all the way especially having suffered a record-breaking 50-0 defeat with Hull KR against Leeds Rhinos at Wembley in 2015.

“I have said it since 2015 that I want to get back and put the wrongs right,” he said.

“We had a nightmare in 2015 with Hull KR. To this day I haven’t seen the game.

“The competition means a lot to me, I was fortunate enough to win it as a player. But to get there with my hometown team would be extra special.

“And this is certainly the best team that I have been fortunate enough to coach.”

Widnes are 11th in the Championship and missing star quality such as Harrison Hansen and Anthony Gelling while Trinity rest Tyler Randell and Danny Kirmond but see England Knights back-row James Batchelor return.