Whilst Wigan Warriors are synonymous with the Challenge Cup, there’s one player equally familiar with rugby league’s most iconic trophy - club captain Liam Farrell.
Throughout his career, Farrell has played in five finals, winning four. His first one came in 2011 when the Warriors lifted the trophy against Leeds, and his most recent in 2024 versus Warrington.
Fast forward to 2026, and the skipper is set to feature in his sixth on Saturday and is hopeful of making more memories for the Wigan town:
“There’s so much history at Wembley with rugby league and with Wigan being there so many times. It’s such a great place and so iconic.
“There’s probably a bit of an expectation from Wigan as a club to win down there too. Hopefully we get to do that for the fans again.
“There have been some famous moments for the club in Challenge Cup Final history, and hopefully we can create some more on Saturday.”
The Warriors have enjoyed a strong cup run in 2026, including their demolition of fierce rivals St Helens at the semi-final stage.
And Farrell was more than impressed with his side’s performance:
“We knew it was going to be a tough game against St Helens and probably didn’t expect to win in the manner that we did.
“Saints tested us for the full game, but on the day, defensively, we were really good and had some slick attack as well.”
After a trophyless season for Wigan in 2025, this arguably places more meaning on Saturday’s final as the Warriors aim to regain the trophies that treble-winners Hull KR took from them.
And recently, the Warriors have made a habit of playing Hull KR in games of great magnitude, including the last two Betfred Super League Grand Finals.
It's a budding rivalry...but with rivalry also comes respect, as Farrell said:
“You can do nothing but respect KR at the moment. They’ve demanded that with the way they’ve played over the past few years and the trophies that they've won, so they deserve all the respect they've got.
“We’ve got quite a healthy rivalry against them. Coming up against them in the Challenge Cup Final this year is going to be great.
“We know we’re coming up against a really good team. It’s an exciting challenge for us.”
Will the Warriors win lift the Challenge Cup trophy for a record-extending 22 times on Saturday?
Tickets for 2026 Betfred Challenge Cup Final can be purchased here.
