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<\/p>\nKris Radlinski recalls Wigan’s Grand Final bus agony before high praise for Hull KR ahead of the Wembley showdown.<\/p>\n
Hull KR won their first ever Super League Grand Final over Wigan Warriors last season.<\/p>\n
Wigan CEO Kris Radlinski has recalled the misery of last year\u2019s bus ride home after the Grand Final defeat, before setting the tone for an \u201call on\u201d battle against the same opposition in Saturday\u2019s Challenge Cup Final.<\/p>\n
It was Hull KR<\/a> who came out on top during last year\u2019s Super League showdown at Old Trafford, with Wigan failing to lift any silverware in a season for the first time under head coach Matt Peet.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve won a lot of trophies – but then to not win one, if you were on the coach on the way home from Old Trafford, you’d have thought the world had ended,” Radlinski said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that’s the nature of being at this club. That’s what’s instilled to us when we join.<\/p>\n \u201cWe always move on to what’s next, and I probably spent more time looking at the pre-season programme this year than I have in the past. I saw a lot of good things, a lot of good habits.\u201d<\/p>\n The Robins will arrive at Wembley having created their own recent history, ending a long trophy drought last season before going on to complete a treble-winning campaign.<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s clash will be the first ever Challenge Cup Final meeting between Wigan and Hull KR, with the Cherry and Whites chasing a record-extending 22nd title.<\/p>\n Radlinski expects nothing less than a bruising, tight affair.<\/p>\n \u201cI reckon it’ll be a proper game, Matt and Willie Peters [Hull KR head coach] are so similar with their philosophies, how they carry themselves and their humility,\u201d the former Great Britain international said.<\/p>\n \u201cBehind the scenes, there’s a genuine feeling that it’s going to be all on.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s going to be a match of attrition – there’s not much between these teams. Sometimes it’s an arm wrestle, but when fatigue comes in, that’s when the extra special players come out to play.<\/p>\n \u201cCup finals are made on that, but it’s as close as it can get in a cup final, this.\u201d<\/p>\n Radlinski admitted he has a strong relationship with Hull KR counterpart Paul Lakin, who has also played his part in Hull KR\u2019s rise to the top of the rugby league<\/a> world, which included an epic World Club Challenge win over Brisbane Broncos earlier this year.<\/p>\n