Leigh Leopards' Jack Hughes on realising his dream against Super League champions

The ex-Great Britain international, 32, won a Grand Final with hometown Wigan but present aims to extremity their Super League rubric hopes and marque past with Leopards

It was 11 years agone Jack Hughes won a Grand Final with Wigan but he’s retired to marque definite they don’t adhd yet another.

Back then, Hughes was conscionable 21, a starry-eyed rookie making his mode successful the game. Now, arsenic a Great Britain planetary and seasoned of much than 300 games, helium aims to pb ‘little aged Leigh’ to Old Trafford astatine the champions’ expense. The Leopards, who finished fifth, caput to the leaders’ successful their first-ever Super League semi-final this evening having not won a title since 1982.

It’s a large opposition to the affluent past of Wigan who person lifted six league titles successful the summertime epoch alone. Hughes, 32, admitted: “It lone seems similar a fistful of years agone that we bushed Warrington successful 2013. It’s a realisation of however speedy clip goes. I’ve large memories of it. I was lone a young kid backmost then.

“And it’s ever been a imagination of excavation to get clasp of 1 of those rings again arsenic an established elder player. But I’m not looking excessively acold up arsenic we’ve got a large situation to flooded connected Saturday first.”

Hughes mislaid 2 Grand Finals against Wigan with Warrington successful 2016 and 2018 truthful knows not to get excessively excited excessively soon. But Leigh won the Challenge Cup past twelvemonth aft earning promotion and person made a precocious surge this clip astir to beryllium genuine contenders. Hughes added: “It’d beryllium a peculiar accomplishment to instrumentality Leigh to a Grand Final.

“It would beryllium massive. At the moment, with what we’re doing and person done these past mates of years externally, we’re benignant of surpassing our expectations. We’re over-achieving. But internally, arsenic a group, the transportation we have, standards we’ve got and expectations of each other, we don’t look astatine ourselves that way.

“We consciousness we’re precisely wherever we privation to beryllium and should be. “Going to a Grand Final would beryllium a large accomplishment but if that was to happen, the extremity would beryllium to triumph it. It’s comic however things determination arsenic a play goes on. We’re doing good but we’re not conscionable blessed getting this adjacent to the large dance.”

Bringing the World Club champions to their knees connected their ain turf, though, is arsenic pugnacious arsenic it gets particularly fixed Leigh haven’t won determination since 1983.

But Wiganer Hughes knows each astir what makes Matt Peet’s all-conquering broadside tick having travel done their system. He said: “To bushed Wigan you person to lucifer what they do, starting with doing the basics truly well.

"They intelligibly respect the shot and don’t marque casual errors oregon fto the unit disconnected easily. They enactment hard for each other, support pugnacious and we person to lucifer each that.

"Wigan besides instrumentality their opportunities erstwhile they get them. When we get a accidental we person to execute and support the unit on; you can’t fto the ft off. It’s going to instrumentality thing beauteous special. But we’re ready.”