CHRIS Hill says he predicted Wolves would draw his old side Leigh Centurions in the Challenge Cup quarter finals.

Saturday’s last-eight clash at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, kick off 3pm, will be the first time the prop has faced his former club since joining Warrington for the 2012 season.

And the 27-year-old says he has some old friends he is looking forward to facing when the Championship outfit come to town.

“I knew as soon as the draw came out, I called it,” laughed Wolves’ vice captain. “I said to my wife ‘we’ll get Leigh at Leigh’, which would have been a nice return.

“But I’m looking forward to it and it’s the first time I’ve played them.

“Warrington played them in a friendly a few years ago now but I didn’t play as I wasn’t back from England duty.

“So it’ll be the first time competitively and I’m definitely looking forward to it.”

 

 

The England international got his first taste of senior rugby at Centurions, making his debut during the 2005 Super League season in a loss to St Helens.

He went on to win two Northern Rail Cup finals with Leigh, racking up more than 100 appearances before being signed by Tony Smith.

“I won two Northern Rail Cup finals there and they gave me my first opportunity in rugby, so I’ve got a lot of fond memories there and a few friends,” he added.

“There’s Martyn Ridyard, Tom Armstrong, Jake Emmitt and I played with Rowls (Paul Rowley) the coach, so there are a lot of people back there.”

Hill will not be underestimating his former teammates on Saturday and he expects they could soon be joining Wolves in Super League.

“They’ve done really well. It’s always been a club that could strive for that, it was just having the financial backing and having the will to do it,” he explained.

“It looks like now they’ve taken it all to another level and hopefully they’ll come up at the end of the year.

“They’ll be a massive challenge. They play a different game to everyone I’ve seen in the Championship, that’s why they and Bradford have blown the league away.

“They play very expansive, a bit like ourselves, and chance their arm in different areas. But they’ve got a good pack as well, so we’ll have to be on our game.”

But the prospect of closing in on another Wembley outing will help keep Wolves focused on Saturday.

“It’s a fantastic trophy. I won it the first year I came to the club, so we won’t be far off again if we beat Leigh on Saturday,” said Hill.

“We go about things the same way. We’ll get our focus on them, have a look at them and the players that we’ll be playing against.

“It’s a Challenge Cup tie at the end of the day, so it doesn’t matter if we’re playing an amateur side or if we’re playing Leeds.”

As for Wolves’ Super League form, Hill is confident they can cope with a run in that includes sides currently above them Wigan Warriors, St Helens and Castleford Tigers.

“We’re not far off,” he added. “We’ve brought in a few different combinations here and there and we’ve put last weekend’s results to bed.

“We’re all ready and raring to go now.

“We want tough games and that’s what they’ve all been this year. We tend to play our better rugby against the top four.

“We’ve got three of the top teams coming up; Cas, Wigan and Saints.”