WOLVES loose forward Joe Westerman says lining up against close friends will not affect him at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

The England international moved to The Halliwell Jones Stadium from Challenge Cup Final opponents Hull FC during the close season and has enjoyed an impressive debut campaign in primrose and blue.

The 27-year-old still has many close friends within the Black and Whites camp, but says he will treat them like any other opponent.

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“They have not won there and that will be running through a few of their guys’ minds I’m sure,” he said.

“It will be a strange one for me, I have lots of good mates there including Liam Watts who I would consider my best friend in rugby.

“We’ll have a bit of banter beforehand but I’ll be treating it the same as any other opposition. We are going out there to win.”

Westerman spent five seasons at the KCOM Stadium and was part of the side that beat Wolves in the 2013 Challenge Cup semi-final before going on to lose to Wigan in the capital, an experience he is in no rush to repeat.

He also says he is not surprised by his old side’s scintillating season so far.

“It was horrible losing at Wembley, I’m hoping I never have to go through that again,” he said.

“It’s a big club so it doesn’t surprise me how well they have done this year, even though they’ve done better than I thought.

“Their forward pack are outstanding and their kicking game has been superb but perhaps the biggest thing has been the lack of injuries.

“They have been keeping a fully fit squad out there which is a big bonus.

“We have got to turn up and be physical, execute our plays well and be strong up the middle. If we do that it will put us well down the road to winning.”

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After signing for a fee of £150,000, helping to deliver silverware will go a long way towards paying back The Wire’s outlay and the former Castleford man says these are the games that convinced him to sign for the club.

He also admitted to experiencing another Challenge Cup heartache during his earlier years.

“I was a Castleford season ticket holder and when I was about seven years old I remember watching them lose to London Broncos at Headingley in the Challenge Cup semi final in 1999,” he recalls.

“I think Steele Retchless scored the winning try for them and it just killed me.

“I came to the club on the grounds of reaching finals and winning silverware and that was the main reason I signed but I couldn’t really have wished for a better year so far, I’ve really enjoyed my rugby.

“This is a big one this year for us. We set this out as a target for ourselves so we will be going all out to make sure we win.”

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