REPLICATING – and even surpassing – their last level of performance is the biggest challenge for Warrington Wolves against London Broncos on Saturday.

That is the view of hooker Sam Powell, who insists the squad are anticipating a strong response from their next visitors to The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Six days after The Wire hammered them 58-4 in the capital, the Broncos head north for a Challenge Cup sixth-round tie that Warrington will once again be strong favourites for.

However, will this game be another big test of how focused a mindset the group currently has?

“100 per cent, and that’s exactly what we’ve spoken about,” Powell said when asked that very question.

“It’s a different scenario this week in that it’s a cup competition. Anything can happen and it’s all game on.

“The challenge for us is trying to replicate the start we had down there on Sunday and going into it with a professional mindset.

“We’ve got a job to do, which is getting through to the next round.

“We’re expecting to rock up and play the best version of London.

“They’ve got some players that are hard to handle and they were never going to hit the ground running at this level.

“It was always going to take a bit of time to get the combinations right with a lot of new players.

“They always run strong so we’re expecting to be challenged at collision and as we’ve already said, anything can happen in cup competitions so we’ve got to be hellbent on being as professional as we can be.”

And the continuation of the ruthless professionalism The Wire displayed at the Cherry Red Records Stadium would speak to the steady progress head coach Sam Burgess insists his side are trying to make in terms of performance alongside gaining results.

They were sentiments echoed by Powell as he stressed things remained in their very infancy following “a fresh start” in the off-season.

“Winning and results are obviously massively important but for us, it’s a fresh start for the club,” he said.

“They’ve brought a new coach in with his own ideas so we’re in a process of getting better each week rather than being hellbent on getting results.

“We do want to win games and that’s the end product but how we turn up every day and the culture we’re trying to create, that’s as important as a minute.”

Sunday’s Round Five clash saw Powell make his first start in a Warrington shirt since joining from Wigan Warriors – the club with whom he had spent his entire professional career – in the off-season.

His previous four appearances had come from the interchange bench while working in tandem with Danny Walker but with the England international missing the last game to await the birth of his second child, Powell took his chance to play from the off.

While he may be eight years his senior, Powell insists he has learned plenty from Walker during their time together.

“In seeing how he goes about his training from day-to-day, he’s really impressive,” the 32-year-old said.

“The club holds him in high regard and he’s seen as a future leader here, but I’ve learned a lot from him in a short space of time.

“In saying that, I’m here to help him as well.

“He leads by example – he speaks well but he backs it up in his actions.

“There’s a few here who do the same like George Williams – being around people like him every day and training with him, I take a lot from it.

“As a middle unit, we’ve started really well.

“It’s something we highlighted that as a unit, we want to be rock-solid and I think we’ve put a good foot forward.

“It’s a long season and it won’t all go our way – there will be adversity and we’ll pick up injuries like any team does – but if we can train hard together week in week out, we’ll enjoy it and we’ll do well.”