Warrington Wolves under 20s aiming for best display (From Warrington Guardian)

Warrington Wolves under 20s aiming for best display

4:08pm Thursday 27th September 2012 in Wolves news

WARRINGTON Wolves’ bid for a stunning club double at two levels reaches fever pitch on Saturday.

Wolves’ under 20s face Leeds Rhinos in the Valvoline Cup Grand Final at The Halliwell Jones Stadium six hours before the Super League side aim to seal their Old Trafford spot.

It will be a second successive appearance in the Grand Final for League Leaders’ Shield winners Wolves, who lost to Wigan in last year’s final but booked their berth with two impressive play-offs performances against St Helens.

Wolves had eight Super League experienced players in the side that knocked out Saints 42-26 in the Halliwell Jones curtain-raiser at the weekend, while Leeds eliminated a strong Wigan side 18-14 to book their ticket in Saturday’s showdown.

Head of coaching and rugby Tony Smith said: “We’re really excited about it and it shows how healthy our club is at the moment.

“It’s a really good achievement for the under 20s and there’s some boys in the team that could have easily fitted into my squad for the Hull game at the weekend.

“We’ve got a bit of depth at the moment so it bodes well for us.”

Under 20s head coach Richard Marshall said: “It is pleasing for everyone involved that we have reached the Grand Final – all the players as well as all the staff have put in a tremendous amount of work over the course of the season and this is just reward for that.

“We will be looking to put in our strongest performance of the season to ensure that we finish on a positive note.

“It would be great if we could get a large crowd to come along and cheer us on as it really does make a difference and the players really appreciate it.”

James Saltonstall was a hat-trick hero in the semi final success against Saints, while it was a splendid try from Ben Evans that clinched the tie after Saints had fought back to within four points from 26-6 behind in a thrilling contest.

Ryan Shaw, in the running for the Championship young player of the year award for his performances while on dual registration with Barrow this year, also crossed for two tries.

James Mendeika and Jordan Burke scored the final tries of each half, while Shaw kicked three conversions and Bobbie Goulding two.

Wolves: Jordan Burke; James Saltonstall, Rhys Evans, Ryan Shaw, Rhys Williams; James Mendeika, Bobbie Goulding; Glenn Riley, Brad Dwyer, Ben Evans, James Laithwaite, Ben Currie, Matty Blythe . Subs: Brooke Broughton, Liam Hulme, Danny Bridge, Jack Morrison.