BEN Westwood will be looking to make it third time lucky when he takes to the field at Old Trafford next Saturday, with Super League’s oldest player looking to help the Wolves overcome their Grand Final hoodoo, writes Nathan Okell.

Westwood, who turned 37 earlier this year, was involved in Warrington’s 2012 and 2013 final defeats against Leeds and Wigan, missing out on his side’s 2016 loss through injury, and will be hoping that previous experiences can help Wolves secure their first championship title since 1955.

“We know we’ve been there a few times over the last few years and not been able to win it, but that was under a different coach and a different team," said The Wire's current longest serving player.

“This year we’ve got different systems and beliefs and it’s completely different to what it was last time.

“We’ll have a good week in training, come up with some kind of plan and hopefully the job will be a good one.”

The veteran forward put in an industrious performance in the semi-final defeat of St Helens, making 39 tackles in his stints on the field, and believes gutsy efforts from each player will be the key to Old Trafford success.

“It’s going to take hard work, belief and everyone sticking to and doing their job at 100 percent," said the former England international.

“It’s usually raining this time of year, especially over the last 20 years when it comes to Grand Final day or semi-final week, so the style of play can change.

“Hopefully the rain can stay off for one more week, and then it can rain for as much as it wants after that.”

While some fans will have been worried when Wolves went behind on the scoreboard to a number of Danny Richardson drop goals, Westwood insisted that deep down, the players always remained confident and knew they could walk away winners.

“The thing is that we stuck to our plan, whether we were either one point down or seven – we knew it would pay off in the end," he said.

“We always believe, and even though we knew that we were going to play Saints at Saints, we knew deep down we could put in a good performance and come away winners.

“Luckily we did with some of Tommy Lineham’s fantastic finishing.

“He’s been out for a couple of weeks but to come back in and do what he did was fantastic.

“I’m really pleased for him because last year wasn’t his best year, and he knows that, but he’s come back this year and he’s had a really strong season. I'm proud of him.”

Asked on who he would rather come up against in next week’s final, Westwood remained coy, stating that there are no easy games at this time of the year.

“I probably won’t even watch the other semi, as whoever we get will be really tough," he said, with Wigan and Castleford battling it out in the second semi-final tonight, Friday.

“It’s a tough time of the year and it’s the top four going against each other.

“We’ve got Castleford, who are my hometown club, and Wigan, who are our rivals, so either one will be nice to play against.”

Westwood took time to praise the fans for their vociferous support at the Totally Wicked Stadium, and has no doubts that a similar atmosphere will be on hand in Manchester to help his side to victory.

“They’ll turn up as they always do and they were fantastic against Saints," he said.

“I’m sure at Old Trafford, for the last game of the season, everybody in Warrington will be turning out there to support us and they won’t want to miss this one.

“We’ll see you there.”