HARVEY Livett said earning a place in Warrington Wolves’ Challenge Cup Final team was not the prime motivation behind his eye-catching performance against St Helens on Thursday.

He just wants to play well for his hometown club, whatever the circumstances.

With 10 frontline players sat in the stands for the Super League Round 25 encounter, the 22-year-old did get a rare start in 2019 to follow up his bench spot the previous weekend at Catalans – all coming on the back of a successful loan stint at Hull KR.

His selection by Steve Price against Saints came in the right second-row spot held down all year by co-captain Jack Hughes, who was sidelined with the ruptured testicle injury suffered in France.

He is in the mix at the right time to be in with a shot of a Wembley place as The Wire aim to make up for last season’s disappointing cup final defeat to Catalans Dragons.

“In terms of Wembley places it’s down to Pricey what he wants to do at the end of the day,” said Livett.

“If those boys who were missing are back fit then everyone’s in for a chance at Wembley.

“I’ve just got to play well when I get the chance and I thought I did that.

“And if I get the chance against Wigan this week that’s a big one and hopefully I can get my name on that team sheet at Wembley.

“I’ve just got to play well and hopefully I can get some more minutes against Wigan and then it’s up to him. Hopefully I can keep playing well for Warrington.

“Of course, it would mean a lot for me to be a part of a Warrington team that plays and wins at Wembley.

“Last year I started in the final against Catalans, came off and didn’t come back on.

“Hopefully we get the win there this year, that’s the main thing.”

Livett feels he benefited from his month’s loan with Hull Kingston Rovers, where former Wire chief Tony Smith is now the head coach.

“It was just lack of game time when I was here, but the chance came up to go there for a month,” said Livett.

“I wasn’t playing for the few months I was here, I was just doing all the conditioning and gym stuff so it was frustrating sitting on the sideline.

“I thought it would be the right time in my career to go over there and get a bit of game time, which I did enjoy.

“It was back with Tony Smith, who gave me my debut for Warrington, and it was good to go over there and do some minutes for them.

“I got four games under my belt and came back a better player I think.

“Tony was same old Tony. I get on well with him. He’s a good coach and I enjoyed my time there, but I’m back with Pricey now which I enjoy as well so hopefully I can get a few more games under my belt here.

“I’m here to do a job for Warrington, and I’m enjoying it.”

Reflecting on the Saints game, which The Wire lost 30-12, Livett said: “I thought the boys gave it a really good go, with a few numbers coming in like Josh Thewlis and Riley Dean.

“I thought we did really good for 80 minutes. I thought the boys dug deep and we can be proud of the performance.”

Having previously been the young teen breaking into The Wire side, he was pleased with what 17-year-olds Thewlis and Dean brought to the party not only in the game but during the lead-in too.

> IN PICTURES: Proud moment for Riley Dean and Josh Thewlis

“They’ve been really good. They’ve come into training really buzzing and the boys were buzzing around them,” said Livett.

“On the pitch, any time a ball went down we were all in together. The boys have been really close.

“Riley’s been playing really well at academy, and Josh has already played Super League and people know what he’s about.

“I thought they dug really deep and I thought they were really good.”

The Wire, with a combination of players that’s never played together before in a match, were still in the running against the Super League leaders until the final 20 minutes when injuries and tiredness started to take their toll.

Livett said: “We do bits of training throughout the week so the boys know what to expect of each other.

“It is different when you’re then playing, and against top-of-the-league Saints, but I thought for 80 minutes we were really good so we can be proud of ourselves.”

And on his own performance, he said: “I thought I had a dig.

“I thought I could have got over the line at one point but I took the right-foot instead of left-foot step.

“I thought I tried a little too much at times and there was a few errors, but that’s going to happen when you’re trying new things like I was and trying to get us over that try line.

“I can be happy with my performance.”

He added, acknowledging it is no easy job stepping into Hughes’ shoes: “No, of course not, he’s a solid player for us and has been for the last few years he’s been here.

“I’ve got a big job to do when I play in that role, but I thought I didn’t do too bad so hopefully I can come out of it with my head held high.”