WARRINGTON Wolves know all about winning Challenge Cup semi-finals and Steve Price has revealed the secret.

Since his arrival at the club at the back end of 2017 he has steered The Wire to Wembley with victories over Leeds Rhinos and Hull FC in last-four matches staged in Bolton, while today’s clash at the Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens is Warrington’s 10th semi-final in 12 years – with only three having been lost.

“It’s down to the players,” said Warrington’s head coach, who has the chance to guide the club to a third successive Challenge Cup Final for the first time in the club’s history.

“They’re the ones who work extremely hard to produce these games and positive actions.

“We’ve been pretty good over the past few years and it’s a perfect opportunity to go to another Challenge Cup Final that would be really special.

“Like in any big game you’ve got to do the basics well. If you do the basics well and defend well then you’re going to give yourself every chance to win that game so nothing really changes from our mindset.”

He added: “It takes special efforts to win big games.”

And he referenced the outstanding defensive effort from Wire centre Bryson Goodwin in last year’s cup final win against St Helens when he somehow managed to cover across and knock the ball from winger Tommy Makinson’s hand while he was in the act of stretching out to score a crucial try.

“Those types of actions when you’re doing extremely hard things off the ball, they’re the type of actions we pride ourselves on at our football club.

“It’s not all about the pretty stuff. We pride ourselves about doing the dirty stuff. They’re the big things that win big games in my eyes.”

Warrington Guardian:

Bryson Goodwin's stunning tackle on Tommy Makinson was a huge moment in the 2019 Challenge Cup Final triumph. Picture: SWpix.com

With 2019 Grand Finalists Salford having beaten Warrington in all three meeting s last year, albeit with a much different squad to the one at Ian Watson’s disposal now, Price is well aware of the tough task ahead in the 5pm kick-off, which is being broadcast live on BBC2.

“They’re a team that like to move the ball around,” said Price.

“They’ve got two really good halves in Kevin Brown and Tui Lolohea who are playing some confident football at the moment off the back of some good forward.

“They’re a team that you could say graft, the type of team who work extremely hard together. They just do all the basics right.

“For us, it’s more about getting our back yard in order and keep growing our game because the boys have been playing some great footy of late, so it’s just about keep evolving and keep doing the little things what have been working really well for us.”

An empty stadium without the roar of the Barmy Army behind the players is a new challenge for a semi-final but something they have become accustomed to in Super League since early August and during the quarter-final success against St Helens.

“It’s tough. A lot of our players have got their head around there being no fans at matches now, and there’s a number of players who enjoy playing the game like it is, and some are opposite,” said Price.

“It is what it is but they fully understand what the Challenge Cup means to our club, to the game and the history of it. I don’t really need to ram that down their throats because we’ve got a lot of senior players and a lot of players in our group who have done a lot in the game and understand the history of the Challenge Cup.

“And we certainly do know we’re going to the Totally Wicked to defend our title.

“I’d like to think it’s an extra motivation for us. Everybody thinks differently as individuals, but as a collective we’re going there to defend our title. We’re in good form so we’re excited for it.”