What's this? Morley playing for Swinton Lions...

Name the three-times Challenge Cup winning captain, NRL and Super League Grand Final winner who played for Swinton Lions in 2013?

The answer is Adrian Morley.

All pictures by Mike Boden unless stated

And he wasn't the only high-profile Warrington Wolves player to do so that year.

Fellow international and Challenge Cup three-timer - and Lance Todd Trophy winner - Lee Briers pulled on the Swinton colours eight years ago.

And so did another of the club's Challenge Cup heroes from that period, Paul Wood, while a rising young talent on the club's books at the time, Joe Philbin, pulled on a Lions shirt in 2014.

Joe Philbin, left. Picture: SWPix.com

The reason these appearances came about in Championship games was because of an arrangement that saw Super League clubs partner up with those in the lower divisions following the scrapping of reserve team rugby.

Up to five Super League players were allowed to appear for the partner club on dual registration in any one game.

Warrington Wolves head coach Tony Smith, who also arranged for some of the club's young players to play there for a longer period, decided there would be no favouritism for the 'big names' and directed whoever was returning from injury to build up their fitness with a run at a level lower than they were accustomed to.

Gareth O'Brien

Gene Ormsby

Rhys Williams. All pictures by Mike Boden

For the Championship players at Swinton, they had an opportunity to share the changing room and field with some of the game's superstars and to learn what they could from the experience.

Briers, of course, will be facing the Lions this weekend in the third round of the Challenge Cup as assistant coach of Warrington Wolves.

He does have happy memories of playing against Swinton on a record-breaking occasion.

When The Wire defeated Swinton by a club record score of 112-0 in the Challenge Cup in 2011 he broke the records for most goals (16) and points (44) scored in one match by a Wire player.