THERE may be plenty more on the line for Warrington Wolves this week, but Sam Burgess insists it has been “business as usual” in terms of their preparations.

However, he insists the importance and emotion of tomorrow’s Challenge Cup semi-final is not lost on him or his players.

A victory over Huddersfield Giants at St Helens’ Totally Wicked Stadium will send The Wire back to Wembley Stadium for the first time since 2019, when they memorable won the trophy via an against-the-odds win over Saints.

They have not won a trophy since and with the class of 2024 edging closer to quenching the club’s thirst for silverware, Burgess says he is well aware of what is at stake but believes his players have been showing the “desperation” required in these games all season.

As such, he says it means they can keep their preparations as unaltered as possible.

“It's business as usual for us both through the week and on Sunday,” he said earlier this week.

“We’ve got another team in front of us who will be a challenge, so we will prepare in exactly the same way. We won’t do anything too drastic in terms of changing things.

“We’ll have a look at what we feel our strengths could be against Huddersfield and then try to fine-tune it, but our plan will be the same.

“We’re trying to build our year on consistency, so nothing will change.

“It’s a semi-final and it’s sudden death – that’s the reality of it – but it’s another game at the end of the day.

“It’s 80 minutes, same rules and the same field but there’s obviously more emotion on the line, which counts for a bit.

“You’ll see some special efforts on Sunday, there’s no doubt about that, but I’ve seen that all year from my team.

“I’ve seen some great desperation from them and I’m expecting exactly the same on Sunday. It’s nothing that we haven’t already been doing.

“We understand what’s on the line – we’d be naïve if we didn’t. It’s a big occasion and it’s cracking for us as a club and for the town.

“We understand the responsibility on our shoulders as a team, but it’s going to be business as usual.

“We’ll have the same ferocity in our approach and preparation. It’s about getting there healthy and doing the job on the day.”

Warrington will start the game as favourites against a Huddersfield side who have lost their past three Super League games, the last of which was a heavy 48-6 defeat to Wigan Warriors on Saturday after tight defeats to Salford (18-16) and St Helens (13-12).

However, Burgess pointed to Warrington’s quarter-final victory over St Helens as an example of the odds being irrelevant on the day.

“It's not important. It counts for nothing on the day,” he said.

“Who were the favourites in our last cup game? I don’t think it was us. That sort of stuff doesn’t really matter to me.”

On Sunday’s opposition, Burgess added: “They’re very physical up front.

“Their middle three are strong and they’ve got strike in the centres in Naiqama and Marsters.

“Jake Connor’s a tricky player – a maverick. I played with him when he first came into the England team – he’s a great player and is a handful.

“They’ve got plenty of strike players but whatever they bring on Sunday, we’ll be ready for it and we’ll get prepped for it.”