He’s lit up Super League and scored a hat-trick in the Challenge Cup but now Ben Barba is looking forward to playing in his first semi-final.
The Man of Steel favourite and his teammates face a bang on-form Catalans side in order to have a ‘red hot crack’ at trying to win the Cup for the first time in 10 years.
“I didn’t really know too much about the cup at first,” he said. “I knew about Super League, but I didn’t realise how big it was until I got older and I watched Albert Kelly play in one. Having been over here now and seeing how much joy the players get out of winning one, it is something to look forward to.
“The club hasn’t won one for 10 years so let’s hope we can get to a final and have a shot to win one. It would mean a lot to the people but we’ve got to look forward to Bolton first before we can start thinking about Wembley.
“It would be wonderful, especially after so long, to get back there and give it a red hot crack at trying to win one for the club again.”
Catalans come into the match in red-hot form having won five of their last six matches.
“Their season didn’t start too well but now we’re playing them in a semi-final to get to a final,” Barba continued. “They’re one of the red hot sides in the competition and are playing with a lot of confidence. We’ll definitely have to be on our game.
“The last few weeks have shown what they can do when they’re on their job, so we’ll have to prepare the best we can and be ready to play the toughest Catalans side we’ve played all year.
“I think they’ve all bought into what Steve McNamara’s doing. You need a whole team to be playing well to win games like they are.
“There’s not just one player that’s got better, they’ve all improved and got themselves to where they are now.”
The game is now sold out.
