{"id":607510,"date":"2026-05-28T00:03:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T00:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/607510\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T00:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T00:03:11","slug":"challenge-cup-final-combined-xiii-as-hull-kr-dominate-spine-as-key-wigan-warriors-stars-miss-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/607510\/","title":{"rendered":"Challenge Cup Final combined XIII as Hull KR dominate spine as key Wigan Warriors stars miss out"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Just days out from the Challenge Cup Final and that marks the perfect time to potentially upset fans of both clubs as we create our combined XIII of those in with a shot to be playing at Wembley.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Note the fact that only those in line to feature are considered, meaning Bevan French has not come into consideration for this, but players like Dean Hadley, who is a doubt for Saturday but could still feature, have been considered.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s Challenge Cup Final<\/a> combines the last two victors of the famous trophy whilst also marking a repeat of the last two Grand Finals, indicating that it truly is a game of the best versus the best, and that makes picking a combined XIII very difficult.<\/p>\n

Selections are made purely on form and how they\u2019re expected to fare on Saturday, not simply past success, something that may well favour Hull KR, who are on a nine-game winning streak.<\/p>\n

Wigan Warriors selection drama, Bradford\u2019s controversial \u2018no try\u2019 call and Las Vegas Teams revealed \u2013\u00a0Click here to listen to the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show<\/a><\/p>\n

Challenge Cup Final combined XIII<\/p>\n

Full-back: Jack Broadbent (Hull KR)<\/p>\n

A contentious one right off the bat as Hull KR\u2019s Jack Broadbent is picked over Jai Field, who on form you would argue is a top three full-back in Super League. Field displayed that form in the opening few rounds of Super League but he\u2019s not regathered it since his injury, whereas Broadbent has gone from strength to strength and is undoubtedly the form player. Field\u2019s game-breaking speed could have the last laugh on Saturday though.<\/p>\n

Wingers: Tom Davies (Hull KR) and Zach Eckersley (Wigan Warriors)<\/p>\n

One from each club here and although they both play on the right, their form and talent is too hard to ignore. Davies is a metre monster out of back-field and he\u2019s recently started to score tries, whereas Eckersley is the top scorer in this year\u2019s Challenge Cup with his knack for the try line an impressive one.<\/p>\n

Centres: Oliver Gildart (Hull KR) and Jake Wardle (Wigan Warriors)<\/p>\n

Oliver Gildart is in the sort of form that, if he continues, he\u2019ll be getting England shouts with the Hull KR man playing lights out. One man who will also be hopeful of being on the plane to Australia is Jake Wardle, who perhaps hasn\u2019t quite hit the ground running since returning from injury, but his all-round game is so consistent.<\/p>\n

Halves: Mikey Lewis and Tyrone May (both Hull KR)<\/p>\n

Certainly a divisive pick but also a pair that can\u2019t really be argued given how good they have been in recent weeks. Jack Farrimond has grown massively in his last two to three matches and Harry Smith\u2019s kicking game will likely prove crucial on Saturday, but Lewis and May have runs on the board this year. The duo have been incredible with Lewis\u2019 scoring and May\u2019s assisting stats hugely impressive.<\/p>\n

Props: Sauaso Sue (Hull KR) and Ethan Havard (Wigan Warriors)<\/p>\n

All four starting props are good picks here in truth, but it\u2019s Sue and Havard who get the nod. Sue has proven destructive when on the field, whilst Havard is averaging 30 tackles a game in Super League as he leads from the front. Tom Amone and Luke Thompson could well be the props who shine in the sun at Wembley but it\u2019s Sue and Havard who get the nod.<\/p>\n

Hooker: Jez Litten (Hull KR)<\/p>\n

This really is a case of what you prefer in a number nine with both Litten and O\u2019Neill the standout hookers in Super League and it will be really interesting which way Brian McDermott sways in October, with Daryl Clark surely also in consideration. Ultimately, personal preference dictates Litten as more of a creative spark and running threat with his scoots from dummy-half sure to catch out some fatigued defenders. The case for O\u2019Neill is very strong too though with his defensive output off the charts at around 40 tackles per game, plenty of which are dominant.<\/p>\n

Second-rowers: James Batchelor (Hull KR) and Junior Nsemba (Wigan Warriors)<\/p>\n

Two men who did not make the Ashes squad but will be in line for a shot at the World Cup. With Batchelor, it\u2019s a tale of consistency and reliability with his leadership an undervalued trait as well. For Nsemba, it\u2019s a case of form with the rangy second-rower starting to look like the destructive player of 2024 and that will spell problems for Hull KR on Saturday. His offload game is so threatening whilst he\u2019s also starting to put on some big shots, just ask Alex Walmsley.<\/p>\n

Loose forward: Oliver Partington (Wigan Warriors)<\/p>\n

As good as Elliot Minchella has been in this evolved Hull KR system where he plays fewer but ultimately more impactful minutes, Oliver Partington has been the signing of the season. Shoehorned into the second-row at times earlier in the year, Wigan are starting to see the best of Partington at 13 and that\u2019s a concern for Hull KR. He\u2019s topped 40 tackles in three of his last four matches having not done so once in his first seven, highlighting how much more influential he is at loose forward.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just days out from the Challenge Cup Final and that marks the perfect time to potentially upset fans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607511,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-607510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}