Warrington Wolves hope to put their poor Super League form behind them as they head into their first Challenge Cup final in 19 years against Huddersfield Giants at Wembley today.
Despite recording only one win from their last six matches, and putting their play-off place in jeopardy, the Wolves coach Tony Smith is confident his team will rise to the prestigious occasion.
"Our form hasn't been great in the last couple of weeks. We haven't been pleased with what we've been producing, but we have had some disruption with injuries. We've had to put out players who are not 100 per cent," he said.
"Sometimes when you get form like we've got, it galvanises you as a team. We've been able to do that at times this year and turn things around quickly." As Warrington's injury troubles continue, hooker Jon Clarke was the latest Wolves player consigned to the stands after failing to recover from an ankle knock. Clarke will be replaced by Mickey Higham, despite the former Wigan hooker being sidelined since May with a ruptured bicep.
While a tight match is expected at Wembley today, Huddersfield coach Nathan Brown is backing his side's superior fitness to give them the edge over their Warrington rivals.
"We anticipate every game to be close," said Brown ahead of the Giants' second final in four years.
"We are going out there to put ourselves in a position to stay in the game and back our fitness to get ourselves a victory.
"We know they're a very talented side and we're going to have to play well. They're pretty strong all across the park. "
With forward Andy Raleigh left out of Huddersfield's 19-man squad, Brown will replace injured second rower Danny Kirmond with Martin Aspinwall. The 27-year-old, who was a try scorer in the Giants' 42-12 defeat by Saints in the 2006 final at Twickenham, got the nod over Simon Finnigan.
* With agencies
Huddersfield v Warrington, KO 5.30pm, Showsports 3
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East