IS THIS mission impossible for Hull KR this weekend, facing a Wigan Warriors side in the cup which recently inflicted a club-record 84-6 defeat on the Robins?
I, like most others, suspect so.
With the form Wigan are in, you have to say this weekend's clash is looking very ominous for Craig Sandercock and his men.
Mind you, before we say Rovers may as well not turn up, let's look back and remember the Sheffield Eagles team of 1998 which shocked the rugby league world to beat a great Wigan side in the final.
Or what about Hull FC in 2005 when, again, coach John Kear managed to instil the belief in his men that, no matter what was being said about them not being able to win the cup, they could.
The key for Sandercock and his players will have been to relay positive messages across all week in training.
They need to have been telling themselves they can upset a highly-fancied Warriors team, tipped to go all the way in the competition.
They are at home, and I'm certain there will be no repeat of the recent record loss.
The key will be every player that takes to the field for KR believing they can win.
It's a small word 'believe' but it has so much
significance.
Listen back to the post-match interview with Danny Brough after Hull FC's 2005 Challenge Cup final win.
Listen to how many times in two minutes he uses the word believe or belief.
I can assure you that mentally every single player knew we were going to win.
Without question, Rovers face the biggest challenge of any team this weekend.
But KR are on a hiding to nothing, are expected to lose, and lose heavily in the eyes of many experts.
To me, the players have a unique opportunity to create their own page in the Challenge Cup history books.
The players must be aggressive with Wigan, a team huge on aggression and dominance.
KR cannot be bullied by their visitors under any circumstances.
A little story from my playing days, which may or may not be relevant, came during my time at Hull KR when we faced a Huddersfield Giants team in the Challenge Cup.
We beat them heavily and progressed comfortably.
A week later we faced them in the league and we were hammered by 50 points, by a team we put 40 on just seven days earlier. The point is players respond to, and are often motivated by, an embarrassing display.
KR are overwhelming underdogs, but the underdogs can, and often do, win in the Challenge Cup.
