AS Warrington Wolves’ likely goal-kicker, Josh Thewlis knows his role in Saturday's Challenge Cup Final could be a key one.

And for someone who had barely kicked in front of more than a handful of people before this year, doing so with tens of thousands of eyes trained on him is quite the prospect.

It is a good job, then, that his form with the boot has been on the up having landed 31 of his past 36 kicks at goal – a success rate of a shade over 86 per cent.

Stefan Ratchford – the joint holder of a rugby league world record for 41 consecutive successful kicks at goal – remains the club’s first-choice kicker but given he appears unlikely to play at Wembley, the responsibility is set to fall on Thewlis.

The pair are regularly seen practicing their tee kicks together before matches and the 22-year-old admits he is trying to soak up as much as he can from “an absolute master of the trade.”

As such, he believes he will be ready if and when the eyes of the national stadium fall upon him.

“I’ve played things through in my head, thinking about what I could be up against,” he said.

“Kicking is something I have to think about these days – it never really used to cross my mind but I trust my process.

“We can’t have a team run there beforehand – it would have been nice to kick a few goals there and get a feel for it, but it is what it is. It’s the same for them as well.

“Come the day, I just need to hold my nerve and trust the process.

“I’d never kicked goals in front of crowds before, so that was something I had to deal with at the start of the year.

“I’m working quite closely with Stef, who is an absolute master of the trade. I’d be stupid not to soak up as much as I can from him.

“Recently, I think I’ve improved massively but I want to improve again.

“It could be massive come Saturday – I’ve had some ‘post and ins’ recently like at Catalans and I want to tidy them up. I had a bit of a shank in the semi-final as well.

“It’s just about getting things right every day.”

A Wembley appearance for the winger will cap off a truly special week for the Thewlis family, with younger brother Jake having made his Super League debut against cup final opponents Wigan Warriors on Saturday.

The Thewlis clan turned up en masse to support him at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, and the same will be true at Wembley.

“I think I’m at 28 in terms of ticket requests. Our Jake has 26 for his debut on Saturday so we’ve got quite a big following,” the elder sibling said.

“We’re a big family but a close family, they all love coming to games so I was glad to be able to get them tickets.

“It was amazing – watching him make his debut was pretty special.

“I’m glad he enjoyed it – he said to me after the game that he didn’t want it to end, which is a great sign.

“It’s something he’s worked really hard for all his life and it’s about what’s next for him now.

“It’s an ongoing joke within the team about who the better Thewlis is! It’s all good and I’m glad he’s doing well.

“Hopefully sometime soon, he gets to come back into the team and I’ll be in there as well. That would be a dream for my Mum and Dad.”

Jake and the other youngsters who were involved at the weekend will now be a part of the travelling party to watch the first-team stars on the big stage – just as Josh was when The Wire were last at the national stadium in 2019.

Back then, he was just 17 years of age having only just made his senior debut – how time has flown.

“If you’d told me in 2019 when I made my debut at 17 that in five years, you’d be wearing the number two shirt and starting at Wembley, I’d have snatched your hand off,” he admits.

“I probably wouldn’t have believed you and I’d probably have laughed at you!

“It’s been a mad few years and it’s all happened really quick.

“It’s my sixth year with the first team, which has gone so quickly but I’m absolutely loving rugby at the moment.”

Recalling 2019, he added: “I was in the non-players that year so I went down all suited up.

“I couldn’t believe I was there – Pricey (former head coach Steve Price) asked me to go down the week before to get sized up for a suit and I really felt part of it.

“I know Sam (Burgess) has done that with our young lads this year, so it will be a special weekend for everyone. Getting the win will be the cherry on top.”

Even then, Wembley was not alien territory for the Oldham-born youngster.

Indeed, Thewlis family outings to Challenge Cup Finals were a common occurrence once the new stadium opened in 2007 – even if he was wearing another kind of yellow and blue.

“Every year from being eight years old, we went to the Challenge Cup Final,” he said.

“My Grandad lived in Kent, so we always went down there and made a weekend of it.

“There’s pictures of me and my brother at Wembley in another blue and yellow top as we were Leeds fans growing up.

“Kev Sinfield was from Oldham and we sort of knew him, so we went that way.

“We’re all Warrington fans now, though!”