Sam Burgess at length on Warrington Wolves' semi-final clash

Having passed that test, they will face the exact opposite on Friday as they step into what will likely be a hostile Craven Park to take on Hull KR for a place in the Super League Grand Final.

However, head coach Sam Burgess insists that his players will relish everything seeming to be against them as they bid to reach Old Trafford for the first time since 2018.

The Wire boss sat down with our Warrington Wolves reporter Matt Turner this week for an at-length Q&A ahead of the semi-final clash – here is everything he had to say…

Q: From Saturday’s game, you said you could still improve – it was a fabulous contest but percentage wise, how much are you looking to improve for Friday?

SB: There’s always areas in which we can improve, no matter how well we play.

It was an absolutely unbelievable game to watch, but we just made a couple of fundamental errors and lost our composure at times.

It’s just having the ability to stay composed in the hot moments – when things are moving pretty fast, we have to have the ability to slow it down.

It was more that than anything else but I loved everything about us. I thought we were competitive.

We let a couple of tries in that we’ve been stopping, so we’ll have to have a look at that.

Q: In the aftermath of what happened at Wembley, you spoke about learning from how that game played out for you.

Given the way in which you fought back from being in a pretty similar position on Saturday, do you feel like that shows you have learnt from it?

SB: I think the team have been learning since Round One.

Wembley was under the magnifying glass a bit more because of the enormity of the game, but we’ve definitely learnt from it.

We’re not going to learn everything at once – even if we just take one step at once, I’d be happy.

They showed a different style – it may have gone the other way previously but I’m glad we managed to grab it.

The celebrations following George Williams' winning drop goal against St Helens (Image: Gary Oakley/PA Wire) Q: On Monday, Matty Nicholson was named on the shortlist for the Super League Young Player of the Year award – deserved recognition for him?

SB: He’s had a really good year and has been really consistent.

He’s consistent in his preparation as well and his game has developed as the year has gone on.

It helps having a couple of senior guys around him – Lachlan Fitzgibbon has been good with him, as has John Bateman since he’s been over, so he’s been learning from them.

It’s good recognition for him as he’s had a pretty solid year.

Q: He has always been an excellent defensive player but he seems to have become more of an attacking threat in recent weeks since moving over to that left side?

SB: He's naturally a left-sided player. His natural attributes suit that side of the field.

It’s just taken him six months to tell me that but I’m glad we got there in the end!

Q: I wanted to ask as well about Joe Philbin and his impact at the weekend – a continuation of the good form he’s shown since returning from injury?

SB: He’s been a great part of the team.

He was unfortunate to miss Wembley, but we always planned to get him back for this time of year with the hope he could find the form he was in again, and he has done.

He’s really well respected within the group, he’s great to have in the side and he was enormous at the weekend.

Q: You are the only visiting side to win at Craven Park this year within the regulation 80 minutes.

Obviously, that was back in March and both sides are in different places now, but do you feel you can take a lot from that psychologically?

SB: You have to take every game on its own merit and everything you do in the year gives you experience.

It was very different conditions earlier in the year – it was very heavy under foot as I think it had been raining for about a month before then.

It will be a bit quicker on Friday and both teams have sharpened up and ironed out creases.

Matt Dufty celebrates scoring the winning try in the Round Four win at Craven Park (Image: SWPix.com) Q: Are you expecting a cauldron-like atmosphere up there?

SB: It’s such a great place to go and play. It’s always an electric atmosphere.

There won’t be a spare seat in the house and they’re a vocal bunch of fans who are very passionate about their rugby league, which is great.

We’re expecting a really good environment – of course it will be hostile but we’ll enjoy it.

Everyone wants to see two great sides go against each other, we’ve had three good games against them this year and we’re looking forward to putting a good performance out there.

Q: Are you underdogs, do you think?

SB: I’ve not really checked what the odds are but with everything we know, you’d say so.

They finished second and we were third, they’ve had 14 days since their last game and we’ve had six.

It’s at their stadium and it’s a tough place to go, so we understand things don’t stack up our way but that’s okay.

Whatever tag is on our name, we’re excited. We’re looking forward to another week together.

Q: It’s always been pretty clear whenever you’ve come up against Hull KR that you’ve got a great amount of respect for their head coach?

SB: Willie Peters is a great bloke and it’s quite evident he’s done a great job with that club.

On and off the field, they seem to be doing really well.

We’re great mates, but we’ve got a contest on Friday night and we’re both competitive blokes.

We’ll be getting our teams in the best order.

Q: In terms of Hull KR as an opposition, is it fair to say you’ll know everything about them and they’ll know everything about you? Is there something that really stands out about them?

SB: We’ve all had a good look at each other over the past 30-odd weeks.

You can’t claim to know everything about them, but we’ve got a good idea and it’s probably the same for them with us.

These games are defined by small margins and a couple of moments. It just depends who grabs them.

The game we had there in Round Four could have gone either way – they missed a couple of tries and we jagged a couple – and I’m expecting more of the same in terms of it being a tight contest.

Q: Just finally, a word for your travelling fans on Friday – there won’t be as many as you’d like of course but tickets sold out in hours which no doubt will have really heartened and impressed you and the players?

SB: I always knew that it would be a tight rush for tickets if we got through because of the allocation. It’s not great but it is what it is.

It’s tough for the fans who are going to miss out, but I hope they can enjoy it in some capacity.

For the 1,100 that will be there, I’m sure they will be loud and proud.