MATT King summed up Saturday’s Challenge Cup heroics as ‘the best sort of victory’.

Warrington Wolves’ first Challenge Cup success at the new Craven Park ground was secured with Lee Briers’ ‘golden point’ drop goal in the 85th minute and King said the win was testament to the game plan doing its job.

“Blowing a team off the park is fun but it’s not as satisfying as winning a game like that,” he said.

“We were down by 10 points but we stuck to our guns and came out the other side.

“The best teams will always stick to their game plan whatever the score is. If you keep sticking to it then those processes will eventually pay off for you.”

Although it was Warrington’s first ever experience of ‘golden point’ extra time action, King is no stranger to it.

A pass from Brett Kimmorley intended for King was intercepted and handed Queensland a ‘golden point’ try in game one of the 2005 State of Origin series with New South Wales in 2005.

And he was involved in sudden-death outcomes with his former club Melbourne Storm, too.

“It’s great to watch when you’re not involved but if you’re involved your heart sticks in your throat,” he said.

“It’s all about being very, very smart in the extra time. I thought we looked like being the only team to score a ‘golden point’ on Saturday.

“It’s about not giving away penalties and keeping your composure in attack, keeping hold of the ball to potentially win the field position and then you’ll get a scoring chance.

“In the end, I think it came down to us being that much smarter in extra time and we got the win we deserved.”

King, who helped create one try and scored another himself, is not getting carried away by the prospect of an ‘awesome’ appearance in the semi finals.

“We’ve not won anything yet,” he said.

“Saturday was a great win, great for the club and great for team morale.

“But it’s straight back to work because we’ve got Castleford on Saturday and they’re in great form.”

With the semi final against Wigan being two months away, King fully backs head of coaching and rugby Tony Smith to keep the players’ focus on winning Super League points in the meantime.

“His role is to get the players’ minds focused on each game and I’ve got a lot of confidence in Tony that he’ll get us exactly right for whatever’s thrown at us.”

King has been impressed with Smith’s input since the new boss arrived at the club in March.

“We have picked up a few good wins and it’s pleasing where we are now compared to what we were doing in the first six weeks of the season,” he said.

“It was a pretty dark time for all of us and to come through that and be on the other side of it is very pleasing.

“I’ve been impressed with Tony’s point of view on attitude.

“He believes that if you work hard for yourself, you’ll then work hard for your teammates.

“And the harder you work, the more good luck you have.

“Also I’m a firm believer that if you get your attitude right you’re going a long way towards winning a footy game.”