Ladbrokes Challenge Cup: It's a Hull of a draw says Leeds Rhinos captain Danny McGuire
Hull secured their place in the last four with a 32-24 win over league leaders Castleford Tigers yesterday.
The tie, to be played on the weekend of July 29/30, is expected to be staged at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium and sees the past two winners of the trophy go head-to-head.
“It’s a good draw for us, to be honest,” McGuire said.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“Once you get to the semi-finals I don’t think it really matters – the teams there are all quality.
“Whichever way the draw dropped it would be a tough team.”
Rhinos have won their last seven games against Hull, including a 52-24 away victory in Super League two months ago.
The teams are third and fourth in Betfred Super League and McGuire added: “Watching Hull the past couple of weeks they have been playing well, so it’ll be a really tough game.
“We did a good job on them earlier in the season and when we’ve played them in the Cup recently our record has been pretty good.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“But we’ve not played them this late in the competition for a long time. There’s a lot to play for and from the desperation they showed against Cas, it looks like they want to defend the trophy.
“It’s all on the day and who turns up and plays well.”
Rhinos face Castleford at Headingley on Friday in Super League and McGuire warned: “The semi-final’s a few weeks away.
“We’ve got to put that competition to bed for a while now and refocus on it when it comes around again.”
Hull coach Lee Radford predicted: “It’ll be a tough game. We haven’t beaten them in a long time so it’ll be a challenging game, but an exciting one. It’s a Yorkshire derby so it’ll be an exciting game to be involved in.”
Wigan will play Salford Red Devils in the other semi-final following their respective quarter-final wins over Warrington and Wakefield.