ACE stand-off Danny McGuire admits Leeds Rhinos have been relishing tomorrow's Carnegie Challenge Cup semi-final showdown with St Helens ever since the draw was made, almost two months ago.
McGuire said: "We've been building up to it for the last few weeks.
"It's been a long time since the draw was made and you can't help but think about it, it has always been there on the back of our minds and now we're just looking forward to getti
ng out there and getting on with it.
"Leeds-Saints games are always massive, this one's a semi-final, it's only one game away from Wembley, so they don't come any bigger.
"We've had some confidence boosts with the last few performances, so we're looking forward to it."
McGuire made his name scoring two tries for Rhinos in their 2003 Challenge Cup semi-final win over Saints, which was also played at Huddersfield's Galpharm Stadium.
That game – which Leeds won in extra-time after Kevin Sinfield converted McGuire's 80th-minute touchdown to level the scores – is rated as the greatest semi-final ever, but the Rhinos stand-off feels tomorrow could be just as good.
"I don't see why not," he said. "From our point of view, it would be nice to win by a few points, but I'm sure the neutrals want a close one like that.
"It should be a cracker. We are 80 minutes away from Wembley, it is there for us and it is up to us to perform."
Meanwhile, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats coach John Kear will be cheering on Rhinos tomorrow.
Wildcats play Hull in the second semi-final on Sunday and Kear said: "An ideal final for me would be for Wakefield to play Leeds, 40 years after the Watersplash final.
"One of the defining moments of the Challenge Cup at the old Wembley was poor old Don Fox missing that kick (from in front of the posts, which would have won the 1968 final) and obviously it would be great 40 years on to have a repeat of that – and hopefully a different result this time.
"I think that would be a great final."
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The full article contains 368 words and appears in EP Leeds First & County newspaper.