Hull KR v Castleford Tigers - Grant Millington targets Challenge Cup run and Wembley appearance

Aussie prop Grant Millington has his eyes on the ‘big dance’ at Wembley in three months’ time.
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Tigers begin their Betfred Challenge Cup campaign in a third round tie at Hull KR this evening (Friday).

Millington, who is out of contract in November, didn’t play when Tigers reached the final seven years ago, but is ambitious for a Wembley appearance during his time at the club.

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“We’ve had a couple of tough draws, but it’s one of those things - it doesn’t matter who you draw, you’ve only got to win a certain number of games to get to the big dance,” he said.

Grant Millington takes a carry in last week'#s win over Leeds. Picture by Richard Seller/PA Wire.Grant Millington takes a carry in last week'#s win over Leeds. Picture by Richard Seller/PA Wire.
Grant Millington takes a carry in last week'#s win over Leeds. Picture by Richard Seller/PA Wire.

“We’ve got Hull KR this year and they’re always tough to play over there at their ground. They are an attacking side, but they’ve shown they can really hang around.

“We are going to have to play for the full 80 to get the win, but I think we’ve got the talent and the drive within our squad to, hopefully, get through to the next round.”

Tigers have won their opening two Betfred Super League games going into today’s tie and Millington reckons they’ve made a “pretty good start”.

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He said: “Personally, I think I have been going pretty well and more importantly, as a squad and team we’ve kicked off with two pretty tough games and had two wins.

“Even within that we’ve recognised a couple of areas where we’ve got plenty of growth and room for improvement, so we are pretty happy with where we are at the moment.”

Millington pin-pointed defence as the key to Tigers’ wins over Warrington Wolves and Leeds Rhinos.

“Look at the Leeds game especially and we didn’t really get out of first or second gear,” he recalled.

“We didn’t attack well, but we defended well.

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“It felt like in the game we lost a few rucks and the game was quite fast, but we defended our line well and had that desperation you need when a side are putting you under pressure.

“That’s a reflection of our pre-season. We worked hard on both attack and defence, but if you look at what St Helens have done the past couple of years, they have averaged 12 or 14 points [conceded].

“It’s a pretty tough ask, but that’s where you’ve got to be if you want to do something.”

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