1895 Cup final preview: don't waste Wembley chance says Featherstone Rovers boss ahead of York Knights clash
Featherstone Rovers coach Paul Cooke has urged his squad to embrace a huge opportunity which eluded him in his own playing career.
Rovers take on York Knights in tomorrow’s (Saturday) final of the 1895 Cup, a competition for teams outside Super League. It is the third time Rovers have gone all the way, having beaten York at Wembley in 2021 and lost to Leigh the following year, when the final was played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Cooke will be “proud” to lead his team out at the national stadium, less than four months after taking charge, but never having had the chance to play there is a lasting regret, despite winning the Challenge Cup with Hull FC against Leeds Rhinos 20 years ago, when Wembley was being rebuilt. The former Hull KR and Wakefield Trinity man recalled: “I went there in the 1990s when Leeds played Wigan and grew up watching all those games, wanting to be a part of them and climb those iconic stairs.
“Then lo and behold, we win it in Cardiff and there’s a tinge of sadness, so it'll be a really proud moment on Saturday. If I could go back to one game in my career and play it again at Wembley, it’d be the 2005 cup final.”
The 1895 showpiece is the third - or fourth including the schoolboys Steven Mullaney Memorial Match - game on finals day. Though it follows the main event, the men’s Challenge Cup clash between Hull KR and Warrington Wolves, Cooke insisted there’ll be no feeling of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s Show’.
“It carries a lot of can for everybody - the players, the staff, the club and the community,” he stressed. “We can talk about all of that all you want, but the 17 players that take the field are the only ones that can influence it and write themselves into some kind of history. It's not about anybody but the players for me. It'd be great for the families, the community and supporters, but it's more about the players.”
It is the perfect final for Cooke, who - along with his assistant Ged Corcoran - was on the staff at York before taking charge of Rovers. He and Knights boss Mark Applegarth are good mates and he admitted: “If you want me to say that it's not about who we play and is just about us winning, there would still be a really small part of me that is pleased for York if we don't.
“I can lie and say I’d be gutted and don’t want York to win it, but there would be a part of me that would be happy for the people at that club that I still care about and have a relationship with. There’s some kind of divine intervention and destiny that we’re playing York and a part of me wins this weekend even if we lose the game, because of the people I really care about. Being there gave me the love back for the game.”
Whatever the result, Cooke reckons Rovers - who finished sixth in the Championship last year - are heading in the right direction after a tough year in 2024. “We are in a better position than where I found them 10 weeks ago, in terms of the players and personnel we’ve got on board,” he stated. “The club going to Wembley has given everyone a lift and we are beginning to turn the tide in the way the club is perceived.
“The players are a good group and they work very hard. We are finding out about everybody weekly and they are in a decent spot off the field with the new owner and chief executive and the plans we’ve got, so at the minute everything’s okay. I think we will improve and get stronger on and off the field as a club and we look forward to seeing where we can get to.”