KEV OUT TO LAND THE KNOCKOUT BLOW

®Êby JULIE STOTT

KEV BROWN plans to go down in Challenge Cup Final history today – and make sure everyone knows about it.

The Warrington half-back has suffered horrific bad luck in his two previous cup final appearances.

He was knocked out twice in his first one for Wigan in 2004 and can’t remember anything about the 32-16 defeat by St Helens.

In his second one with Huddersfield, a 25-16 defeat by Hull in 2009, he suffered a devastating seasonending knee injury.

Brown now has a chance of glory at the third attempt after playing a starring role in the 48-12 semi-final win over Leeds.

But the former England star was shocked to discover, courtesy of Starsport, that the semi-final should have been even more memorable.

The game was his 400th career appearance but neither Brown or Warrington realised it and so the landmark was ignored.

Snappy

Brown said: “We had a big thing for Jack Hughes’ 200th game the day before. His family came in and there was a video celebrating his career.” He jokingly added: “I feel a bit short-changed that I got to 400 games and nobody knew.” Warrington have since made up for the oversight by doing a special presentation to Brown. But he’s determined to make his 402nd game at Wembley today extra special.

He said: “I never thought I would get this many games when I was coming through as a snappy little Wiganer. I was just living the dream and I wanted to ride that wave for as long as I could. I’m still doing it now, which is pretty special.

“Four hundred is a pretty good achievement but my body feels great and I’m still living the dream.”

Brown want to make sure today’s final stays in his memory for the right reasons. He said: “I know from bitter experience that the best days of my life have quickly turned into some of the worst.

“I have played in three finals – two Challenge Cup Finals and a World Cup Final last year – and I’ve lost them all. “Those are not great feelings and I do not want to go to Wembley and lose again. I want this one to be special.” The 33-year-old retired from England duty earlier this year to concentrate on helping win silverware.