Roby has sights set on a double - and a treble!
JAMES Roby has won just about all there is to win in domestic rugby league, but a glint appears in his eye as he contemplates a rare Grand Final three-peat.
St Helens were champions four times in the first seven years of Super League from 1996-2002 and hold the record for most Grand Final appearances as they prepare to take on first-timers Catalans Dragons at Old Trafford tonight.
An eighth victory would enable them to equal the record of Leeds and also match the Rhinos’ achievement of three successive Grand Final triumphs from 2007-09.
Much of the build-up has been centred on the Dragons’ chance to make history by becoming the first overseas team to become rugby league champions, but the Saints captain has no time for sentiment.
“The story behind Catalan and Toulouse both doing well and the growth of the game in the south of France is brilliant, but we are not really too bothered about that on Saturday,” he said.
“We will just have to get our own house in order and perform like I know we can. The three-peat is there and an opportunity is in front of us.
“It has taken so long to get here - to put ourselves in the position to be within 80 minutes of winning three in a row.
“It is really special and we are aware of that - and will do everything we can to achieve it.”
Victory in their 14th Grand
Final would also enable St Helens to repeat the double they achieved in 2006, when a 20-year-old Roby was a substitute in their 42-12 Challenge Cup final win over Huddersfield at Twickenham.
The double has been achieved by just three other clubs in the 24-year history of the Grand Final - Bradford (2003), Wigan (2013) and Leeds (2015) - which Roby says illustrates just how difficult a task it is.
“The double almost gets forgotten because the talk is the three-peat but to win the Challenge Cup and Super League in the same year is no mean feat,” said Roby, who was a tryscorer in Saints’ 26-12 win over Castleford at Wembley in July.
“Winning at Wembley was fantastic for the club but there is always that little bit of doubt can a team that wins at Wembley find the enthusiasm to keep going for the rest of the year and find the performances?
“But we have also improved since then, we are going into this game in better form than we went into the Challenge Cup final.
“We are also aware that does not mean anything and, if Catalans play better than us, they will be remembered as the champions and not us.
“It is something we are proud of, and we are proud of the fact that we have responded and rallied toward this back end of the year, but there is one more to go.”
It has not been all glory for Roby, who suffered the heartbreak of five successive Grand Final defeats from 2007-11 and is aware another would give him the unwanted record of most Old Trafford losses.