Kev’s final indignity
THREE LOSSES HURT SO MUCH
LEEDS V SALFORD 3PM, SKY SPORTS
KEVIN BROWN knows more about Challenge Cup final heartache than most.
350 words The Salford Red Devils playmaker wants to avoid making history today by becoming the first player to lose four finals with four different clubs.
And the stories behind each defeat leave the 36- year- old with a burning desire to set the record straight against Leeds.
In 2004, Brown was knocked out twice as Wigan lost to St Helens in Cardiff and spent the aftermath of the game barely aware he had played in a major final.
Fast- forward five years and he had to be substituted in the early stages of Huddersfield’s defeat by Warrington after damaging his knee in a collision with his own team- mate.
By 2018 Brown had joined the Wolves but was part of the side ambushed by Catalans Dragons, who became the first non- English club to lift the trophy.
And to make matters worse, the following year when Warrington provided their own underdog triumph against St Helens, Brown was watching from the stands after a serious Achilles injury.
“What it means is that I really, really want to win one now,” Brown said.
“The first time I was only 19 and I just thought we’d be going back every year.
“It took quite a while for me to get back with Huddersfield and then I blew my knee out after just 10 minutes.
“They were both tough but the 2018 one was particularly gutwrenching. We were massive favourites but we just didn’t play well – there were no excuses, we just got outperformed on the day, which really hurt.”
LEEDS ( probable): Myler, Briscoe, Sutcliffe, Hurrell, Handley, Lui, Gale, Seumanufagai, Leeming, Oledzki, Mellor, Martin, Prior, Replacements: Dwyer, Smith, Donaldson, Cuthbertson.
SALFORD ( probable): Evalds, Williams, Welham, Watkins, Inu, Lololea, Brown, Mossop, Lussick, Dudson, Greenwood, Flanagan, Yates. Replacements: Pauli, McCarthy, Burke, Kear.