Sam Powell hopes for Magic outcome after vowing to not repeat Saints sin
SAM Powell can guarantee one thing – you will never see a repeat of the hideous tackle that landed him a ban that caused him to miss the biggest stages.
The Wigan hooker was walloped with a six-game suspension for slamming St Helens’ Jon Bennison to the ground in Good Friday’s derby.
As a result, he was nothing more than a spectator as the Warriors triumphed at both Elland Road and Tottenham to lift the Challenge Cup.
That frustration, as well as his feeling when seeing footage of the challenge as he faced a disciplinary panel, means you will never see him do that again.
As he prepares to face St Helens again at Newcastle’s St James’ Park in Magic Weekend’s summit battle, Powell said: “I’ve definitely learned from it.
“I got my technique wrong and it won’t happen again. I looked at it from a technical point of view. I just didn’t give him enough room for his head to come through and it ended up in a dangerous position.
“Next time, I’ll probably slow my actions down and make sure his head comes through – then it would be a legal tackle.
“It was tough watching the lads at Leeds and Tottenham. It was frustrating but it was my own doing and this will have a similar feel.
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“It’s a great stadium and concept and I’m excited to test myself against what’s been the benchmark for the last few years.”
St Helens v Wigan, first v second, is a match fit for the stage of 52,000-capacity St James’ Park and Matt Peet’s men showed the three-times Super League champions can be beaten in the Challenge Cup semi-final.
And the Warriors have two players fit for such a stage in Bevan French and Jai Field, who tops the fastest speed chart by clocking 36.1 km/h – in other words, a pace that would see a 9.97 second 100 metres.
No wonder Powell, no slouch himself, feels like the proverbial tortoise.
The 30-year-old added: “The rivalry means it’s a massive game and it always will be but taking it to St James’ Park adds a bit more spice.
“But some of the stuff Bevan and Jai come up with is magic and at times, I’m stood there just enjoying watching them play.
“Players like them are made for stages like St James’ Park. A lot of hard work goes into creating space and they just ice the cake but I feel very slow!”
Saints v Wigan may be the main event on the field given their respective positions in the table but the Warriors are putting things together off the field by building stronger links with its community.
In recent years, an ‘us and them’ mentality had crept in but Peet put destroying that top of his priority list and hometown boy Powell believes that is paying dividends.
He told SunSport: “We’ve worked hard on making relationships better and getting into the community.
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“With the situation everyone’s been in in life, it was always going to be disconnected but we’re relishing the opportunity to get back into it and reconnect. It’s been quite refreshing.
“Seeing the community buy in is a big thing and that only supports us. It can give us an extra kick and it’s showing in the results we’re getting on the field.”