One of Junee’s most successful rugby league exports is just two wins away from playing in the Challenge Cup final at London’s 90,000 seat Wembley Stadium.
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Former Diesel Michael Dobson will captain the Salford Red Devils against Wakefield Trinity at AJ Bell Stadium in Greater Manchester on Friday morning (NSW time).
His Red Devils have made it to the final eight of the 72-team knockout competition and the Junee native is feeling good about his chances of making it to Wembley.
Salford went down to Wakefield Trinity in both of its Super League clashes this season.
Dobson said they are a team to be approached with caution.
“They work extremely hard and are hard to put away,” he said.
“But both times we played them we didn't put our best foot forward.
“We’re in good form at the moment and we’ve beaten just about every side this year at least once.
“Combine that with being at home for the quarter final and hopefully we can make semis, and then from there, anything can happen.”
Dobson is coming off a victory over a fellow Junee native, downing former Diesel Andrew Heffernan and his Hull Kingston Rovers outfit in the previous round of the Cup last month.
Rovers led 14-0 midway through the contest but Salford fought back with a quartet of tries, Dobson sealing the 24-14 win with four conversions.
But Dobson said it was nice to see a fellow former Diesel excelling overseas.
“He’s doing really well and played really well against us, which is great to see,” he said.
“We didn’t have a lot to do with each other back home because of the age difference, but he’s playing with one of my former clubs now and it’s always good to see the progress of other guys from Junee.”
Dobson said he was enjoying the UK’s more attacking style of play since returning to England in 2015 after a stint with the Newcastle Knights, but emphasised he would always have a soft spot for his home town.
“I make sure I keep tabs on the Diesels, as well as the NRL,” he said.
“Most of the games start in the morning here so I can wake up and have brekkie while watching the games.
“But it can be a bit harder for my folks back home because they only show a few games a week on Australian TV.”
The Red Devils’ quarter-final clash with Wakefield Trinity begins at 5am on Friday morning.
