George Williams shines as Warrington Wolves beat Huddersfield Giants for a Wembley place

Silky Stand-off Williams headlined the show. Wolves boss Burgess first played him for England in 2016 but he is arguably playing better than ever.

On the 29-year-old’s progress since then, Burgess said: “It’s probably more in terms of leadership. He has always been a brilliant player and the group responds to him. He is part of our leadership and there are three or four there that bring a lot of energy to the team.

“George is one of the most experienced players – he’s played in Australia, he’s played in the grand final, he’s been there and done that. He is a very easy guy to follow. Scored some nice tries today. George and Duft (Matt Dufty) combined quite well, we did well on the big occasion and I’m glad we took the opportunity.

“We have to get to Wembley but now we have to go all the way. Wigan win it all. But it’s up to us to take it from them.”

Warrington raced to an 18-0 lead in just 19 minutes to seal their Wembley deal and condemn Huddersfield to a fourth straight defeat. They have not faced Wigan in a Challenge Cup final since 1990 and the heady days of Ellery Hanley and Mike Gregory. But it has the makings of a classic, especially if Wolves keep it up.

Williams’ superb pass sent Matty Ashton sprinting and the England captain backed him up before beating Connor for Toby King to send Josh Drinkwater over on eight minutes. And they scored back-to-back tries as Matt Dufty curled over from long range for Ashton to cross. But the Giants’ goal-line defense was as shaky as they were tricked by Danny Walker’s short-range dunk.

Adam Swift responded in the 25th minute as Huddersfield finally woke up. When Josh Thewlis sailed dead on the restart, they had a chance to strike again – only for Olly Wilson to find cheaply. Similarly, they had another gilt-edged opportunity when Jake Connor again put Swift in space. But defender Dufty produced a try-saving tackle and it proved crucial as, just moments later, Warrington had their fourth try in 34 minutes.

Walker burst from deep again to find Williams who sped up the middle, left Connor rooted for another step and then slowed to shrug off Adam Clune for a glorious 70m score. Williams’ late pass sent Dufty through for a deserved try on 48 minutes, and then it was just damage limitation for the Giants. Dufty added his second from Ben Currie’s run.

A huge melee broke out after Connor pushed Thewlis and Tui Lolohea tackled Matty Nicholson before pulling him to the ground. Referee Liam Moore took no further action and it was too little too late for the Giants to be dismissed. Kevin Naiqama got a consolation try before Connor’s yellow, but Sam Powell and Rodrick Tai rounded things off for jubilant Wolves.

Watson said: “We are hurt. We had a plan to execute – and it didn’t materialize because of the first 20 minutes.”

On experienced full-back Connor’s ill-discipline, he added: “I’ve got to talk to Jake about that before I talk about it in the press. He deserves it. But we have to get over it.”