After helping fire Warrington to Wembley, Josh Thewlis is now aiming for Super League glory and an England debut.
The all-action winger has been one of the competition’s top performers so far. He lines up against Catalans in Perpignan on Saturday having scored 11 tries in 13 games - form that has caught the eye of plenty. Uncapped Thewlis, 22, would love nothing better than being back across the Channel next month when England face France in Toulouse.
He was called up by national boss Shaun Wane for last autumn’s third Test against Tonga but didn’t make the final cut. Thewlis, who starred again as Wolves thrashed Huddersfield 46-10 in Sunday’s Challenge Cup semi-final, faces stiff competition from St Helens legend Tommy Makinson, Catalans star Tom Johnstone and Wire club-mate Matty Ashton. But he admitted: “Hopefully, I get a chance.
“I set a target at the start of the year to play in this mid-season game and it’s all down to Waney. I’m just trying to play my game every week and hopefully he is noticing that. But I’ve still got a long way to go and I’m just looking to impress.”
He did just that in the eight try destruction of Huddersfield to set up a Cup final date with Wigan on June 8. Thewlis, who booted seven goals, said: “It’s going to be my first final. And that was my first semi-final, too.
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“It was an unreal feeling especially when we knew we’d got it over the line. Huddersfield are a tough team to play against and it was tough weather conditions but we stuck to our gameplan and it showed.”
Bloodied and wounded but undefeated: Warrington Wolves winger Josh Thewlis after booking a place at Wembley (Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)Thewlis was in the thick of the action in more ways than one, twice copping stick for Jake Connor. The Giants full-back nudged him over an advertising board to spark one big second-half melee and was later sin-binned for shoving him in the face after a tackle. So what had Thewlis done to upset him so much…?
He joked: “Nothing! It was just a little scuffle on the floor. It was late on in the game, heat of the moment. I don’t even know the lad but we spoke about it after the game and had a laugh about it. It’s all good. It’s all cleared up.”
Thewlis admits Warrington won’t let Wembley fever take over, especially when facing such a sizeable proposition this weekend. Sam Burgess’ title-chasers, who have spent the week in France preparing, have only lost three games all season but two of them were against Catalans. Thewlis, who’s made 63 tackle busts and 11 clean breaks in Super League, said: “Sam’s big on what’s in front of us.
"And what’s in front of us is Catalans. We’re not looking past that. We know the Cup final is on the horizon but it’s all focused on Catalans now and hopefully we can put in a big performance there.”
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