King thrilled with Wolves resurgence

Australian Test centre Matt King reflected on his "darkest day" as he contemplated what promises to be the highlight of his career.

The former Melbourne Storm star scored a hat-trick of tries in Warrington's epic 39-26 Carnegie Challenge Cup semi-final victory over Wigan, which ended their 19-year wait for a trip to Wembley.

Fortunes hit rock bottom when the Wolves crashed to a 60-8 defeat at Harlequins in March and King responded to barracking from his own fans with a one-fingered gesture, but following a public apology, he said: "That was a dark day. But obviously the last few months have been good and the team's heading in the right direction."

He added: "Saturday was great for us. We always worked hard. Things just weren't going our way but we're off to London in a few weeks and it's a great reward for everyone."

King played down his tryscoring feat, preferring to highlight the contribution of man-of-the-match Lee Briers, whose 70th-minute drop goal settled jangling nerves, and half-back partner Michael Monaghan, whose scheming sparked Warrington's first-half purple patch.

"There are bigger stories than me scoring a couple of tries," he said. "I thought the boys inside me played the house down, Mick Monaghan was on fire and Briersy played well.

"I was lucky enough to put the ball down. I didn't have to do too much. It was a great team effort."