ABERGAVENNY’S Gil Dudson has a taste for silverware as he looks to follow a Wembley win with success at Old Trafford.

The 23-year-old prop was a member of the Wigan squad that triumphed in the Challenge Cup final.

The Cherry and Whites toasted that success last week but the party didn’t last long; on Friday they were back in action against their Wembley victims Hull in the Super League.

The tables were turned on a young Wigan side at the DW but the play-offs await the Warriors, who currently sit third.

“To win the Challenge Cup is awesome but things quickly move on and now we are back concentrating on trying to make the Grand Final,” said Dudson.

“And I think we’ve got a great chance because we are a good side and have shown that we can put teams away when we click.”

It’s the stuff of dreams for Hudson, who started playing league at 14 and turned out for Torfaen Tigers and Newport Titans.

He also was a pretty useful union player for New Panteg and Pontypool United Youth, his exploits earning selection for the Dragons Under-18s to form a midfield partnership with current regional back Adam Hughes.

But it was the 13-man game that Dudson took a shine to, eventually earning a deal with Celtic Crusaders.

“I always preferred league and it suited my game, I couldn’t get enough of it,” he said.

“I love the physical side of it, the contact carrying the ball and being aggressive.

“And to play for Wigan is great. It’s such a famous club, you come in and they sit you down for a talk about the history of the club. It’s a bit daunting but all you can do is get stuck in.”

He won’t just be adopting that policy for Wigan over the coming months, in October he will feature for Wales at the World Cup.

With games at the Millennium Stadium, Neath’s Gnoll and Wrexham’s Racecourse, Dudson is looking forward to making an impact on home turf.

“There are some really talented sides in the World Cup but we’ve got a pretty good squad ourselves,” he said.

“We’ve got boys from the Super League, some from the NRL and I think it’s quite important that a lot of us are homegrown.

“Our first job is to get out of the group, then it’s anyone’s and we want to do ourselves justice.”