Matty Blythe admits he would love to reach the Tetley's Challenge Cup semi-finals at the expense of his home-town club Warrington on Sunday.

The Bulls centre came through the ranks at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and was at Wembley when the Wolves won the famous old trophy in 2009, 2010 and 2012.

But he did not play in any of those finals due to the strength of Tony Smith’s squad and is now helping Bradford's bid to move into the last four.

The 25-year-old, who played 80 minutes on his comeback from injury against Wakefield last weekend, said: “I was in the squads for those finals and I went down with the team, so I got a taste for it.

“But obviously you want to play because it makes you hungry and gets you thinking ‘I wish I was playing’, although being in the squad means you have still played your part.

“It would be nice to help Bradford get there this year. We’re not going out there just for a game on Sunday – we want to reach the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup.”

Blythe still lives in Warrington and could have been forgiven for wishing he was still plying his trade in the primrose and blue.

As Smith has made the Wolves a force to be reckoned with in recent seasons, Blythe has faced some uncertain times at Odsal.

“I’ve certainly no regrets coming here at all – I love it at Bradford,” he said.

“Obviously we’ve had our off-field problems but I love the players and the staff here. We’re one big family, so I don’t regret it one bit.

“We just need to work hard and take care of the things we are in control of.

“After we beat Wakefield, teams above us are going to be looking over their shoulder and thinking ‘Bradford are catching us up here, we need to step on the gas’.

“There is still almost half the season left, so we are looking forward to kicking on and improving further.

“We’ve got a few players back now and we have shown that we can cause some serious damage.

“From one to 17, everyone played well against Wakefield, and that was very pleasing.”

Blythe showed no ill effects on his comeback from a knee injury that kept him sidelined for six weeks.

He added: “I was blowing a bit at the end because it was a tough game and Wakefield never gave in.

“We slacked off a bit after half-time but personally it just felt good to play and I really enjoyed being out there with my team-mates again.

“It was good to dust everything off and get some game fitness under my belt.”