Hull FC v St Helens: Tony Smith embracing underdog tag against Challenge Cup favourites

The Black and Whites – back-to-back winners in 2016 and 2017 – face a daunting task in their quest for a return to Wembley after being paired with a club that have won the competition 13 times.

Saints only have to go back to 2021 for the last time they lifted the famous old trophy and have claimed four Super League titles in a row either side.

St Helens are the favourites to win the Challenge Cup at Wembley in August but Smith has seen enough this season to give him hope.

"Anything can happen any week, as we've seen recently," he said.

"It's a competitive competition with not a whole lot of difference between the teams at the top and the teams at the bottom, except the teams at the top have got a little bit more consistency.

"The cup produces a different sort of pressure. It's an outcome-driven week.

"You can fix the performance the following week but you can't fix the result. You're out so you've got to nail it.

"That pressure can be good for the underdog sometimes. We're hoping so and it’s a bit of a case that we've got nothing to lose in some respects in many people's eyes.

"We'll go out there and give it a crack."

Hull have improved after losing seven straight games in a shaky start to the Smith era.

The last seven matches have produced five wins and competitive performances in defeats at Salford Red Devils and Leigh Leopards.

Smith is relishing Hull's return to the MKM Stadium after five games on the road.

"We’re giving ourselves a chance now," he said.

"Even when we've dipped a little bit, we're still in with a chance of taking something from the game and are staying competitive. That's important.

"An eight-day turnaround has been good for us. There were some signs of us being a little bit jaded last week.

"There are no excuses. We've had a good recovery and hopefully we can go out now and put out a good performance on home soil.

"We're looking forward to that biased support we have at home and them getting behind the team and encouraging them.

"Hopefully that can lift us and we can create some cheers through some good play."

St Helens arrive in west Hull in ominous form after making light work of Huddersfield Giants and Wigan Warriors to extend their winning run to five games.

Saints struggled in the aftermath of their World Club Challenge heroics in Australia but appear to be back to their dominant best.

"They've got better in recent times," said Smith.

"They were never bad. Let's face it, Saints may have a little dip in form but they don't have a crash.

"They've been not far off leading into the last couple of games and now they're in really good form. They're dangerous and do things better and for longer than most teams.

"It’s a good challenge for us. We'll need to be right on it and take our opportunities. Hopefully we can create some and ask some questions.

"I know they're going to ask a whole lot of questions of us so it'd be nice if we could put a few to them as well."