Long: We can handle final pressure

St Helens captain Sean Long is confident his side can handle the pressure as they close in on the final leg of an elusive treble.

Victory over Hull at Old Trafford on Saturday would enable Saints to add the Super League crown to the Challenge Cup and League Leaders' Shield already resting in the Knowsley Road trophy cabinet.

"We've got a good record in Grand Finals but I suppose records are there to be broken," said Long. "You could say there is a lot of pressure on us but that's good really. We handled it well in the Challenge Cup final."

While St Helens eye a fifth Super League title in 11 years, Hull look to wrap up their first and the omens look good.

A year ago they ended a 23-year wait to get their hands on the Challenge Cup by overturning the odds against Leeds, and it is also now 23 years since their last championship triumph.

Hull coach Peter Sharp, who only took up the role in April following the sacking of John Kear, is in buoyant mood after steering his team to 15 wins from 19 matches.

"We're underdogs and rightly so," he said.

"The other side have had four losses all year and that's a tremendous record in any competition anywhere.

"But there's a first time for everything, isn't there? We hadn't beaten them at Knowsley Road for a long time. Things like that won't mean too much at six o'clock on Saturday night."