PICTURE the scene.

The television blares. All eyes are on it waiting, nervously and expectantly, for the number 16. St Helens, the Super League champions, appear and, in the moments after, there is silence.

The hand reaches in, swirls the oval-shaped balls around, and picks out a single marker.

He turns it to the camera. There it is. Sweet 16.

“I was jumping about the kitchen when it came out,” said York City Knights skipper James Haynes as he recalled the realisation that the club would be heading to Langtree Park in the Challenge Cup.

“I am really excited about the game. We know we have got no chance of winning the Challenge Cup but it will be good to play against Super League opponents.

It is something we are all looking forward to. These are the games of a career.

“A few of the players have played Super League but for the lads that haven’t - especially the young kids - it is a massive occasion. It will be a bit surreal to line up against the likes of Travis Burns and you have got enjoy it.”

He added: “It will be a really tough day. You just have to enjoy the occasion and get as much out of the game as you can. Young lads like Greg Minikin can learn a lot from that game. He could yet play Super League and he will gain valuable experience. That goes for a lot of the young blokes.

“It’ll definitely be up there for me with the biggest games of my career. I was lucky enough to play Super League myself but this will be a great occasion.”

If St Helens was the dream game for full-back Haynes, who caught a taste of the Super League life when starting out with Hull Kingston Rovers, then he has another burning ambition - to bag a try.

But the 26-year-old will also demand his side learn from the experience of playing one of the best rugby league teams on the planet as they look to create their own waves in Kingstone Press League One this season.

“It will be invaluable,” he added. “We can see how they execute their plays and we can mark ourselves against that. We want to try to push a Super League side for as long we we can and that would bode well for the rest of the season.

“We want to try to get some tries - I would like to crash over myself - and put on a good show for our fans. We don’t want to come off the field with red faces.

“But the league is our focus. There is a million to one chance of us getting to the Challenge Cup final. The players have got to perform for their places, though. If they want to play in that game they will have to perform well in the league. That has got to be the focus.

“We’ve got a fairly big squad. Lads who want to play will have to show what they have got in the next month or so. That definitely includes me. There are no guaran - tees just because I am captain that I am on the team sheet every week.

“I’ve got to perform well and I am always looking to do that.”

With the Knights facing the less illustrious task of trying to defeat Coventry Bears at Clifton Park tomorrow, Haynes believes the best is yet to come from head coach James Ford’s emerging outfit.

He explained: “We’ve been building into the season. We’ve put together 20 or 30 minutes of good stuff and then ten to 15 minutes that are no so good. That’s been holding us back. When it gets to the back end of the season, though, if we are firing then that’s when we need to.

“It was really good to win the league last season but it counted for nothing. As long as we are in the play-offs then we back ourselves to beat anyone.”

So while the Bears await, the Challenge Cup must be set aside until May 15. But Haynes admits the game will be extremely important for everyone concerned.

“There is huge excitement,” he said. “It is a big occasion for us. There are a lot of lads in our team who, if they had the chance, would be playing Super League. It’s a shop window. It’s an opportunity for us to progress as individuals and it is a great day for the club.”