THE four Wembley finalists will pay tribute to rugby league’s fallen heroes at the Cenotaph in London on Friday morning.

The tradition of laying wreaths at the Cenotaph, which dates back to 1930, was revived in 2014, and has quickly become re-established as an integral part of Challenge Cup Final weekend.

Chairman Stuart Middleton will be at the ceremony for Warrington Wolves.

In a service starting at 11am, Simon Johnson will lay a wreath on behalf of the RFL as interim chair, and will be joined by representatives of the Armed Forces Rugby League, the Parliamentary Rugby League Group, the Challenge Cup finalists St Helens and Warrington Wolves – and this year, for the first time, the finalists for the first AB Sundecks 1895 Cup, Sheffield Eagles and Widnes Vikings.

A representative from the Royal British Legion will also lay a wreath.

A two-minute silence will start on the stroke of 11am. This will be followed by wreath-laying, prayers and the Rouse which will bring the ceremony to an end.

“One of the many reasons I was honoured to be appointed interim chair of the RFL last month was the opportunity to lead this tradition,” Simon Johnson explains.

“It encapsulates the magnificent heritage of our game and how rugby league is woven into the fabric of its communities and into the history of the north.

“Attending the ceremony previously as a director, I found it incredibly moving that the game of rugby league can honour its sacrifice in the heart of the nation’s capital. Many people come to watch this solemn ceremony in their club colours.

“No other sport affords this visible respect to those it has lost.”

The Cenotaph is on Whitehall, a short walk from Embankment, Charing Cross and Westminster tube stations.