Three years after the World Club Challenge was last played between the Roosters and St Helens, the battle for international supremacy is back with NRL champions Penrith squaring off with the Saints this weekend.
Rarely have two teams entered the WCC clash on the back of such dominant streaks in their respective competitions – St Helens winning the past four Super League titles, the Panthers going back-to-back in the NRL in 2021-22 after finishing runners-up in 2020.
Had it not been for the COVID pandemic the Panthers and Saints would have met a year ago but the wait will be worth it for which ever side can conquer the heat and the ferocious opening exchanges to emerge victorious.
The Panthers' posse of World Cup stars were kept in cotton wool during Round 1 of the Pre-Season Challenge but will be ready to rumble against the Saints, who showed their class with a 30-18 win over the Dragons in Wollongong.
With fullback Jack Welsby (19 runs for 200 metres and four tackle breaks) and prop Alex Walmsley (17 runs for 197 metres) leading the charge and Agnatius Paasi and James Bell bringing impact off the bench, the Saints made it clear they're all business on this trip Down Under.
In front of a parochial Panthers crowd at BlueBet Stadium the visitors are in for a true test of their mettle but they have shown time and again during the past two decades that a strong culture and unbreakable belief takes you a long way.
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Team News
Panthers: Back-rower Liam Martin (knee) is out along with fullback Dylan Edwards (hamstring) but World Cup winners Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo will be good to go after they were rested from the Eels game on Saturday. The Aussie pair along with Samoan World Cup stars Jarome Luai, Stephen Crichton, Brian To’o, Spencer Leniu and Izack Tago all resumed training early on January 9 to ensure they would have at least six weeks of pre-season under their belt before taking part in a professional match as per health and safety protocols. Bench player Jaeman Salmon was the only member of the Panthers' grand final side who had a run against the Eels in Round 1 of the Pre-Season Challenge and he has again been named in the 17 for the WCC.
Saints: England forward Morgan Knowles missed the Dragons match due to illness but he is right to go this week. Fellow international Tommy Makinson suffered a cork in the first half in Wollongong and handed the goal kicking duties to Ben Davies but the dynamic winger is in doubt for Saturday's game at Penrith.
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Stat Attack
- St Helens have won the WCC twice. They beat the Broncos in 2001 and again in 2007, both times at Reebok Stadium in Bolton. The Panthers made two WCC finals in 1991 and 2004 but lost both.
- Saints skipper James Roby has played 521 Super League games across 19 seasons. Penrith's most experienced player is Isaah Yeo with 196 NRL games followed by James Fisher-Harris (157) and Nathan Cleary (137).
- St Helens have played seven WCC games for two wins and five losses. Their last win was 2007 when they defeated the Broncos 18-14 in Bolton.
Makinson sure can finish a try
- Winger Tommy Makinson was St Helens' leading try-scorer in 2022 with 22 tries in 21 regular season games. Taylan May topped the Panthers' try-scoring with 16 in 20 regular season matches.
- Fullback Dylan Edwards was the Panthers' top tackle breaker in 2022 with 126 in 25 games, including nine on his way to winning the Clive Churchill Medal in the grand final win over the Eels. Jack Welsby had 109 tackle breaks in 24 games to lead the Saints in 2022.
- This is the fifth World Club Challenge game played on Australian soil. The only successful UK team was Wigan in 1994 (defeated Broncos 20-14).
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