The Panthers are set to continue their unfortunate streak of never winning a World Club Challenge, after the club officially withdrew from the 2025 edition Tuesday.
After taking down the Melbourne Storm, the team would traditionally face off against the winner of the Super League, whose grand final this season features Wigan and Hull KR.
And while the match-up was already in doubt, the Panthers have officially called it off, with their club CEO defending the decision.
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Panthers boss defends choice to cancel World Club Challenge
Panthers CEO Brian Fletcher has defended his club's decision to skip the World Club Challenge, citing both difficulties in travel as well as preserving player health and safety.
"You couldn’t put the players through it. We can’t play it, we don’t have the time span,” Fletcher told the Daily Telegraph.
"It’s impractical. There’s no way in the world we could fit it into the schedule. Our coaches and football department have said the players couldn’t stand up to it.
"The amount of football that they’ve played and then a World Club Challenge before we go to Vegas, it becomes too much.
"Player welfare is the biggest problem. We have 20-odd players in the Pacific Test matches as well and we have a lot of surgery to be done on players over the off-season."
The Panthers will travel to Las Vegas for round 1 of the 2025 NRL season, as they look to start a fifth-straight premiership campaign.
