The World Club Challenge has returned for the first time in three years and features back-to-back NRL premiers Penrith squaring off against Super League giants St Helens.
The English side have won four consecutive titles and will be making their eighth appearance in the showpiece event against Ivan Cleary’s men who will be aiming to claim their first WCC trophy in the club’s history.
When is the World Club Challenge?
The Panthers will welcome Saints to BlueBet Stadium on Saturday February 18th with kick-off scheduled for 6:50pm AEDT, following the NRL's decision to move the kick-off to a later time due to player safety concerns.
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The home side will be hoping it will be third time lucky for them after suffering defeats to Wigan and Bradford in the past.
Saints have two scalps to their name having beaten Brisbane in 2001 and again six years later.
Although they have struggled of late against the cream of the crop in the NRL, having lost to the Roosters 20-12 in the last edition of the match before the Covid pandemic sidelined the contest.
Team lists for Penrith Panthers vs St Helens
Penrith team: 1. Stephen Crichton 2. Taylan May 3. Izack Tago 4. Sunia Turuva 5. Brian To’o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Mitch Kenny 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Luke Garner 12. Zac Hosking 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Jack Cogger 15. Matt Eisenhuth 16. Spencer Leniu 17. Jaeman Salmon 18. Lindsay Smith 19. Kurt Falls 20. Liam Henry 21. Thomas Jenkins 22. Mavrik Geyer
Team news: Stephen Crichton starts at fullback with Dylan Edwards the only player in the backline from last year's grand final-winning side to miss out in the WCC.
Mitch Kenny starts at hooker after Api Koroisau's departure to the Wests Tigers, while Luke Garner fills the shoes of Viliame Kikau on the left edge after the Fijian's move to the Bulldogs in the off-season.
Liam Martin is also absent through injury, gifting new recruit Zac Hosking a shot in the backrow.
Jaemon Salmon has been included on the bench and could become the only player to appear in both of the club's trial games.
St Helens team: 1. Jack Welsby 2. Tommy Makinson 3. Will Hopoate 4. Mark Percival 5. Jonathan Bennison 6. Jonny Lomax 7. Lewis Dodd 8. Alex Walmsley 9. James Roby 10. Matty Lees 11. Sione Mata’utia 12. Joe Batchelor 13. Morgan Knowles 14. Joey Lussick 15. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook 16. Curtis Sironen 17. Agnatius Paasi 18. Jake Wingfield 19. James Bell 20. Daniel Norman 21. Ben Davies 22. Sam Royle 23. Konrad Hurrell 24. Lewis Baxter
Team news: Jack Welsby has been named at fullback despite picking up a leg injury against St George, while Tommy Makinson will also be racing the clock to be fit after getting a cork that saw him relinquish his kicking duties.
In a big boost to the visitor's backrow, Morgan Knowles and Joe Batchelor have both been named to start. Knowles missed the victory over the Dragons through illness, while Batchelor was pictured in a moon boot in the sheds last weekend.
How to watch Penrith vs St Helens
The entirety of the 2023 pre-season will be broadcast exclusively on Fox League and Kayo in Australia.
Meanwhile, in a first for fans in the UK, the WCC will be shown live on free-to-air through Channel 4 with regular broadcaster Sky Sports also televising the match.
| Country | Time | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 6:50pm AEDT | Fox League / Kayo |
| United Kingdom | 7.50am GMT | Channel 4 / Sky Sports |
Why was the World Club Challenge kick-off time changed?
Due to extreme temperatures being forecast in Penrith on Saturday, the NRL announced that the kick-off time has been adjusted from 6pm to 6:50pm AEDT.
This follows an announcement where a number of changes were already proposed for the game due to concerns around the heat and humidity. These included:
- Playing the match in quarters to allow for additional water breaks
- Increased interchanges from eight to 10
- Each team allowed to use 18 players from their squad
The mercury is tipped to reach 37 degrees on gameday, following a warm end to the week in Sydney.
However, Saints coach Paul Wellens dismissed the narrative around his team being at a disadvantage in the conditions and said he wouldn't be using it as an excuse.
“The one thing quite a lot of Australians mention when we come over is the heat but what people have got to realise is that we do occasionally have hot days in the UK as well," he told NRL.com.
“Obviously, it’s different to what we’re used to, but we make no excuses there. The conditions are the conditions, and we will adapt accordingly.”
Who are the match officials for the WCC?
Ashley Klein has been appointed the lead referee for the heavyweight contest, with Chris Butler in the Bunker to review all of the action.
Darian Furner will serve as a touch judge and will also be on standby as the replacement referee, along with David Munro.
St Helens preview
Generally, the game has been hosted in England at the start of the NRL season but due to players commitments with the Rugby League World Cup and a shortened turnaround, this was deemed unfeasible.
Instead, Saints will become the first side since Leeds in 2018 to travel over to Australia for the match. Yet this will mark only the second time ever during the NRL era that the WCC will be hosted in Sydney after the Roosters did so in 2014 during their victory over Wigan.
The trip Down Under will be the first official game in charge for new coach Wellens after former mentor Kristian Woolf returned to Australia to take up an assistant role at the Dolphins.
It will be an incredibly tall order for the hometown legend to claim his first win while in the hot seat though with bitter rivals Wigan currently the only English side to have triumphed in Australia. They famously beat the Broncos in 1994.
“Both ourselves and Penrith have had unrivalled success in recent years, and we are relishing the opportunity to go over to Australia and test ourselves against what is undoubtedly a great team,” Wellens said.
“We are obviously motivated by achieving further success and this gives us as a club an early opportunity to do exactly that in 2023.
“We aim to represent ourselves, the town of St Helens and the Super League competition in the best possible manner.”
Australia, the Saints are coming. 🇦🇺 @SuperLeague ✈️ @NRL #COYS | #HistoryInTheMaking pic.twitter.com/oFAv2FDxia
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) January 31, 2023
Saints’ chairman Eamonn McManus viewed the clash as a great opportunity to extend the club’s legacy.
“The 2023 season is the 150th anniversary of our club. The only attainable achievement which has eluded us during our history is to be crowned World Club Champions in Australia,” he said.
“Many consider this Penrith Panthers side to be one of, if not the, best side in the history of the NRL. Similarly, St Helens are experiencing an unparalleled period of success in Super League.
“The game in Sydney will represent one of the greatest challenges that St Helens has ever faced. We are really looking forward to meeting it head on.”
The club made a winning start in Australia last weekend, beating an undermanned Dragons outfit 30-18 at WIN Stadium.
The visitors elected to field a strong side, featuring the likes of English internationals Alex Walmsley and Welsby along with a number of ex-NRL stars in Will Hopoate and Curtis Sironen.
"We know next week is going to be another level and we know it's going to be a big occasion," the side's captain, James Roby, said post-match.
Penrith Panthers preview
Discussions around bringing back the WCC were held for a number of months before it was finally confirmed last year.
“It would have been impossible for us to go over there, but talk of them coming out here is excellent,” Penrith’s CEO Brian Fletcher said at the time.
“We’d love for it to happen. It will be a great game for our fans out at Penrith, it will be great for the area, it’s something different, and it will also give some of our younger boys the chance to have a run against a quality side.”
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A number of Panthers stars returned to training early in order to play in the match with the likes of playmakers Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai showcasing its importance.
If Cleary, Luai, Martin, Crichton, Spencer Leniu, Izack Tago, Brian To’o and Isaah Yeo hadn’t forgone a week of their holidays, they would have been ineligible to play due to health and safety protocols.
These determine that every player must have at least six weeks’ worth of pre-season before they can compete in a professional match.
Penrith elected to keep all of their stars on ice in the first week of the trials, yet still beat Parramatta 22-16.
"We started pre-season in November last year and when you’re training with the likes of Nathan Cleary and Liam Martin, trying to defend their shape, it really makes you a better player," Mavrik Geyer said post-match.
"Just because we didn’t name a full side- it doesn’t mean it won’t be a Penrith performance."
