Jon Wilkin believes that tonight’s World Club Series showdown with Sydney Roosters will have a major impact on St Helens’ season.
Saints head into the game on the back of an embarrassing defeat to Salford last week, a result that has evidently disappointed the club as a whole.
However, the opportunity of redemption has presented itself ahead of tonight’s game, and the 32-year-old insists the Saints must make the most of the chance.
“I think it’s important for a few reasons,” he told TotalRL.
“If you look at it in the context of our season, following on the back of a poor performance in Super League, the game is important just for that reason, to get some momentum back and get a good performance under our belts.
“But if you look at the bigger picture, it’s a chance for the Super League competition to change perceptions. We’re seen as a weaker competition, and if we’re honest, we are. To change that perception we’ve got to get results consistently internationally in the World Club Series, it’s the only way.
“We’ve got an association with silverware. On a recent table published we’d won more games in Super League than anyone else. We’re one of the premier clubs in this country and have an association with winning these big games.”
Following defeat to the Red Devils, Wilkin revealed that the Saints had done very little homework on their upcoming opponents, opting to focus on themselves instead.
“We’ve consciously not focused on the Roosters at all,” he said.
“I’ve not been involved in many games when we’ve not done much homework on the other sides.”
