THE Panthers are on the prowl – but can Wigan cage them up?
Few of you will need reminding that’s it’s the World Club Challenge on Saturday, a mouth-watering clash of the titans which I’m very much looking forward to.
Matty Peet has led Wigan to the Challenge Cup and the Super League title – and hopefully he’ll be able to complete the hat-trick.
One thing is for sure – that club loves to be known as the world champions.
Wigan have been able to boast it in four previous years, and have the added incentive – if it’s needed, which I very much doubt – of knowing that by toppling their visitors, they will draw level with Sydney Roosters, who have the most WCC wins with five.
Victory would kick-start Peet’s third season at the helm, and as I wrote when I made my Super League predictions for this year, I can see a very fruitful future for the Cherry and Whites.
With an ambitious and wealthy new owner in Mike Danson, a very capable operator at the overall helm in Kris Radlinski, a talented, deep thinking and go-ahead coach in Peet, and a well-balanced squad, they have everything in place to dominate Super League in the way their arch-rivals St Helens did between 2019 and 2022.
They certainly started off in convincing style, making light of a very heavy Castleford pitch to chalk up a straightforward 32-4 win in what will have been a useful work-out for them.
But taking on Penrith, who are of course targeting a fourth straight NRL title, is a new and particularly tough challenge for Peet and his players.
Just as Wigan love being called World Club Champions, the Panthers will have been stung by that defeat by St Helens last year, especially because it was on their own patch, and they will be desperate to put the record straight and claim the crown for the first time after three failed attempts.
I reckon they thought that Saints would run out of steam and by sticking to their plan, they would roll them over late on.
It was only in those closing stages that they fully came to life and stepped on the gas, but of course Saints, the quality team that they are, stayed in it and edged a glorious and well-deserved victory by that precious point.
Penrith will have learned lessons from last year – I think they will be right at it from the start – and of course have a star-studded squad including such as Nathan Cleary, who for me is the best halfback in the world, Dylan Edwards and James Fisher-Harris.
Wigan have a hell of a task on their hands, and need their big-game stars to be on their mettle.
It will be fascinating to see how Jai Field, who was hardly a stand-out in the NRL but has proved such a tremendous acquisition, and Bevan French cut it against their compatriots.
And how will Harry Smith fare against such illustrious opponents?
I’m going Wigan by seven points… and I can’t wait to see if my prediction is correct.
