ST HELENS are gearing up for the World Club Challenge against NRL champions Penrith Panthers this weekend.
For prop Alex Walmsley, who missed out on the World Cup with England as well as the Super League Grand Final with Saints, is excited to be on the field for such a prestigious occasion.
“I think because we’re so early in the year I don’t think it’s got that Grand Final feel just yet, Walmsley said. “I don’t think there’s any point in getting too emotionally built up into it yet.
“It’s an exciting challenge, we’re not shying away from the fact that it will take a massive effort from us to get the job done. It’s a once in a life time opportunity.
“We are going up against the best team in the world, look at the NRL with their infrastructure and finances, we are playing against a number of World Cup finalists.
“I’m just excited to be involved again. To miss out on the World Cup and Grand Final was tough for me to take so I’m just happy to be back playing.
Though the weather is expected to hit 40 degrees, Walmsley is not using that as an excuse.
“It’s going to be a lot warmer this week. It’s not something we’ve often had in England, but I cast my mind back to the Challenge Cup Final in 2019 against Warrington and it was about 37 degrees.
“We’ve been to Catalans in the middle of July, we’re not quite accustomed as an NRL team but it’s nothing foreign to us.
“We need to accept that and we won’t focus too much on the heat. We won’t change our game for the heat.
“We’re very lucky to come out here. I was happy with how I went on Saturday and I feel pretty good. I feel as good as I’ve been in a long time. I’ve made the best of the last six months!”
The Saints prop is proud of his club’s achievements so far, but feels a World Club Challenge triumph would be the icing on the cake and a way of telling the NRL that Super League can more than compete.
“It’s a game that would, in terms of history, go down as one of the biggest games in Super League. It’s one of the best sides the NRL has seen for a long time.
“It would be massive, there wouldn’t be a bigger result in recent Super League history. It’s a huge opportunity to etch ourselves into a bit more history.
“One thing I’ve spoken about is we’re very proud of our league and our sport back home. We’re very much a proud northern, working class sport, but we don’t get that same opinion over here.
“We don’t have the structure or finances as the NRL does. We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved over the past four seasons. Hopefully we will have the backing of Super League behind us.”
