‘No way in the world’: Panthers blow up World Club Challenge

The Penrith Panthers are the all-conquering NRL champions but the club has abandoned their bid to claim the one trophy that’s eluded them.

The Penrith Panthers have reportedly abandoned the prospect of playing in the World Club Challenge, claiming there is “no way in the world” the players could be ready for the pre-season match.

The four-time defending NRL champions are currently celebrating their latest unprecedented victory with plenty of belief the side can chase yet another title in 2025 despite losing the likes of Jarome Luai, Sunia Turuva and James Fisher-Harris.

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But with the Panthers one of four clubs taking part in the NRL’s second foray into Las Vegas on Sunday March 2 (Australian time) and a host of Panthers players involved in the Pacific Championships between Friday October 18 and Sunday November 10, the club’s biggest stars are unlikely to return to pre-season training until early in 2025.

The Panthers will have Dylan Edwards, Liam Martin, Lindsay Smith and Isaah Yeo play for Australia, Casey McLean, Scott Sorensen and Trent Toelau as well as new recruit Isaiah Papali’i for New Zealand, and Paul Alamoti and Soni Luke for Tonga. Izack Tago and Brian To’o could also be selected for Samoa in their two match series against Great Britain on October 27 and November 2.

This is non-negotiable either with the NRL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement also states players must have an eight-week off-season break.

The Panthers are NRL champions again. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

On top of that, Nathan Cleary is set to go under the knife after carrying his shoulder injury through the NRL finals series.

With the Vegas trip looming large, the World Club Challenge would have had to be played on the weekend February 14-16, it would be a massively compromised pre-season for the club, particularly if they wanted to play another trial match before the international showdown.

This season the trial matches started on February 15.

The game was already in doubt with Wigan, who will play Warrington in Vegas, playing in the Super League Grand Final on Sunday (AU) against Hull KR.

As the Panthers had already refused to travel to England with the Vegas trip ahead, if Wigan won, they would have to travel to Australia, then Vegas.

But Panthers CEO Brian Fletcher have already pulled the plug on the annual fixture regardless of the Sunday morning’s result.

“You couldn’t put the players through it. We can’t play it, we don’t have the time span,” Fletcher said.

“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 party is going huge in Penrith. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Fletcher also cited the fact that the Panthers will be playing out of Parramatta’s CommBank Stadium next season as their home ground in Penrith is redeveloped.

Incredibly, despite having now won six NRL titles, the Panthers have never won the World Club Challenge.

The 1991 Challenge saw Penrith lose 21-4 to Wigan, 2004 was a 22-4 loss to the Bradford Bulls. In 2022, the fixture was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, before the Panthers lose 13-12 to St Helens in Penrith in 2023 and 16-12 to Wigan before this season.

It means Penrith have the worst record of any team in the fixture.

While the Leeds Rhinos and St Helens have each lost five times, they have also won three times, while Wigan have lost four times, but won five times — equal with the Roosters, who are undefeated in five attempts.

Fans blew up over the decision.

One fan wrote: “Scared of losing a third one?guess they can’t call themselves one of the greatest teams of all time, then.”

Another said: “‘Greatest team of the NRL era’ yet to beat a Super League team in the World Club Challenge.”

A third added: “Pathetic from the @PenrithPanthers, for a club labelling itself as having the best team in history, you’d think there’d be some desire to win the World Club Challenge, no matter how mickey mouse of a trophy it is.”

A Broncos fan commented: “V’landys apparently wanted to sanction Ponga because he decided not to participate in the Australian team due to wanting time off.

“Yet the Panthers are allowed to turn down the World Club Challenge because they want rest. Will the Panthers be punished?

“@NRL - please explain?”

A Wigan fan tweeted: “So because Penrith have withdrawn from the World Club Challenge, if Wigan win on Saturday would that make Wigan the 2025 World Club Challenge winners by default and there can be a double trophy presentation?”

Wigan are the defending champs. Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images

NRL commentator Andrew Voss floated a solution to save the fixture however.

“Could we go to the UK Super League and say, “Look, for next year, Magic Round, Penrith have the bye. We’re going to give Penrith the bye,” he said on SEN’s Breakfast with Vossy and Brandy.

“We will make the World Club Challenge the feature game on the Saturday night.”

The issue will likely be that this season the NRL’s Magic Round fell on the weekend of the semi-finals of the UK’s knockout tournament the Challenge Cup — Wigan won the 2024 Challenge Cup, defeating Warrington 18-8 in the final in June.

Originally published as ‘No way in the world’: Panthers blow up World Club Challenge