St Helens stunned Penrith Panthers in Australia on Saturday after it had been suggested for the weeks going into the game that they hadn’t respected.
The Super League Champions hadn’t been officially welcomed down under and Phil Gould claimed that Penrith would be “able to declare” at halftime.
Following the win, former St Helens player Jon Wilkin has said that the NRL in general disrespects Super League:
“I think the NRL is quite disrespectful of Super League in general, but from the World Club Challenge, you can’t deny the quality of our top tier but the question remains: how do we improve our competition from the bottom up, but St Helens lead the way. They represented our competition really well.”
Speaking of respect, Wilkin has huge respect for the Saints saying that fans are incredibly lucky to watch them:
“They’re incredibly lucky, the people who see this team are privilege, it is just a joy.
“Lewis Dodd is one of the biggest stars in the game, I am talking the NRL as well. Him and Jack Welsby is the most exciting young duo in British sport.
“What they’re doing with the lack of resources, they don’t have the millions of dollars in their bank accounts like their counterparts.
“They have gone over to Australia, they don’t wear a Rolex, they don’t drive lamber, they’ve gone over to Australia and given it to Penrith, to Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai who are two of the best halfbacks in the world.
“Jack Welsby is one of the best in the world. Lewis Dodd’s performance was breath taking.”
