Wigan Warriors’ dominant 48-24 win over Warrington Wolves on the big stage has raised questions about the future of the World Club Challenge with the calls to make it a regular fixture heightened.
Penrith Panthers were defeated by Wigan Warriors in the 2024 edition and those two teams should have met in 2025 but the NRL champions could not fit the game into their calendar, on account of the fact they were slated to play in Las Vegas.
Of course, Wigan also played in Las Vegas with the Warriors previously stating that they would have headed to Australia for the game but the Panthers claimed that no solution could be found that ensured their players still had a full off-season of recovery.
It was a major shame not to see the contest played, particularly given what a spectacle it was in 2024 and the fact that Wigan and Penrith are the two dynasties in the sport.
As Wigan ran riot last night, it was a reminder to those NRL fans just how good they are and it saw a question asked of Penrith Panthers board member Greg Alexander about the staging of the World Club Challenge.
Wigan Warriors’ dominant win reignites World Club Challenge debate with question asked
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Wigan Warriors were 24-0 up at half time but turned the screw to stretch that lead to 42-0 and cement the fact they’re the dominant team in Super League.
Perhaps the only true test would be to match Wigan Warriors up with the NRL champions and commentator Andrew Voss asked his co-commentator Greg Alexander, a Penrith board member, why the game had not happened.
Vossy said: “We need to gang up on Brandy who is a board member at the Penrith Panthers. Now, on behalf of everyone in Super League and indeed the Wigan club, where’s the World Club Challenge this year?
“Can you make it happen? Take that Panther sombrero off, you’d think it would be a great matchup.”
Alexander, nicknamed Brandy, scrambled for an answer stating: “Well we’ll have to have a board meeting. We’ll have to convene and get together.
“They got us two years ago so let’s see.”
After Sky Sports’ Brian Carney interjected, Alexander joked: “We’ll work on it. My people will speak to their people and they can speak to Brian’s people.”
Carney had made a passionate plea to ensure that the World Club Challenge fixture is locked into the calendar, stating: “As a game, we need to lock that fixture into the calendar so it happens every year and logistically it works for all the clubs.
“We have to elevate that like we have this game has elevated rugby league, so will the World Club Challenge if we get it right regularly.”
