World Club Challenge at risk after famous Penrith Panthers win

The 2025 World Club Challenge remains in danger of cancellation after Penrith Panthers won their fourth NRL title in a row on Sunday.

Whilst the Panthers’ 14-6 victory over Melbourne Storm represented an unbelievable achievement, the first of its kind in the NRL era and the first since the early 1960s in terms of successive victories, it represented doubt for the future of the World Club Challenge.

Penrith have contested and lost the last two World Club Challenges, at home to St Helens in 2023 before travelling to face Wigan earlier this year.

Both games have been among the most intense in recent memory and it is clear that there is a thirst for the World Club Challenge where the elite play the very elite.

However, that thirst might not be quenched in 2025 with the game currently at risk of not happening after Penrith’s victory over Melbourne.

Where will the World Club Challenge be played in 2025?

It was first reported last week by Love Rugby League that the status of the 2025 World Club Challenge was in the balance and depended on which teams won the respective Grand Finals.

Had Melbourne Storm won the NRL Grand Final then there would have been no issue at all and the game would have been played in England, on the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd of February in all likelihood.

We now know that the Storm did not win and that presents more of an issue and makes it almost impossible that the game is held in England.

Penrith are one of four NRL sides travelling to Las Vegas for the league’s opening weekend and per Love Rugby League’s report, Ivan Cleary’s side would not want to travel to England ahead of their trip to Vegas.

Instead, they would ask that the Super League champions travel to Australia to contest the World Club Challenge.

There is one major problem with that though and it’s the fact that Wigan Warriors also play in Las Vegas, where they will take on Warrington Wolves, meaning that it’s logistically near-impossible for Wigan to travel to Australia and then Las Vegas without being massively disadvantaged for both games.

As such, should Wigan defeat Hull KR on Saturday night at Old Trafford then the World Club Challenge will likely be shelved meaning that all eyes are on if Willie Peters’ side can win and save the big game for 2025.