| 2023 (2023) World Club Challenge | ||||||||||||||||
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 Penrith Stadium during the match | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 18 February 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Stadium | BlueBet Stadium | |||||||||||||||
| Location | Sydney, Australia | |||||||||||||||
| Man of the Match | Jack Welsby (St Helens) | |||||||||||||||
| Referee | Ashley Klein (Australia) | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 13,873 | |||||||||||||||
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| Commentators |
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The2023 World Club Challenge (known as the2023Betfred World Club Challenge for sponsorship reasons) was the 29th staging of theWorld Club Challenge. The match was contested by theNRL winnersPenrith Panthers, andSuper League championsSt Helens.[1][2][3]
The challenge was played for the first time since 2020 as the global COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the intervening fixtures.[4]
Penrith defeatedParramatta Eels in the 2022 NRL Grand Final, which qualified them for the 2023 World Club Challenge.
St Helens and theLeeds Rhinos competed in the 2022 Super League Grand Final, for a record fifth time atOld Trafford, which saw St Helens win 24–12.
Following the departures ofViliame Kikau,Apisai Koroisau, andCharlie Staines to other clubs, Penrith fielded a team with 11 members of their 2022 grand final team. 2022Clive Churchill Medallist and regular fullbackDylan Edwards missed the match through injury,[5] withLiam Martin andScott Sorensen also absent through injury concerns.[6]
Australian refereeAshley Klein was selected to referee his third World Club Challenge, having previously been in charge of the2008 and2012 fixtures.
The match was originally scheduled to kick off at 18:00AEDT but due to the extreme heat and humidity forecast for that time, the kick off time was put back to 18:50 AEDT.[7] The NRL also announced that the game will be played in four quarters of 20 minutes each, with each team allowed an additional interchange player and two extra interchanges allowed during the match.[8] Despite the forecast, a large storm hit the stadium shortly before kick-off, with torrential rain falling for a lot of the match.
St Helens scored twice early throughJack Welsby andKonrad Hurrell, eventually taking a 10-0 lead to half time.
After an extended half time break due to lightning above the stadium, Penrith finally got on the board in the 52nd minute throughIzack Tago, before St Helens added a penalty goal to extend their lead to 12-6.
Saints looked to have won the match with two minutes remaining, butBrian To'o scored a try to bring Penrith to within two points, beforeNathan Cleary kicked the conversion, to send the match toextra time.
St Helens eventually won the match 13–12, after a knock on from Penrith gave Saints possession near the halfway line, beforeLewis Dodd kicked the winningdrop goal.[9]
Penrith Panthers | 12–13 (g.p.) |  St Helens |
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| Tries:2 Tago  53'To'o 79'Goals:2 Cleary  54',80'(2/2) | 1st: 0–10 2nd: 12–2 ET: 0–1 Report | Tries:2 Welsby 9'Hurrell 17'Goals:2 Makinson 10'(1/2)Percival pen 44'(1/1)Drop goals:1 Dodd 83' |
BlueBet Stadium,Sydney Attendance: 13,873 Referee:Ashley Klein (Australia) Touch judges: Darian Furner (Australia), Dave Munro (Australia) Player of the Match:Jack Welsby (St Helens) |
| Penrith Panthers | Position | St Helens | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Number | Name | |
| Stephen Crichton | 1 | 1 | Jack Welsby | |
| Taylan May | 2 | 2 | Tommy Makinson | |
| Izack Tago | 3 | 23 | Konrad Hurrell | |
| Sunia Turuva | 4 | 4 | Mark Percival | |
| Brian To'o | 5 | 3 | Will Hopoate | |
| Jarome Luai | 6 | 6 | Jonny Lomax | |
| Nathan Cleary (c) | 7 | 7 | Lewis Dodd | |
| Moses Leota | 8 | 8 | Alex Walmsley | |
| Mitch Kenny | 9 | 9 | James Roby (c) | |
| James Fisher-Harris | 10 | 10 | Matty Lees | |
| Luke Garner | 11 | 11 | Sione Mata'utia | |
| Zac Hosking | 12 | 16 | Curtis Sironen | |
| Isaah Yeo | 13 | 13 | Morgan Knowles | |
| Jack Cogger | 14 | 14 | Joey Lussick | |
| Matthew Eisenhuth | 15 | 15 | Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook | |
| Spencer Leniu | 16 | 17 | Agnatius Paasi | |
| Jaeman Salmon | 17 | 18 | Jake Wingfield | |
| Lindsay Smith | 18 | 19 | James Bell | |
 Ivan Cleary | Coach |  Paul Wellens | ||
| Penrith Panthers:
St Helens:
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The match was broadcast in Australia on subscription television channelFox League and streamed viaKayo Sports. In the United Kingdom,Channel 4 andSky Sports showed the match live.[10]
