Penrith head coach Ivan Cleary is eager to see his all-conquering NRL giants belatedly join the roll call of world club champions with victory over Wigan at the DW Stadium on Saturday.
The Panthers fell short against Wigan and Bradford in 1991 and 2004 respectively before suffering an agonising golden point defeat to St Helens on home territory in February last year.
Despite being one of the NRL’s greatest sides by common consensus after three-straight title wins, Cleary knows an asterisk will remain beside his side’s achievements until they have ascended to the global crown.
“It’s the one thing we haven’t been able to do – only 12 teams have managed to win this thing and we’ve had three goes and missed out on it,” said Cleary.
“You look through the list of winners and only the big clubs have done it, so for us to be on that list would be big.
“I’ve watched these games for many years from growing up as a kid and it’s a big game – you don’t play for a world championship every day and I think both teams will show what it means on the night.”
Both sides have been hit by injury setbacks ahead of the fixture with Cleary confirming Penrith will hand 20-year-old Jack Cole only his second senior start at stand-off in place of absent star Jarome Luai.
Wigan meanwhile will draft youngster Harvie Hill into their front row after losing new signing Luke Thompson to concussion in Saturday’s Super League season-opener at Castleford, with another new boy Sam Walters already sidelined.
But Wigan head coach Matt Peet admitted he breathed a huge sigh of relief when half-back Harry Smith escaped a ban following a yellow card for a tip-tackle in the same fixture, meaning he can line up at the sold-out DW Stadium.
Peet admitted he had been concerned but was “chuffed” by the news and added: “I think both teams want to come up against the best of one another.
“We want to see Harry on that stage, particularly because of the journey he’s been on, coming through that pathway.
“Harvie is another home-grown lad which is brilliant and it is an exciting opportunity for him.”
Calabar High and Cedar Grove Academy crowned Rugby League U14 and U16 champions
Rugby League Jamaica concluded its U14 and U16 High School 13-a-side Championships on Friday, April 26, at Campion College. In U14 action, five-time defending champions Calabar High faced off against BB Coke High, whilst in U16, Calabar battled last year’s beaten finalist, Cedar Grove Academy, for top honours.
In the U14s, Calabar overcame a spirited BB Coke outfit 8-4, to grab their sixth consecutive hold on the trophy. Jahir Brown scored both tries for the winners, whilst Tyrell Scott got the consolidation try for BB Coke.
Cedar Grove then won their maiden U16 title with a clinical defensive display, holding off Calabar 14-2. Elvis Simms led the victors with eight points from two tries with support from Steven Constantine with a try while Nathan Brown kicked a goal for two points. Derone Plummer kicked a goal to give Calabar their only points.
Commenting on his team’s performance in both finals, Oshane Edie, head coach of Calabar said, “Our U14s are a new young group who just started playing, it’s a great result to get the win and bodes well for the future. Throughout the season Devontae Molar and Amore Anderson were good for us, their exceptional play along with their teammates gave us the victory. As for our U16s, they had a good season, but I think we were a bit overconfident in the finals and paid the price. Overall, the rugby league programme at Calabar remains strong and is looking good for the future.”
Cedar Grove’s winning coach Antonio Baker attributed victory to hard work stating, “Winning the U16 crown is a culmination of years of work that has finally paid off. We’ve been close on several occasions before, including past year, when we were beaten finalists, but this season our focus was spot on, and we are happy for the school.”
In other action on the day, Kingston College snatched 3rd place over Campion College 6-4. Armani Burnette with the try for the winners and Donnoy Harris kicking a goal. Meanwhile, Josah Bennett bagged Campion’s lone try.
In Girls action, BB Coke won the final 9-a-side tournament of the school year, Grove Academy 16-8 and 16-4 in a best of three clash.
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John Mousinho admits Portsmouth celebrations took their toll against Wigan
John Mousinho admitted Portsmouth’s Sky Bet League One title celebrations had an impact on their 2-1 defeat to Wigan.
Pompey had their return to the Championship confirmed after they beat Barnsley on Tuesday, but Luke Chambers and Josh Magennis spoilt their promotion party – which saw them lift the trophy as champions.
Mousinho said: “I think Wigan deserved to win. We were awful in the first half. I don’t think we got the press right.
“We were good in possession, but not out of possession, and we got punished for it. We changed things around for the second half and we were more aggressive and much better.
“Their second goal was poor defensively. We created more chances after our goal but just couldn’t get the equaliser.
“We wanted to go out on a high, so the players are obviously disappointed to have lost that unbeaten run.
“I thought we had enough in the tank pre-match to win it, but it’s been a difficult week in terms of normality. Winning on Tuesday, the euphoria of that, and the awards here on Wednesday meant the preparation was very different from the last 44 games.
“Next week will be back to normal in terms of physicality and mentally.”
Wigan’s Jonny Smith hit a post in the 13th minute, but the visitors took the lead 10 minutes later when Chambers put the loose ball past Pompey goalkeeper Will Norris.
Latics sealed the win when Magennis beat Norris with seven minutes to go, despite Kusini Yengi pulling one back for Pompey in the 85th minute.
Wigan manager Shaun Maloney said: “It was a game of two halves really. The first half was probably the best we’ve played all season. We had chances to increase the lead but didn’t take them. That would have made the game very different.
“Pompey were talking about keeping up their unbeaten run and reaching 100 points, but we wanted to win this game. We’ve had 500 fans travel down here today, so it was important we played well.
“Luke really hurt them the first half, and it would be great to have him back next season.
“Jonny’s really stepped up. I think if anything I need more from him next season. He needs a full pre-season and I think he’s a brilliant player.
“The game changed after their goal. Sam (Tickle) has made some tremendous saves getting in where it hurts. The scuffle at the end on the touchline was just about two teams wanting to win.”
Wigan are party poopers as champions Portsmouth slip to home defeat
Luke Chambers and Josh Magennis spoilt Portsmouth’s Sky Bet League One promotion party as Wigan beat the newly-crowned champions 2-1 at Fratton Park.
Pompey almost took the lead after six minutes when a poor backpass was intercepted by Colby Bishop, who tried to chip stranded goalkeeper Sam Tickle but put it well wide.
Wigan’s Jonny Smith hit a post in the 13th minute, but the visitors took the lead 10 minutes later when Chambers put the loose ball past Pompey goalkeeper Will Norris.
Latics should have gone two-up just before half-time as Norris parried Charlie Kelman’s powerful shot but Chambers put the follow-up wide.
Despite half-time substitutions, Pompey struggled to claw their way back into the game and Wigan looked to have sealed the win when Magennis beat Norris with seven minutes to go.
Kusini Yengi pulled one back for Pompey, but despite piling on the pressure in stoppage time they could not secure a 28th victory of the season.
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