Cop that Gus.
That was the message from St Helens after the English Super League champions stunned Penrith to win the World Club Challenge in a golden point finish on Saturday night
St Helens came into the clash with four straight premierships under their belt, while the Panthers have won the last two premierships and are going for a hat-trick in 2023.
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But St Helens’ win makes it the first time since 1994, or 29 years, that an English side has claimed the win on Aussie soil.
The Super League champions clearly got some added motivation from Phil Gould, who predicted last week that the Panthers would win so easily they could “declare by half time”.
After the game, St Helens prop Alex Walmsley posted a photo of himself with the World Club Challenge trophy and couldn’t resist having a dig at Gould, who took it well.
“Well done St Helens,” the commentator and Bulldogs general manager tweeted.
“That’s a mighty victory. Beat Panther to the punch early. Defended their lead with pride. Terrific stuff. Panther looked clunky but no excuses. They had months to prepare.
“St Helens too good on the night. Great result for Rugby League.”
The English challengers kept Ivan Cleary’s dangerous side scoreless for almost 52 minutes and were the first to open the scoring with a long-range effort for fullback Jack Welsby to score. Only moments later, former NRL star Konrad Hurrell charged his way over the line from 10 metres out for the second four-pointer of the night.
With only a minute left on the scoreboard, Brian To’o was able to crash over after a Jack Welsby error from a Stephen Crichton bomb.
Cleary nailed the conversion from 10 metres in from the sideline to take the clash to golden point.
During the extra period, Stephen Crichton was hammered by a strong Hurrell tackle, knocking the ball on to give the challengers perfect field position.
St Helens playmaker Lewis Dodd was then able to slot the field goal and secure victory for the English side.
St Helens have now won the World Club Challenge three times, with this triumph adding to wins in 2001 and 2007.
They have also stopped a three-game streak of NRL champions winning the World Club Challenge in years gone by.
