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WCC news

Messages
11,361
Sydney Roosters will be aiming to lay claim to being the game's most dominant club by equalling Wigan's record for World Club Challenge wins when the NRL premiers meet the Super League champions at DW Stadium on February 17.

The Roosters were the inaugural WCC winners when they beat St Helens 25-2 at the SCG in 1976 and also downed Saints 38-0 in 2003 at Bolton before Trent Robinson oversaw their 36-14 defeat of Wigan at Allianz Stadium in 2014.

A further victory against the Adrian Lam-coached Warriors next year would surpass Melbourne's three WCC wins, although the Storm were stripped of their 2010 title after being found guilty of salary cap breaches.

Brisbane is the only other NRL club to have won the World Club Challenge more than once, beating Wigan 22-8 in 1992 and the Hunter Mariners 36-12 in 1997, although the latter final was played during the Super League war when teams from the rival ARL competition were excluded.

Wigan are the most successful club in the history of the WCC, having won four of the seven finals they have contested, including their famous 20-14 defeat of the Broncos before a 54,220 crowd in Brisbane in 1994.




Five key matchups of the Roosters’ 2019 draw

The Warriors also beat Manly 8-2 at Central Park in 1987, Penrith 21-4 at Anfield in 1991 and Cronulla 22-6 at DW Stadium in 2017.

That was the only British victory in the last six years, with the Storm recapturing the title for NRL clubs by beating Leeds Rhinos 38-4 in Melbourne at the start of the 2018 season.

"The World Club Challenge is a significant fixture on the rugby league calendar and we are very proud to be taking our club to England to compete against the Wigan Warriors for the 2019 World Club Challenge title," Roosters CEO Scott Bennetts said.

"Both clubs feature notably in the history of the tournament, and with the Roosters having hosted the 2014 World Club Challenge match at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium, we are looking forward to making the trip to Wigan."

Warriors chairman Ian Lenagan predicted the WCC would be a sell-out at DW Stadium.

"The World Club Challenge is a special competition for the Wigan club and with a game against Sydney Roosters we have two of rugby league’s most iconic institutions facing one another," Lenagan said.

"Seeing the cherry-and-white of Wigan up against the tri-colour of the Roosters in front of a packed stadium on a Sunday will be a great spectacle. With the calibre of players on show from both teams, it should be a great advert for our sport."

https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/11/02/roosters-aiming-for-record-fourth-world-club-challenge-win/
 

latingringo101

Juniors
Messages
585
Glad they have given the green light to this quite early. Gives both teams more time to plan for the game.

Roosters are favourites to win but wigan home crowd will boost their chances.

I reckon 26-10 victory for Roosters
 
Messages
3,884
I foresee a massive Roosters victory. Wigan will have no answer to the brilliance of Tedesco, Mitchell, Manu, Keary, Cronk and Radley.
 

LeedsStorm

Juniors
Messages
715
Just throwing this out there - Much is made of salary cap breaches in the NRL, and rightly so. But does that mean that the only way this game has a credible level playing field is by enforcing the Roosters to field a team limited by the salary cap of Wigan and SL? I make that $5.6 Australian dollars worth of talent. It's quite the reflection of the two leagues these days...
 

Coastbloke

Bench
Messages
4,051
Posters on TotalRL Forums saying Trent Robinson has organised for Sydney Roosters to train with Toulouse in Paris before the WCC? Great stuff if true.. :relaxed:
 

DlEHARD

Juniors
Messages
823
Wow training with Toulouse. Great to see the tri colours in France. Hope they form some type of ongoing association.
 
Messages
11,361
(SUNDAY 17 FEBRUARY, 19:00) Super League (Europe) Ltd. have today announced that Betfred will become the title partners of this weekend’s World Club Challenge. The announcement sees the current Super League partner take naming rights to the annual contest between the Betfred Super League champions and their NRL counterparts. Commenting on the announcement, Super League Chief Executive Robert Elstone said; “We are pleased to have secured Betfred as the title partner for this weekend’s game. The new sponsorship goes hand in hand with Betfred’s support of the Super League competition. We wish the Wigan Warriors the best of luck in the fixture this weekend.” Mark Pearson, Betfred Head of Media, said; “As title partners of Super League, Betfred are delighted to add their support to the World Club Challenge and wish Wigan Warriors, as Betfred Super League representatives, the best of luck.” The Betfred World Club Challenge will be played between the Wigan Warriors and Sydney Roosters on Sunday 17th February at the DW Stadium, kick off 7pm.
https://www.rugby-league.com/article/54320/betfred-sponsor-world-club-challenge
 
Messages
11,361
http://www.rlnews.co.uk/wigan-provide-ticket-sales-update-ahead-of-wcc

wer than 500 South Stand tickets remain ahead of Sunday’s World Club Challenge game between Wigan and Sydney Roosters, report the Warriors. The club says ticket sales “are continuing to gather pace”, while the stadium’s ticket manager, Michael Jolliffe, added that “tickets sales are ahead of the same point as we were against Cronulla Sharks on 2017. The 2017 World Club Challenge attracted a crowd of 21,011. “We’ve been inundated with calls and emails in the ticket office and our advice is to buy yours early to avoid disappointment,” said Jolliffe.
 
Messages
11,361
new trophy
23D9A05E-2029-49B7-8B12-6C49BBE8ED14.jpeg.ef319bdd865c74a7b1d5bdc01c866d39.jpeg
 

adamkungl

Immortal
Messages
42,955
Talk from Elstone, with similar sentiments by Trent Robertson, that the WCC can be greatly improved upon.

Almost any fan of this game agrees that it should be played in October.
It's the only way NRL fans will ever take it seriously. Pre-season games are considered trials. The NRL club has usually had 1 or 0 hitouts, the GF squads are rarely intact, and there's no consistency or forward planning to give the fixture legitimacy.

The usual complaints are easily dismissed:
no one will care after Grand Final - I can guarantee more fans of the participating teams will care in October than mid February.
it will impact international season - we barely have an international season anyway, and this can slot in nicely at the very start of it.
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
17,513
Talk from Elstone, with similar sentiments by Trent Robertson, that the WCC can be greatly improved upon.

Almost any fan of this game agrees that it should be played in October.
It's the only way NRL fans will ever take it seriously. Pre-season games are considered trials. The NRL club has usually had 1 or 0 hitouts, the GF squads are rarely intact, and there's no consistency or forward planning to give the fixture legitimacy.

The usual complaints are easily dismissed:
no one will care after Grand Final - I can guarantee more fans of the participating teams will care in October than mid February.
it will impact international season - we barely have an international season anyway, and this can slot in nicely at the very start of it.

Playing it in October is the only way forward and whilst we are at it, rotate hosting rights on a yearly basis.

As it stands, I don't really care if we lose, I just don't want any major injuries out of the match. If it was in October I would care a load more.
 

DlEHARD

Juniors
Messages
823
Playing it in October would clash with a lot of internationals.

I believe in the WCC but it needs a lot of work. The NRL must work a lot more with Super League.
 

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