The Broncos have had many trips to England under coach Wayne Bennett, the last being in 2007 when they lost to St Helens 18–14.
They have also had two games against Wigan, with the score 1-1, so this is a grudge match of sorts.
Brisbane come up against an undefeated Wigan Warriors in two games this season, after being runners-up in the Super League grand final last year. Wigan played in the World Club Challenge last year, being defeated 36–14 by the Sydney Roosters.
The Broncos finished eighth last year and are struggling with injuries before their season proper has started, but with an experienced coach such as Bennett they should not be discounted.
Broncos squad
Adam Blair, Mitchell Dodds, James Gavet, Alex Glenn, Justin Hodges, Ben Hunt, Jordan Kahu, Lachlan Maranta, Andrew McCullough, Josh McGuire, Anthony Milford, Kodi Nikorima, Joe Ofahengaue, Tom Opacic, Corey Parker, Sam Thaiday, Daniel Vidot, Aaron Whitchurch.
Opacic has gone down with a virus, leaving Bennett with just 17 players to select from, but he remains defiant over his decision to take only 18 players on tour.
With Darius Boyd out with a long-term training injury, Bennett is expected to select youngster Jordan Kahu as starting fullback, with some internal options available within the team if he struggles. The Warriors are bound to test Kahu out, to see if they can exploit the cracks which appeared in his trial against the Cowboys.
The Cherry and Whites drew 22-22 with a man advantage against Widnes before coming from behind to beat Huddersfield in their opening two games this year, and Wigan head coach Shaun Wane has said his side must improve:
“The main thing is that we turn up and put our best performance on – I’m sure the players will do that. We do need to improve. That was two poor performances, we’re not finding that consistency in our game yet.”
For his part, Bennett is playing down the importance of the new World Club Series, insisting he will be using Saturday’s clash with Wigan as preparation for the 2015 NRL season:
“The result is not as important as the way that we play, the way we execute our plays and get some combinations working.”
Both coaches expect their teams to put in an decent effort before a sold-out Wigan crowd. But the Broncos struggled away from home last year, and you cannot get much further away on this planet, so this looks like the Warriors’ game.
Walter Penninger
Roar Guru
Wigan Warriors: 14 John Bateman, 1 Matt Bowen, 5 Joe Burgess, 2 Josh Charnley, 17 Tony Clubb, 8 Dom Crosby, 12 Liam Farrell, 31 Connor Farrell, 3 Anthony Gelling, 20 Ryan Hampshire, 9 Michael McIlorum, 25 Larne Patrick, 4 Dan Sarginson, 7 Matty Smith, 28 Ryan Sutton, 24 Taulima Tautai, 11 Joel Tomkins, 26 Logan Tomkins, 6 George Williams. Brisbane Broncos: 1 Jordan Kahu, 2 Daniel Vidot, 3 Aaron Whitchurch, 4 Justin Hodges, 5 Lachlan Maranta, 6 Anthony Milford, 7 Ben Hunt, 8 Adam Blair, 9 Andrew McCullough, 10 Josh McGuire, 11 Alex Glenn, 12 Sam Thaiday, 13 Corey Parker, 14 Mitchell Dodds, 15 James Gavet, 16 Joe Ofahengaue, 17 Kodi Nikorima, 18 Tom Opacic.
Walter Penninger
Roar Guru
Well looking at the trial team named for the Broncos in Queensland which includes most of the rehab players it looks like Bennett was not interested in taking his best team to play Wigan. Furthermore given the reception the Dragons got from the Warrington fans it is hard to see the junior members of the squad coping so it looks like a Wigan win and Wigan are still strong bookies favourites despite the 11th placed Dragons and bookie underdog beating the Wolves.
jack
Guest
I am not up with whats happening how did the Broncos get into this challenge jack
Bronco Juggernaut
Guest
No Sean O'Loughlin ive heard for Wigan, no Powell either, also heard from an English friend of mine who supports Wigan that Charnley is in doubt as well. Both sides are vastly under strength, hoping the Broncs can win but it will be 50/50.
Richard Maybury
Guest
Wigan's squad is looking a bit young and inexperienced these days. They way struggle in superleague this year and they may struggle against the Broncos. They will want to win so it should be a good game.
Walter Penninger
Roar Guru
Wigan half-back Sam Powell will miss Saturday's World Club Series clash with Brisbane Broncos after accepting a one-match ban. Not sure who the replacement is but cannot be good news for Wigan. But there is still no Wigan squad named.