In the wee hours of Monday morning, the Super League champions the Wigan Warriors hosted the NRL premiers the Sydney Roosters in a battle for global domination of club rugby league.
The Roosters got off to a flyer, scoring at a point per minute for the first ten of the match. The Warriors fought bravely to claw their way back into the game, and were still in it until the 77th minute.
However, they were ultimately outclassed by a Roosters side packed to the rim with representative-level players. Here’s what we learned from watching the Roosters claim their fourth World Club Challenge title.
The Gulf Between NRL and Super League is significant
Given the difference in salary caps between the two leagues (Super League’s being about $3.6m while the NRL’s is $9.1m), one might consider this point to be quite obvious. However, it is still an important point to observe, as the quality of British imports and the recent improvement of the English national side may have blinded some Australian fans to this fact.
It was quite clear from the first few sets of six in this game that the Wigan players were not used to playing games of this intensity on a regular basis. They were regularly turned around and put on their back by Roosters’ defenders, and struggled to make as many metres as their opposition.
Even commentator Mike Stephenson noted at one point how the Wigan players would rush out of the line and attempt to hit, tackle or knock down the Roosters’ runners, while the Roosters in defence would work in groups of three or four, regularly holding up and stopping Wigan players before bringing them to ground in a way that would allow the Roosters’ defensive line more time to regroup.
Sydney Roosters players celebrate with the trophy after winning the World Club Challenge rugby league match at the DW Stadium in Wigan, England, Sunday Feb. 17, 2019. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
This shows what a large part of the Australian game wrestling in the tackle has become. The only way to counter it is with more wrestling. This is particularly important when English sides play Australian sides as the English aren’t as used to it.
To the Warriors’ credit they fought their way back into the game – they are a very good side in their own right. But the gap between the two leagues is there for all to see. Whilst a World Club Challenge match usually offers up an intriguing contest, and sometimes even an upset, a match between the wooden spooners of the two competitions would likely get quite ugly for the English side, such is the gap in depth and tactics across the two competitions as a whole.
Brett Morris has plenty to offer the Roosters
At the age of 32 it’s fair to assume that former Origin, Test and Premiership-winning star Brett Morris’ best days are behind him. That certainly doesn’t mean that at the right price he can’t be an extremely valuable member of a squad, and he showed that in this game.
Lining up in the relatively unfamiliar position of left centre due to Latrell Mitchell’s Indigenous All Stars commitments, Morris helped himself to a first-half hat trick, which he arguably had not right to score.
The first try came courtesy of some awful Wigan defence as Morris managed to break five tackles in one run. The second try he scored surrounded by four defenders. As they attempted hold him up in-goal, he still managed to slam the ball down right in front of the referee. The third time he did the exact same thing with two players on him (if four couldn’t stop him what chance did two have?)
Brett Morris during his time with the Doggies. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)
Morris was signed as a replacement for the departing Blake Ferguson, as was English international Ryan Hall – a man who Morris has opposed many times at Test level. Both are incredible players, however with Morris’s effort in this match, it is likely Hall will be spending a lot of time playing for North Sydney in the NSW Cup this year.
And if the NSW Blues have an outside back injury crisis this year, coach Brad Fittler could do a lot worse than trying to coax the man they call BMoz out of representative retirement.
Wigan struggle with small outside backs
Speaking of outside backs, Wigan’s leave a lot to be desired in the size department. This proved to be costly for the Warriors as they struggled to get out of their own end.
Wigan’s wingers Liam Marshall and Tom Davies both tried hard, and came up with a try each. But at 86kg and 87kg respectively both were manhandled coming out of trouble. It got Wigan’s sets off to a very slow start, and placed a lot of pressure on the Warriors’ forwards to make metres.
For some perspective, the Roosters’ wingers in this game Daniel Tupou and Matt Ikavalu weigh 99kg and 96kg respectively. In addition, Brett Morris, who will likely replace Ikavalu when Latrell Mitchell returns also weighs 96kg.
This was a huge disadvantage for the Wigan side.
The role of the winger in the Australian game is just as much about making metres early in the tackle count as it is about scoring tries. Whilst the English national team regularly picks wingers like Ryan Hall, Jermaine McGillvary, Josh Charnley and Tommy Makinson (all of whom are over 95kg) to get the team on the front foot against the Kangaroos and Kiwis, it seems that the Super League is still playing catch-up to the NRL when it comes to how wingers are used.
Robert Hicks is an excellent referee
One area in which the English game is not lacking is in the officiating department. Referee Robert Hicks had a great game, and has quite frankly impressed me every time I’ve seen him in action.
There were plenty of tough calls for Hicks in this game, and he made good, decisive calls every time. He addressed the players firmly and directly when required, and didn’t let the two captains Boyd Cordner or Sean O’Loughlin – both of whom are very influential figures – walk all over him.
Most importantly, he didn’t blow penalties like they were going out of fashion – something we saw far too regularly in NRL season 2018.
He also handled the 17th minute all in brawl very professionally, telling each captain exactly what he required of them in order for the game to continue. Needless to say there were no flare-ups for the rest of the match.
What exactly this can be put down to is not quite clear. It’s possible to speculate that being a lone referee actually makes one a better official, given the need to do more on a regular basis.
It certainly helps that Hicks and co. are not receiving refereeing instructions from the CEO of the RFL, as happens in the NRL.
What is clear however is that Hicks did a wonderful job in this game – here’s hoping we get to see more of him in international games.
Warriors have some truly world-class players
They may have been outclassed as an outfit, but there’s no doubting the Wigan Warriors have some wonderfully talented players on their books. The captain Sean O’Loughlin is a class act through and through. A middle forward with an astute passing game, he does the tough stuff as well as anyone in the game, and brings a wealth of leadership and experience to the table.
We’ve seen plenty of Thomas Leuluai over the years in the NRL – he had some classy touches against the Roosters. We’ve also seen Dan Sarginson and Zak Hardaker down under – while neither was overly impressive in their short stints at the Gold Coast and Penrith respectively, they certainly were in this game.
Sarginson didn’t get much of a chance at the Titans in 2017, playing just six games. Hardaker too had limited opportunities when Leeds Rhinos loaned him to Penrith in 2016, playing just 11 games. However, it would be fantastic to see both return to the NRL and have another crack. It would be wonderful to see what either could do in the NRL having cemented a first-grade spot.
The clear stand out of the Warriors was five-eighth George Williams. At just 24, he’s already played 148 Super League games, as well as ten matches for England. His game-management is probably the weakest area of his game.
However he has a variety of short and long passes, and attacking kicks in his arsenal, all of which make him a very dangerous player.
He is contracted to Wigan until the end of 2021, by which time he will be 26. If he continues on his current trajectory, there’s no doubt NRL clubs will come sniffing around that time.
Let’s hope something happens to get him down under – it would be an absolute pleasure to see him play in the NRL every week.
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