St Helens WIN World Club Challenge in Australia with brilliant extra time effort
LEWIS Dodd wrote his name into St Helens’ history books as they became world champions by beating Penrith in a 13-12 extra time thriller.
Jack Welsby looked set to add more glory to his already trophy-laden career by scoring one try and creating Konrad Hurrell’s score.
St Helens have done what many thought was impossible by winning the World Club Challenge in AustraliaGETTY
Winning the World Club Challenge is hard enough – winning it in Australia is almost impossible.
And Brian To’o’s try with 90 seconds left sent the match into golden point extra time, whoever scored next wins.
After Stephen Crichton, who ended England’s World Cup hopes in similar fashion, knocked on 30 metres out though, it was set up.
And after missing a drop goal attempt earlier, Dodd slotted over the clinching one pointer.
Kick-off was moved back 50 minutes because of expected temperatures of up to 38 degrees. The teams ended up starting in a tropical storm and the second half was delayed because of lightning in the area.
You would not have known it as Jonny Lomax sent Curtis Sironen bursting through, with Welsby backing up to finish off a 75-metre move.
That started belief. When Hurrell burst through on 15 minutes, the question started to be asked, ‘Can St Helens do it?’
Surely Penrith – back-to-back NRL premiers – would come back. Saints’ awesome defence made sure the Panthers were tamed for the opening 40 minutes.
They had to finish the job without Tommy Makinson, though, as he failed a head injury assessment after colliding with Hurrell.
But Wellens’ side, which had former boss Kristian Woolf in the coaches’ box, had an answer for everything.
Welsby modestly summed it up by saying: “We played all right.” If that was only all right, imagine what they would have done had they been brilliant?
Saints showed Super League has the talent to rival the NRLGETTY
Mark Percival’s penalty made it 12-0 to the visitors. Penrith, though, are too good to keep down and when Izack Tago touched down after Nathan Cleary’s kick, it was game on.
But Welsby’s pass was called forward as Will Hopoate walked in what may have been the clincher, heightening the tension as a twist and extra time looked more likely.
Jonny Lomax and Dodd missed drop goal attempts as Saints looked for a settler – still no-one could sit comfortably.
And almost predictably, To’o went in with Nathan Cleary’s conversion sending the clash beyond 80 minutes.
But the young half back, who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon last year, was not missing twice in glorious scenes.
