St Helens star hoping for World Club Challenge against Penrith Panthers
Morgan Knowles celebrates St Helens Grand Final triumph
St Helens forward Morgan Knowles is hoping the Super League champions get to face NRL premiers Penrith Panthers in the World Club Challenge in the winter.
The Saints won the Super League Grand Final for the third year in a row on Saturday thanks to a 12-10 win over Catalans Dragons at Old Trafford.
In normal circumstances, St Helens would now be turning their thoughts to the World Club Challenge.
But the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to the annual clash of the Super League and NRL champions in 2021 and Saints face an anxious wait to see if a proposed duel with Penrith Panthers can go ahead in February.
The 24-year-old Knowles played against Nathan Cleary and company when the Saints academy toured Australia in 2013 and would love nothing better than a rematch.
Knowles said: “I played against Cleary and we ended up beating them.
“It would be good to get an opportunity to play them because we were robbed of that last year with Covid. Nothing can help that but it’s still unfair.”
🔴 FT: Catalans Dragons 10-12 St Helens. Saints have completed the three-peat! #rugbyleague
— Love Rugby League (@loverugbyleague) October 9, 2021
It also confirmed St Helens as the most successful club of the summer era, with a ninth Super League title going back to their inaugural success in 1996, when the prize was decided under the old first-past-the-post method.
Knowles believes his club’s previous success went largely unrecognised in the build-up to Saturday’s Old Trafford showpiece and says being painted as the bad guys added extra incentive.
He added: “There was definitely motivation for us because we were portrayed as the villains.
“Unless you were a Saints fan, everyone wanted to see Catalans win and probably rightly so because they were the underdog and it would be great to see another team win it and especially a French team.
“What Catalans have done is amazing and the expansion is really positive for the game and I’m definitely happy about that.
“They’re probably going to be in more Grand Finals, Steve Mac (McNamara) has done a great job and they’ve recruited the right kind of players.
“But, to be honest, I think we deserve more credit. We’ve been the best team for the last three or four years, although we didn’t win it in 2018.
“But the consistency we’ve had – the win percentage has been better than any other team in Super League.
“British and UK culture likes to see people fail and the underdog win and I think it’s about time now we get the credit we deserve for three wins back-to-back, the Challenge Cup and League Leaders’ (Shield) along the way.
“I’m really, really proud to be a part of this team and that’s not taking away from Catalans reaching the Grand Final.
“But I think we deserve some credit as well. I’m just really proud to be a part of this group and what we’ve done over these last few years has been special.”
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