World Club Challenge: Penrith Panthers lose controversial thriller against Wigan

They might be the best team of the NRL era, but Penrith can’t claim to be world beaters after Wigan dramatically denied Taylan May a try on the final play of the game and claim a 16-12 World Club Challenge triumph.

May looked to have stolen the win at the death but the video referee ruled no try, giving the Warriors their fifth WCC title – equalling the record alongside the Sydney Roosters.

In front of a typically raucous sellout crowd of 24,091 at DW Stadium, twice the Panthers came from behind to steal the lead but couldn’t come back a third time against a side that had all the answers when it mattered.

Not even the ice man in Nathan Cleary could overcome the chilly temperatures and even frostier reception, bombing a certain try midway through the second half when he fumbled an Isaah Yeo offload with the tryline beckoning.

Instead it was Jai Field who delivered in the clutch, racing down a flying May just short of the tryline in the 69th minute in a moment ironically reminiscent of Scott Sattler’s iconic trysaver for Penrith in the 2003 NRL decider.

The defeat leaves the Panthers with an unflattering 0-4 in the World Club Challenge and without the trophy that has eluded them during their three-year reign as premiers in the southern hemisphere.

RUDE WAKE-UP CALL

Maybe it was the rude wake-up call a couple of locals tried to give them earlier in the day, when fireworks were set off outside their Manchester hotel in the early hours of the morning.

Or maybe it was because it was their first genuine hitout of the season.

But the Panthers attack was rattled for large parts of the contest, uncharacteristically being caught on the last tackle four times in the opening 20 minutes, twice in the hands of youngster Jack Cole.

At one point, Cleary even passed to James Fisher-Harris for a final play decision.

But the champion No.7 eventually found his bearings, with one of his cross-field kicks being spilled down to Mitch Kenny, who found his halfback for their first, and nerves-settling, points.

FRENCH CONNECTION

It loomed as a potential problem for the Panthers from their arrival in the UK, with lockdown defender Stephen Crichton gone and incumbent five-eighth Jarome Luai out injured.

Then Scott Sorensen was scratched mid week as he failed to overcome a leg issue.

That left the Panthers with a vulnerable-looking new left edge of Luke Garner, Cole and May, and Bevan French took full advantage with two delicious cutout balls in the first half.

One cut out two targets to find Abbas Miski for the opening points of the contest, before the former Parramatta flyer backed it up with another cutout to set up their second try for Kruise Leeming.

In a year where the 28-year-old comes off contract, clubs could be lining up for the reigning Man of Steel, who has transformed from a tryscoring whiz to a versatile playmaker.

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Penrith will be nervously wait on scans for winger Sunia Turuva, who looked to have suffered a right leg injury after attempting to tapback a long Cleary kick in the second half.

The sight of the rookie of the year limping from the field was eerily similar to teammate May suffering an ACL injury in the corresponding fixture last year that ended his season.

His injury could force coach Ivan Cleary to rely on his depth for their season-opener against Melbourne in two weeks, including Canterbury recruit Paul Alamoti or youngster Jesse McLean.

Originally published as World Club Challenge: Penrith Panthers lose controversial thriller against Wigan