Ahead of their World Club Challenge match against Wigan Warriors on Saturday 24th February, Penrith Panthers will train at Manchester City’s £200m world class training facility in their bid to finally secure their maiden WCC trophy at the fourth attempt.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City team is widely known as one of the best football teams on the planet and have amassed an impressive collection of trophies since the Spaniard was appointed in 2016. For Penrith’s Head Coach, Ivan Cleary, there is no better place to be to prepare for their final showdown at the DW Stadium.
For Penrith, the Etihad Campus offers their players and coaching staff everything they need to prepare for a professional rugby league match to the fullest. The state-of-the-art facility used by all of Manchester City’s teams gives Penrith the opportunity to hone their patterns of play on one of the indoor or outdoor pitches of varying surfaces, and even under controlled conditions.
Especially with the erratic English weather, the conditions on the day overhead and on the ground are likely to be a surprise, which makes the ability to train on different surfaces and in diverse conditions all the more valuable. Even those using a pinnacle sign up code might have to rethink any assumptions that Wigan Warriors would have an advantage due to playing at home. The favourites tag would most likely arise from the fact Wigan have won the WCC four times, while Penrith have lost three finals, including last year’s showpiece in their own stadium to St Helens. However, those guided by betting markets should not discount Penrith because of the extra boost they will be getting from training at the Etihad Campus.
Not only are the pitches tailor made for different conditions and even different aspects of gameplay, the top-notch gym and medical facilities ensure that Penrith’s players will recover fully from any gruelling training session. As with any sport, conditioning is paramount and access to the dedicated gym room with world class, modern equipment will help Penrith’s players arrive at the match in the best shape possible. However, it is not only the players that will benefit from the facilities and the visit to Manchester. Penrith as a rugby league club not only stand to be inspired by the accolades around the campus, but the club could enjoy a slight boost in reputation from this connection.
Regardless of the time spent at the Etihad Campus, Penrith’s main objective is to return to Australia with the WCC trophy. Their preparations in Manchester will only put them in a better place to achieve this.
