{"id":489769,"date":"2026-02-19T08:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T08:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/489769\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T08:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T08:56:13","slug":"nrl-2026-world-club-challenge-brisbane-broncos-set-for-hull-welcome-by-former-team-mate-jai-whitbread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/489769\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: World Club Challenge; Brisbane Broncos set for Hull welcome by former team-mate Jai Whitbread"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cGlimpses of freakishness\u201d – that\u2019s how Hull KR forward Jai Whitbread recalls his time playing alongside many of the Brisbane Broncos stars he will oppose in the World Club Challenge.<\/p>\n

Whitbread’s recollections of the period afterwards? Rain, cold, losses, homesickness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s funny how rugby league works with the nuances and the full circles and things like that,\u201d Whitbread, 28, tells NRL.com, ahead of the world title bout at MKM Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlayers you play with that you sort of never think you\u2019d play with again or play against again – it\u2019s funny but I\u2019m excited. It\u2019s gonna be unreal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our story starts in the Brisbane under 20s Holden Cup team of 2016 and 2017.<\/p>\n


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\n Former team-mates Jai Whitbread and Pat Carrigan catch up ahead of the World Club Challenge between Hull KR and Brisbane.
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Broncos\u2019 Test star Patrick Carrigan recalls: \u201cI started at the Broncos when I was in Year 12 … and Jai was at TSS (The Southport School) and I was at Gregory Terrace, and we actually went in and started training together \u2026 (before) we had a couple of years in 20s together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitbread added: \u201cOur U20s team was Patty Carrigan, Payno (Payne Haas), Gehemet (Shibasaki), Katoni (Staggs) \u2026 Looking back, we knew we had a star-studded team. A lot of boys were making rep sides and stuff like that, but it\u2019s probably not guaranteed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made the finals one year. The best we did was semis. It was a tough competition, the NYC, but yeah you had, like, a lot of the boys showing the potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were definitely glimpses of freakishness in that side, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitbread went on to play 30 NRL games for Gold Coast between 2018 and 2021 before jetting off to pastures new – Leigh, then Wakefield.<\/p>\n


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\n Jai Whitbread in action for the Titans against Newcastle in 2020.
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\u201cIt was very difficult at the start,\u201d he admits. \u201cI came over to teams that were struggling and I didn\u2019t know what to expect. I had this idea and it wasn\u2019t really what I was being faced with.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t doing too well and the weather was like \u2026 it does play its role too when you\u2019re from the Gold Coast where in winter it\u2019s 20 degrees.\u201d<\/p>\n

While doors were opening for his former team-mates on the other side of the world, Whitbread felt like his were closing in his face – or being left only slightly ajar.<\/p>\n

SET YOUR ALARMS \u23f0<\/p>\n

Witness the ultimate world championship between the reigning Super League Champions and NRL Premiers \ud83c\udfc6 <\/p>\n

Tune in to the World Club Challenge tomorrow, 6:30am. pic.twitter.com\/TyfHl2pXqP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NRL (@NRL) February 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBut just persistence \u2026 I\u2019ve always relied on work ethic as a player and whenever things get hard I just try and fall back on that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat got me out of some struggling sides and I got noticed by KR, and they showed faith in me and valued what I had to bring as a player and I guess that sort of lit another spark inside me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last couple of years here have been the most enjoyable of my career. It helps when you\u2019re winning but when you\u2019re in an organisation that\u2019s values line up with yours as a player, it\u2019s massive.\u201d<\/p>\n


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\n Jai Whitbread celebrate with wife Lauren after Hull KR won the 2025 Super League Leaders Trophy.
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Asked if he had Thursday night’s game circled in his diary, Whitbread laughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got married in the off-season and had a few things that I had circled before that,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI met my partner (Lauren) over here too. She\u2019s massive too, away from footy, in keeping me busy, grounded, instilling some techniques to deal with homesickness and things like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenuinely, it\u2019s made my career so far. Like, it\u2019s been the best decision I\u2019ve made for my career, hands down.”<\/p>\n

Carrigan, Shibasaki and Staggs are making their second visit to the British Isles in five months after their involvement in Australia\u2019s 3-0 Ashes whitewash.<\/p>\n

But Test results have historically been little indication of the balance of power in the WCC. Whitbread has a theory on why.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re in that team environment with your club for such a long period of time, you probably have better combos and know people a bit more whereas in the international game, it\u2019s the best of the best and they\u2019re only together for so long,\u201d he reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can only create combinations whereas we\u2019re in day-in, day-out throughout the year and you develop bonds that are hardened and you know how each other plays and you know that we\u2019re all pulling towards the same thing.<\/p>\n


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The prestige of the World Club Challenge<\/p>\n

\u201cThe atmosphere here will probably be much bigger than what they experienced in the Ashes.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust because there\u2019ll be a lot of KR fans with it being in Hull, you\u2019d like to think the odds will be stacked against them, fan-wise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the atmosphere will probably play more than the conditions for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitbread and Carrigan remain close. Other members of the U20s team have drifted apart a bit but stay in touch.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe moved over here and I haven\u2019t seen him in ages,\u201d Shibasaki said. \u201cIt will be good to see him after the game, have a yarn and catch up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrigan says: \u201cI think he\u2019s converted to Pom now. He\u2019s married here, happy and I think he\u2019s here to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n