{"id":791738,"date":"2026-10-04T14:16:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T14:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/791738\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T14:16:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T14:16:07","slug":"wakefield-trinitys-world-club-challenge-opponents-locked-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/791738\/","title":{"rendered":"Wakefield Trinity’s World Club Challenge opponents locked in"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wakefield Trinity<\/a> will play Sydney Roosters in the World Club Challenge \u2013 if the game goes ahead as planned early next year.<\/p>\n

Trinity pulled off one of the greatest sporting miracles of recent times on Saturday evening when they defeated Warrington Wolves to be crowned Super League champions for the first time.<\/p>\n

As a result of that, it means they are eligible to take on the NRL premiers in the World Club Challenge if the match is given the green light, with hopes high that it can be staged in England next February.<\/p>\n

And their potential opponents are officially confirmed after the Roosters won the NRL Grand Final on Sunday after defeating Newcastle Knights in a thrilling game that went right to the very last play.<\/p>\n

Roosters win dramatic NRL Grand Final<\/p>\n

Trent Robinson\u2019s side were 12-0 behind after half an hour on Sunday and it looked as though there would be a second Grand Final fairytale in as many days, with the Knights set to go from the wooden spoon to champions in the space of 12 months.<\/p>\n

However, the Roosters were ultimately too strong on the night.<\/p>\n

By half-time they had reduced the arrears to six points as Mark Nawaqanitawase marked his final NRL appearance before returning to rugby union with a try.<\/p>\n

England hopeful Billy Smith then scored shortly after the restart to level the scores before Nawaqanitawase put the Roosters in front for the first time.<\/p>\n

Hull FC-bound Daly Cherry-Evans then kicked a decisive drop goal in the closing stages in his last game in the competition to open up a two-score lead for the Roosters \u2013 but Newcastle fought valiantly all game to hang in there. Greg Marzhew scored with three minutes left and Sandon Smith converted from out wide to make it 19-18: but the Roosters hung on in a frantic final few moments.<\/p>\n

World Club Challenge plans emerge<\/p>\n

A Roosters victory now heightens the chances of the World Club Challenge taking place, Love Rugby League has learned.<\/p>\n

The NRL were always planning to hold talks with the victorious club after the Grand Final, with the governing body aware of the importance and keen for it to take place after the success of this year\u2019s game between Hull KR and Brisbane Broncos.<\/p>\n

It is understood that Roosters coach Trent Robinson is also a huge advocate of the concept and would be willing to travel to England if the game could be given the green light. He is keen on the trip as a development tool for his playing group as well as for cultural reasons, and the fact Sydney are now the NRL premiers increases the chances of the game taking place.<\/p>\n

The location is still to be determined. Matt Ellis has spoken of his passion of taking the game to Barnsley\u2019s Oakwell \u2013 but RL Commercial are also interested in Elland Road as a possible venue dependent on supporter interest.<\/p>\n

The DIY Kitchens Stadium would appear unlikely; in a similar manner to Hull KR this year, their home ground may well be too small to satisfy the overwhelming demand to see the new Super League champions face the bets side in Australia rugby league.<\/p>\n

But Sydney Roosters winning the biggest prize in the NRL means the chances of a World Club Challenge are firmly on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wakefield Trinity will play Sydney Roosters in the World Club Challenge \u2013 if the game goes ahead as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":791739,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-791738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=791738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/791739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=791738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=791738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=791738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}