19 February 2024 , 21:58
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Sixteen years after his “weird” solitary Penrith appearance, Willie Isa plans to down his former club and make Wigan world champions again.
Tough nut Isa, 35, has made the north of England his home after playing more than 200 games for Warriors. But the Auckland-born second-row grew up in Sydney after moving there when just one year-old. He went to school in Penrith, who Wigan host in Saturday’s sold-out World Club Challenge, and was on the Panthers’ books.
However, Isa played only one NRL game for them, making his first-grade debut as a centre in surreal circumstances in 2008. He recalled: “I was only 19 at the time and playing in a Penrith Under 20s game against Cronulla. Blake Ferguson was my opposite number. But they pulled me at half-time and I had to go get ready for the first-grade as they’d had someone pull out.
“They were playing about an hour later against Manly! It was a weird one. I’ve never heard it happen to anyone before. The weird thing was my parents didn’t know what was going on. One of our management team had to find them in the stands because I didn’t get to see them after the [reserve] game.
“We had Michael Jennings and Tony Puletua in that Penrith side and Petero Civoniceva was captain. I moved to Melbourne the year after. It was a debut on the sheet. But I’ve never thought of it as my official debut because you get that sense of achievement and earning it. I didn’t feel that, even though I’d done a full pre-season with the first grade at that time.”
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On that September day in 2008, there was a raft of Penrith players in the 34-16 loss to Manly who would go on and play in Super League. Not just Puletua, who won so much with St Helens, but Maurice Blair, of Hull KR fame, Trent Waterhouse, who featured with Warrington and ex-Leeds and Catalans hooker Paul Aiton. There was also Jarrod Sammut, who came over to play for Celtic Crusaders in 2010 and is still here now, at the age of 37, featuring with Workington after representing Bradford, Wakefield, Featherstone, London, Wigan and Barrow.
Wigan's Willie Isa in action against Castleford Tigers in their Super League opener (Craig Cresswell/News Images)Isa, meanwhile, played just five games for Melbourne before moving to Super League with Castleford in 2011. The following year he joined Widnes before beginning his love affair with Wigan in 2016. Isa has won three Grand Finals, two League Leaders' Shields and a Challenge Cup, with the Cherry and Whites.
But Saturday will be extra special as the Super League champions go up against a Penrith side boasting Kangaroos World Cup-winning stars Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo. Isa, who came off the bench in Wigan's 2019 World Club Challenge loss against Sydney Roosters, said: “I’ve always said I’m proud of where I’m from and it’s taught me everything I know. I’m here. I’m grateful. It’s a very working-class city [Penrith] and you have to work hard for everything you get.
Willie Isa training with Melbourne Storm in 2009 shortly after his move from Penrith Panthers. (Getty Images)“I’m proud of where I’m from and happy with some of the guys I know there in the Penrith team, especially the guys who are local from Penrith. I played with a few of them in the Kiwis two years ago. I’ve always known some of the young lads coming up through the ranks and obviously Nathan Cleary went to my high school.
“I met him once when he was a kid. He’s a proud St Domino’s College boy like me. There’s other [Penrith] boys who went to Patrician Brothers, the rival school. It was very strong with its rugby league back in the day!”
Penrith, with Cleary, Jarome Luai and Canterbury-bound Stephen Crichton, have won three NRL titles on the bounce to start talk about being one of the greatest-ever Australian teams. They had only ever won it in 1991 and 2003 previously but Isa argued: “I’ve always said to people: ‘About time.’ What I mean by that is they’re the biggest junior system in the world with participation levels.
“I’ve always said back in the day they just never invested in the juniors as much; they’ve always brought outsiders in. The engine and the heart of that city was already in front of their eyes. They just needed to invest in them and trust the younger men at that time, for example people like Lachlan Coote and Michael Jennings. They didn’t at the time and it made it hard for those other lads who went out and on to other clubs.”
Wigan's Willie Isa in action in 2020 (Getty Images)While Wigan aim for a record-equalling fifth World Club Challenge, Penrith have never won it. They fell to a Wigan side featuring Shaun Edwards, Andy Gregroy and Joe Lydon at Anfield in 1991 and succumbed to Bradford Bulls - Jamie Peacock, Leon Pryce, Lesley Vainikolo et al - in Huddersfield in 2004. They were also humbled 13-12 at home by St Helens 12 months ago, Lewis Dodd’s golden point drop goal delivering the sucker punch.
And Wigan are out to make sure Ivan Cleary’s side remain on a duck. But Isa , who helped Wigan start their Super League title defence with Saturday's 32-4 win at Castleford, maintained: “First, it’s a privilege being in this space. We’ve earned our spot. And so have they. These sorts of games don’t come along very often. This club [Wigan] has historically been in it before and that counts for a lot because it’s something we can fall back on and learn and educate ourselves.
“It gives these lads here an opportunity to present themselves to a wider audience as well and to represent our proud club Wigan. “Also, personally, the best thing I can do is give the best version of myself because it represents what Wigan have put into me and also where I have come from. If I don’t give the best version of myself I’ll not be letting my people from Penrith down as such but not representing them well. But obviously especially my club: Wigan.”
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