'It's a chance to test yourself ': French ready for Panthers challenge

Super League’s reigning Man Of Steel Bevan French admits he’s always had an eye on an NRL return - but insists he must prove his pedigree by not trying to star in next weekend’s World Club Challenge against Penrith.

The Panthers touched down in Manchester half an hour early on Saturday but then faced lengthy immigration lines, non-playing five-eighth Jerome Luai and fellow Samoa international Brian To’o catching the eye in comfortable full-length beige kaftans.

French, 28, stressed he would never regard the world title bout at DW Stadium as merely a personal stage with his contract expiring at the end of the year.

But he added: “I came over here with the goal of wanting to get back to the NRL one day.

“It’s important, you’ve got to - I guess - pick the right timing as well. If you do go back, it’s sort of your last shot so everything’s got to fall into place, the way you want it to, to be able to do that.

“It’s a great opportunity to test yourself against an NRL premiership team.

“That’s not to say it’s … I’ll probably be more impressed with myself if I stay level-headed and consistent and not get a rush of blood because it’s a NRL premiership-winning team.

“I think that takes a lot more professionalism, to be able to stay on your game plan and stay in the same plan rather than try and stand out from everyone else.

“It’s a great test, just to be able to stick to the things that we want to do - competing on every play and things like that.

“….it’s a good opportunity to test yourself as well. We see what happens from there.”

The Tingha-born former Parramatta star - batting just below a try a game for his five years in cherry-and-white - re-signed for two seasons in 2022.

“There were things I wanted to tick off here - personal goals, team goals,” he reflected.

“We were yet to win a premiership. It felt like I owed them one. I definitely wanted to get that out of the way.” 

French acknowledged the WCC had a different status in the British game and “for a lot of their [Penrith] players, it’s a first run-out and probably a bit of a trial match sort of thing.

“But just speaking with a couple of people now … obviously they’ve won a couple of grand finals and the club itself has played in three of these and not won one.

“No doubt they’ll want to win …. with the calibre of players there….

“It may not seem the same to Aussies but it you walk out onto a sold-out stadium with the atmosphere and the build-up, it’s going to be crazy. It’s going to be tough regardless.”

Speaking to NRL.com at the airport, Penrith prop and New Zealand Test captain James Fisher-Harris was asked if the Panthers had been focused on the WCC in the wake of last year’s one-point overtime defeat to St Helens.

“Not too much - just focused on ourselves, eh?” Fisher-Harris said. “We’re getting ourselves ready for a big season. It’s just part of the season. But we’re really looking forward to it.”

Reflecting on Lewis Dodd’s overtime field goal for a 13-12 Saints upset at BlueBet Stadium 12 months ago, he said: “We just didn’t play that great, to be honest. We just stuffed a lot of things up on the field and it took us too long to fix it.

“But I think we’ve been doing the simple things right during the pre-season and play how we play.”

However, the lessons from last year’s WCC do not necessarily apply to next Saturday at DW. "A little bit. Not too much, man," added the 2023 IRL Golden Boot winner.

“It’s a little bit different over here, playing over here. I think it’s slightly slower over here. There’s a bit more in a ruck and all those type of things.

“[So] not really. We don’t think about that game too much. Just the occasion a little bit.

“It’s the first time all the boys have come over here so it’s exciting but … it’s different from St Helens - you know what I mean - [that] being back home. But … it will be a good challenge.”