Peacock expecting fired-up Manly to test Leeds

The England captain is the most decorated player in the competition’s history, setting a record-extending sixth appearance when Leeds face Manly Sea Eagles at Headingley Carnegie on Friday night.

If the West Yorkshire club succeed, Peacock will also boast a new individual record of four wins, so the experienced prop is certainly no stranger to the heritage and evolution of the often maligned showdown.

English clubs had dominated, winning five successive World Club Challenges here on home soil until a stubborn Manly overcame Leeds in 2009.

Since then, Melbourne Storm and St George have continued the NRL renaissance with victories over Leeds and Wigan respectively, meaning Manly can make it four in a row for the Australian champions this weekend.

It is a far cry from the past when more often than not the indifferent NRL visitors – often under-prepared and under-strength – saw the World Club Challenge simply as a glorified holiday or pre-season warm-up.

“I think it’s been some time since it’s not been taken seriously by the Aussies,” insisted Peacock.

“My first one was for Bradford Bulls against Newcastle Knights (41-26) in 2002 and they perhaps did come over for a bit of a holiday then.

“But it’s different now and we know it means more to them than it did in the past.

“The lengths they go to and preparations they take shows how important it is and we need that if the competition is to be taken seriously.

“We certainly know Manly will be up for this on Friday.”

Peacock is one of 12 likely survivors from the Leeds squad that lost out to the Sydney club 28-20 at Elland Road three years ago.

That was an infamously fiery affair with the Leeds prop and Manly counterpart Josh Perry having one almighty dust-up on a night when a full gale seemed to be blowing into Leeds United’s stadium.

Each was sin-binned for their part in that brawl and – though Perry has since moved on to St Helens – the Super League champions know there could be similar occurrences on Friday.

“Manly are a psychical side and we are a physical side,” he said.

“So when one set of forwards try to get on top of the set of forwards, who knows? It was a clash and it spilled over.

“Rugby league is confrontational and sometimes emotions spill over.”

Peacock, who earned further wins with Bradford over Penrith in 2004 and Leeds versus Melbourne four years later, admits his desire for such occasions has never diminished.

At 34, the formidable forward is just as eager to add to his haul against their fiercest foes, especially after being part of the England side that lost to Australia in November’s Four Nations final.

“It’s not just with my England hat on but playing for Leeds as well,” he said.

“We’ve lost the last two World Club Challenges (Melbourne 2010) and there’s nothing worse than getting to a final and losing.

“I think we’re stronger than the last time we faced Manly but they are as well.

“The competition has moved on and you just have to look at their international and Origin players – Brett Stewart at full-back, Glen Stewart at loose plus their two halves too.

“Then you’ve got forwards like Anthony Watmough and Tony Williams as well so we know it’s going to be a real team effort to overcome them.

“We’ve improved though and we’ve got a lot of youth in the side now so it’s going to be interesting to see what happens out there,” he said.

Leeds should be better prepared given they have had two tough Super League encounters – a win over Hull KR before Saturday’s loss at Wigan – compared to their opponents who are at full strength but have yet to start their domestic season.

“We have to come with the correct attitude, “ admitted Peacock.

“We said that after the Wigan game and have worked on it. We need to improve it if we’re going to beat Manly.

“It could be another arm wrestle, as there’s an element of that in so many big games, but we are expecting anything on Friday and need to be prepared for that.”

Hull KR will be without acting captain Michael Dobson for a month with a shoulder injury, the club have confirmed.

The Australian scrum-half sustained the injury in Sunday’s 22-10 Stobart Super League win at Wakefield, joining his half-back partner Blake Green and newly-appointed captain Ben Galea on the sidelines. The loss of their influential playmaker and goalkicker is a blow for the Robins but cushioned by news that the injury is not as serious as first feared.

“His injury requires nothing more than conservative management and it looks likely that he’ll only miss the next month of football, which is positive news for us,” said coach Craig Sandercock.

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