SAINTS crowd favourite Konrad Hurrell is looking forward to making his first trip back to Australia since 2019 when he flies out for the World Club Challenge clash with Penrith Panthers.

But the Tongan international centre has an even bigger red letter day in front of him before he can think about that – he is shortly due to become a dad.

His partner Bec is due to give birth to their first child in three weeks' time – the same week Saints fly off for their Australian campaign.

It has certainly added an extra bit of excitement to Hurrell’s pre-season build-up – and he thanked the Saints club for their support in allowing him to delay his departure with the team.

Hurrell said: “I am excited. The baby is due in three weeks - the week that the boys leave for Australia, so hopefully the big fella will come out earlier.

“The club is understanding with it being my first one and it is always family first.

“I will always have respect for the club for what they have done for me.

“Rushy has looked after me and they have even flown Bec’s mum over for us also.

“That is reassuring as I will feel good flying over to Australia knowing that Bec’s mum is over here to look after her and the baby.

"Hopefully he arrives a little bit earlier so I can hang out with him a bit before I have to leave.

“The big fella will qualify for three nations – Tonga, Australia and England and he can choose – but not Australia!”

St Helens Star:

Hurrell joined Saints ahead of last season – and even though he was not initially lined up to be a starter he soon made himself at home.

It was a year that ended with his first Super League Grand Final ring – a win that has earned Saints a crack at the Australian champions.

“I am excited for the opportunity of playing my first World Club Challenge game.

“I have always wanted to win the Super League and now, with winning that, we get to play in the World Club against the best team in the NRL and the back-to-back NRL champions,” Hurrell said.

“I am excited to go back to play in Australia and some warm weather – it’ll be tough to play in the heat again but I am looking forward to it and buzzing about it.

“All the boys are looking forward to going over there to play against Australia’s best team. Penrith are a great side – just look at the number of players they had in the World Cup Final, but they will want to give a team that has won four titles in a row some respect.

“At the same time Penrith will want to show who is the big dog, but we are looking forward to the challenge.”

It is Hurrell’s first trip back to Australia since 2019 – but Hurrell is not envisaging it being a sightseeing trip, even if he does hope to see some friends and family there.

“We are not going there for a holiday, we are going there to win something. We are going there to work – we will have no time to waste because when we come back we go straight into Super League.

“We may get to train in the sun and on a beach, but it won’t be a holiday.

“We will get some downtime and that will give us a chance to see family and friends and I look forward to that as well,” he said.