Panthers ask referee to look for head slams

Penrith Panthers have asked the referee in the World Club Challenge against Bradford Bulls tomorrow to be on the alert for any instances of slamming heads into the ground.

The Panthers' coach, John Lang, raised the issue with Steve Ganson after watching last year's Super League Grand Final in which the Wigan winger, Brian Carney, was concussed by a tackle from Leon Pryce, which was ruled to be accidental. Penrith's chief executive, Shane Richardson, said: "But we noticed that incident in the grand final and sought some clarification on how it would be treated. We were told it would be treated as a dangerous throw and we are perfectly happy with that."

The Bradford coach, Brian Noble, will reveal his line-up today, but Pryce is virtually certain to be playing at stand-off. Ticket sales for the match are in line to top the 21,113 who were at the McAlpine Stadium the last time it staged the fixture two years ago, when the Bulls beat the Newcastle Knights.