ISA INVESTED IN TAKING DOWN PANTHERS

Willie was a Penrith kid... now he'll show them what they missed out on

- DAVE CRAVEN

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.