You have to hand it to Leeds. When the chips are down and the pressure is on, is there a better team in the country?
All week prior to the Super League showpiece event I had favoured the Rhinos. I thought their general know-how and big game experience would see them through and so it proved.
To be honest this was one of the best Grand Finals, a tough, tense, tight encounter and I expect for Rhinos fans, completely makes up for missing out on lifting the Challenge Cup.
I know that Kevin Sinfield has his critics in the game and also for performances at international level but he is a superb captain, he marshalled his troops throughout and prompted and kicked well out of hand, despite being felled after one such kick with an almighty blow to the jaw. His 21 successive play-off goals points to nerves of steel and indeed he kicked five on the big Old Trafford stage. I have long been an admirer of his traits, his professionalism and suggest to the Headingley paymasters that if they are considering "making statues of them" to quote Brian McDermott then they look no further than Sinfield initially.
I thought that Carl Ablett would have got a lot closer to Sinfield in chasing man of the match. He played a varied centre/back row role and scored a crucial try in addition to having a hand in the clincher with the final movement and pass before Ryan Hall gleefully crossed at the corner.
Rob Burrow too was magnificent out of dummy half. Last season's Harry Sunderland trophy winner for me had far more control on his game and was more readily involved than his classy cameo from 2011 yet came nowhere near Leeds captain marvel in the end.
What of the losers Warrington?
They were brave, Ben Westwood played it tough and Richie Myler and Lee Briers never stopped while it was a fascinating confrontation in the centres between Ryan Atkins and Kallum Watkins and both Mickey Higham and Michael Monaghan. I also thought that Chris Hill did not disgrace himself and has certainly gone from strength to strength since stepping up from the Championship, but crucially for me Leeds had the edge.
The Wolves started the game superbly and deservedly edged the first fifteen minutes with Richie Myler spotting the slightest of gaps in Leeds line to cross for the opening try just a couple of minutes in with a combination of quick thinking and quick feet. Fullback Brett Hodgson converted but the Rhinos served notice of their danger when a long ball from Kevin Sinfield seemingly put Ryan Hall in at the corner, only to be ruled forward.
The sides swapped difficult hanging kicks with Ben Jones-Bishop being targeted by Warrington.
Leeds then steadied the ship and a towering kick from Sinfield was spilled under pressure by Joel Monaghan, allowing Carl Ablett the chance to step into an opening, twist in the tackle and offload for Sinfield, looping round to plant the ball over the line in the 18th minute and convert to level the match from an acute angle at six-all.
The next 15 minutes belonged to Leeds with Sinfield nudging the Rhinos in front with a 24th minute penalty and Jones-Bishop casting his earlier handling nerves aside to finish smartly on the right hand side for Sinfield to make it 14-6.
Similarly to their Elimination victory over St Helens, Warrington surged back in the last seven minutes of the half and gained momentum with quick play and when Leeds were split down the Wolves left side, clever link up work created space and numbers for Lee Briers to bullet a pass for right winger Joel Monaghan to claim his 22nd try of the season. Hodgson converted and was on hand to kick a penalty to level the game at 14-all on the stroke of half-time.
Early in the second half, Warrington enjoyed a greater share of field position and possession and Leeds saw skipper Sinfield felled after making a clearance kick, a clash of heads with Michael Monaghan putting the Leeds man on the floor. Somehow, Sinfield regained his feet and played himself back into the game. Clinically the Wolves took advantage of the confusion with Hodgson's smart work out of dummy half catching Leeds out and Ryan Atkins went one on one with Kallum Watkins and over the youngster to claim a try that put Warrington in front again.
Leeds kept their composure and laid on the pressure with only good defence holding the Rhinos at bay, but as the penalties began to stack up against Warrington, the Wolves reeled and Shaun Lunt spied the opportunity to dive forward out of dummy half and release the ball at the right time for Ablett to go over Briers to claim a crucial try with Sinfield again potting a difficult conversion to edge the Rhinos in front at 20-18.
Warrington tried to come up with a telling play but handling errors broke their rhythm and Leeds countered superbly to score the clinching try eight minutes from time with some excellent passing and poise that eventually saw Ablett stand up Joel Monaghan long enough for Hall to skirt around the outside and Sinfield converted magnificently to secure a sixth title in nine years for the Rhinos.
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