Wigan won through to Old Trafford to play arch rivals St Helens for the Grand Final and Leeds boss Brian McClennan admitted that the Rhinos had "thrown the kitchen sink at them."
Pat Richards opened the scoring with a penalty after 14 minutes but Leeds struck right back when Martin Gleeson lost possesion in a Danny Buderus tackle, the ball moved right and Kevin Sinfield rounded Harrison Hansen to finish from thirty metres before converting.
Leeds defence was dominant and restricted Wigan to just thirty metres progress on their next possession. The Rhinos gained their first penalty after 22 minutes and tried to launch an attack only for Ian Kirke to spill the ball.
Wigan's kicking game continued to misfire which put Leeds on the front foot while in comparison the Rhinos varied things in the same area. Wigan lost the influential Sean O'Loughlin temporarily to injury and this didn't help their organisation.
Good thinking from the Rhinos nearly launched Ryan Hall but the pass from Brent Webb after Buderus worked the right side drifted forward.
Iefeta Paaleasina charged through the middle after 27 minutes but his offload did not find support and Leeds went within inches of claiming a try before being awarded a penalty for obstruction. Wigan kept their line intact with Gleeson sparking a counter attack. The ball came right to Darrell Goulding and he sped down the wing before kicking forward and appearing to knock on. The decision was referred up to the video referee but the score remained the same.
The game moved from end to end before Thomas Leuluai put a high kick for Richards which was spilled by Hall. Wigan drove to the line with Mike McIlorum held on the line and the Warriors moved play right again for Goulding to force his way over from a speculative Joel Tomkins offload. Richards converted and suddenly the Warriors were in front.
Richards tried a long range drop goal against a swirling breeze but the teams went in at half-time with Wigan leading 8-6.
At the start of the second half Paul Prescott went over the top of Chris Clarkson and Sam Tomkins almost broke before Paul Deacon launched a wonderful kick that saw Scott Donald fluff the ball allowing Joel Tomkins the opportunity to juggle and then place the ball down for his fourth try in five matches. Once again Richards converted and all of a sudden it was 14-6 to Wigan.
Another try followed quickly for Wigan when the ball came free from a McIlorum carry and George Carmont dabbed on and won the race to claim the score.
Leeds were backpedalling. It was 20-6 after just seven minutes of the second half and they were struggling to make metres as Wigan upped their defensive efforts.
The Rhinos needed inspiration and they gained possession and then a penalty thanks to Matt Diskin. In using the ball, Leeds came close to getting their first try of the second half only for Sam Tomkins to intervene.
With the Rhinos season on the line Keith Senior conceded a penalty due to back chat and Wigan went downfield again only to see Joel Tomkins penalised for a tackle on Rob Burrow.
Wigans defence held with Richards stopping Buderus but when equally solid tackling put Goulding into touch Leeds had another opportunity. The Warriors swarmed and continued to upset the Rhinos despite a superb break from Brett Delaney.
The Warriors continued to control the pace of the game despite Leeds efforts they were frustrated time and time again before Danny Buderus touched down after 76 minutes. Even this wasn't clear cut and went upstairs for video referee Ben Thaler to disallow the effort. This sparked mass celebrations at the Wigan end and when Leuluai was tackled high by Webb, the Warriors pushed the ball into the corner for Carmont, Harrison Hansen and Joel Tomkins to work the ball to Gleeson it sent Wigan to Old Trafford for the first time since 2003. Richards added his fifth goal to make it a 26-6 win.
Wigan boss Michael Maguire said "there's a great feeling in the camp and I'm very proud. In the fist half we werent getting the defence that we liked but in the second half the boys definitely came out and performed."
WIGAN 26 (Tries: Darrell Goulding, Joel Tomkins, George Carmont, Martin Gleeson. Goals: Pat Richards 5/5) defeated LEEDS 6 (Try: Kevin Sinfield, Goal: Kevin Sinfield 1/1.)
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