Super League Grand Final

Super League Grand Final
Locale Old Trafford, Manchester
Teams 2
First contested 1998
Most recent meeting 2014
Next meeting 2015
Broadcasters Sky Sports
Most wins Leeds Rhinos (6 titles)
The Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford

The Super League Grand Final (commonly referred to as the Grand Final) is the championship-deciding game of the Super League (rugby league) competition.[1] The game is the culmination of the Super League Play-Off Series. It is played between two teams who have qualified via this Super League Play-Off series, the teams who compete in these play-offs having been decided by the league positions after the end of the regular season's weekly rounds.[2]

Use of a play-off system to decide the Championship brought back a rugby league tradition that had previously fallen out of use. The Super League Premiership, which had previously taken place between the highest placed teams in the competition, was discontinued after the introduction of the Super League play-off series. This was because its purpose had been to take the place of the previous Championship-deciding play-off system.

The Super League Grand Final was introduced for the 1998 season. The inaugural Grand Final match was played that year on Saturday 24 October, between Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos. The venue of every Super League Grand Final to date has been Old Trafford, Manchester.[3]

The winning team of the Grand Final are designated Super League champions, receive the Super League Trophy and gains the opportunity to play against the National Rugby League (NRL) champions (from Australia/New Zealand) in the Probiz World Club Challenge.

The Harry Sunderland Trophy is the award given to the man-of-the-match in the Grand Final.

Results

The Super League Grand Final has been the championship-deciding game since Super League III in 1998:[4]

Super League Year Winners Score Runner-up Attendance Venue Harry Sunderland Trophy
III 1998 Wigan Warriors 10–4 Leeds Rhinos 43,533 Old Trafford Jason Robinson (Wigan)
IV 1999 St Helens 8–6 Bradford Bulls 50,717 Old Trafford Henry Paul (Bradford)
V 2000 St Helens 29–16 Wigan Warriors 58,132 Old Trafford Chris Joynt (St Helens)
VI 2001 Bradford Bulls 37–6 Wigan Warriors 60,164 Old Trafford Michael Withers (Bradford)
VII 2002 St Helens 19–18 Bradford Bulls 61,138 Old Trafford Paul Deacon (Bradford)
VIII 2003 Bradford Bulls 25–12 Wigan Warriors 65,537 Old Trafford Stuart Reardon (Bradford)
IX 2004 Leeds Rhinos 16–8 Bradford Bulls 65,547 Old Trafford Matt Diskin (Leeds)
X 2005 Bradford Bulls 15–6 Leeds Rhinos 65,728 Old Trafford Leon Pryce (Bradford)
XI 2006 St Helens 26–4 Hull F.C. 72,582 Old Trafford Paul Wellens (St Helens)
XII 2007 Leeds Rhinos 33–6 St Helens 71,352 Old Trafford Rob Burrow (Leeds)
XIII 2008 Leeds Rhinos 24–16 St Helens 68,810 Old Trafford Lee Smith (Leeds)
XIV 2009 Leeds Rhinos 18–10 St Helens 63,259 Old Trafford Kevin Sinfield (Leeds)
XV 2010 Wigan Warriors 22–10 St Helens 71,526 Old Trafford Thomas Leuluai (Wigan)
XVI 2011 Leeds Rhinos 32–16 St Helens 69,107 Old Trafford Rob Burrow (Leeds)
XVII 2012 Leeds Rhinos 26–18 Warrington Wolves 70,676 Old Trafford Kevin Sinfield (Leeds)
XVIII 2013 Wigan Warriors 30–16 Warrington Wolves 66,281 Old Trafford Blake Green (Wigan)
XIX 2014 St Helens 14–6 Wigan Warriors 70,102 Old Trafford James Roby (St Helens)

Statistics

The following statistics relate to the Super League Grand Final only, not the season as a whole:[5]

Most Appearances: St Helens (10), Leeds (8), Wigan (7), Bradford (6), Warrington (2), Hull FC (1)
Most Wins: Leeds (6), St Helens (5), Bradford (3), Wigan (3)
Most Losses: St Helens (5), Wigan (4), Bradford (3), Leeds (2), Warrington (2), Hull FC (1)
Most Consecutive Appearances: St Helens (6), Bradford (5), Leeds (3)
Most Consecutive Wins: Leeds (3), St Helens (2)
Most Consecutive Losses: St Helens (5), Warrington (2), Wigan (2) [6]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.superleague.co.uk/grand_final/grand_final
  2. ↑ http://www.superleague.co.uk/about_sl/the_play-off_series
  3. ↑ http://www.rugbyleaguetickets.co.uk/grand_final
  4. ↑ http://www.superleague.co.uk/about_sl/winners
  5. ↑ http://www.superleague.co.uk/about_sl/winners
  6. ↑ http://www.superleague.co.uk/about_sl/winners

See also