LEEDS RHINOS 12 WARRINGTON WOLVES 14
STEPHEN IBBETSON, AMT Headingley, Friday

WARRINGTON breathed a huge sigh of relief after reaching their first Grand Final for eight years in nail-biting fashion.

Depleted Leeds took them all the way in a match which never had more than a score in it, with the difference proving to be a controversial Ewan Irwin penalty, the only points scored in the second half.

They probably deserved the victory on balance, but the Wolves had to stand and watch as Jake Connor stood over a penalty after the hooter.

Only once the highly ambitious shot, from a shade over 60 metres, fell short could Sam Burgess’ side celebrate a win full of guts and determination.

All the pre-match talk was about Leeds’ absences, with Ash Handley (bulging disc), Jack Bird (hamstring) and Maika Sivo (shoulder) joined in the stands by Chris Hankinson after the warm-up to make it four outside-back withdrawals.

In came the McCormack brothers, Fergus and Ned, plus Riley Lumb and, following a spell out with a pec injury, James McDonnell.

The subsequent casting of Warrington as strong favourites appeared justified when Matty Ashton beat Ryan Hall in the air to a George Williams kick to create, via Toby King, the opening try in the fifth minute for ex-Rhino James Bentley, converted by Irwin.

But for much of the first half, Leeds were the team on top, winning the forward battle and fighting back to lead 12-6.

It was Hall who got them on the scoreboard – going level with the legendary Neil Fox in 17th on the list of all-time scorers in the British game on 358 tries – as he was found in too much space by Brodie Croft with Warrington caught a defender short on that side.

The Wolves missed a big chance when Williams slid a kick behind and backs Arron Lindop and Albert Hopoate left each other to attempt the grounding until it was too late.

Connor then weaved the magic that made his absence from the Man of Steel shortlist such a surprise. His kick to the left devastated Warrington, bouncing for Ned McCormack, who passed inside to Kallum Watkins with Connor on his shoulder to finish what he started – then, like for Hall’s try, convert too.

But the hosts were punished for a slack end to the half by Williams, with a pass at the line, and Luke Yates, charging onto it and finding himself clean through as Cooper Jenkins missed the tackle on his opposing prop, who scored the first try of his two-and-a-half years as a Warrington player.

Irwin’s second goal made it 12-12 at the break, and that’s how it stayed until deep into the second half.

It was Irwin who nudged them ahead with 14 minutes left, kicking a simple penalty after McDonnell was judged to have deliberately blocked off Williams chasing a kick, to the fury of the home crowd.

In truth, Warrington should have been ahead before then, but managed to butcher three separate attacking opportunities with poor skill. Leeds, in contrast, were now lacking the go-forward to get downfield at all.

Hope seemed lost after spending much of the final ten minutes pinned to their own tryline – then when Connor produced a 40/20 kick, Warrington successfully challenged for a prior offload by Keenan Palasia after the tackle was complete.

There was one final twist when the Rhinos won a penalty with four seconds left for an escort, leaving Connor with that almighty task.

The miss means Leeds, after leading the table for the majority of the season, finish the season unrewarded for their vast progress under Brad Arthur.

GAMESTAR: Toby King was a great handful for Leeds throughout.

GAMEBREAKER: Headingley was gripped as Jake Connor’s moonshot after the hooter fell short of the posts.

HIGHLIGHT REEL: Jake Connor created and finished a brilliant try.

MATCHFACTS

RHINOS
28 Fergus McCormack
5 Ryan Hall
24 Ned McCormack
3 Harry Newman
22 Riley Lumb
6 Brodie Croft
7 Jake Connor
8 Mikolaj Oledzki
9 Jarrod O’Connor
31 Matt Lodge
11 Kallum Watkins
12 James McDonnell
13 Keenan Palasia
Subs (all used)
10 Tom Holroyd
15 Cooper Jenkins
17 Cameron Smith
20 Presley Cassell
18th man (not used)
30 Zak Lloyd
Also in 21-man squad
2 Maika Sivo
14 Chris Hankinson
27 George Brown

Tries: Hall (16), Connor (32)
Goals: Connor 2/3

WOLVES
2 Josh Thewlis
4 Albert Hopoate
23 Arron Lindop
3 Toby King
5 Matty Ashton
6 George Williams
18 Ewan Irwin
16 Liam Byrne
9 Danny Walker
10 James Harrison
20 James Bentley
12 Sam Stone
13 Ben Currie
Subs (all used)
8 Luke Yates
14 Sam Powell
22 Joe Philbin
34 Kelepi Tanginoa
18th man (not used)
19 Leon Hayes
Also in 21-man squad
1 Cai Taylor-Wray
25 Max Wood
26 Josh Smith

Tries: Bentley (5), Yates (37)
Goals: E Irwin 3/3

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 6-6, 12-6, 12-12; 12-14

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Rhinos: Jake Connor; Wolves: Toby King

Penalty count: 6-5
Half-time: 12-12
Referee: Chris Kendall
Attendance: 16,627