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The Super League Grand Final is the championship-deciding game of rugby league's Super League competition. It is played between two teams who have qualified via the Super League play-offs. The winning team receives the Super League Trophy and goes on to play the NRL champions in the World Club Challenge. As of 2024, the Rob Burrow Award is awarded to the man of the match, replacing the Harry Sunderland Trophy. The match is normally played at Old Trafford in Greater Manchester.
 The Super League Trophy ahead of the 2012 Grand Final | |
| Other names | The Big Dance |
|---|---|
| Location |  Trafford, Greater Manchester |
| Teams | 2 |
| First meeting | 1998 |
| Latest meeting | 2024 |
| Next meeting | 2025 |
| Broadcasters | Sky Sports BBC (highlights) |
| Stadiums | Old Trafford |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 24 |
| Most wins |  St Helens (9) |
| Most player appearances | Jamie Peacock James Roby (11) |
Only four clubs have won the Super League, as of 2024 - St Helens (10), Leeds Rhinos (8), Wigan Warriors (7), and Bradford Bulls (4). St Helens and Bradford Bulls each won one of their Super League titles before the Play Off and Grand Final system was introduced in 1998.
Wigan Warriors are the current champions, after winning the 2024 Super League Grand Final, defeating Hull KR 9–2, to win all 4 trophies in the same year.
Background
editUse of a play-off system to decide the Championship brought back a rugby league tradition that had fallen out of use in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The Premiership replaced the Championship final but it was to decide the Premiership winners, not the Championship winners. The Premiership was discontinued after the introduction of the Super League play-off series in 1998, ending with the Super League Grand Final, the concept inspired by the NRL Grand Final in Australia. The inaugural Grand Final match was played that year on Saturday 24 October, between Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos.[1]
Venue
edit
The Grand Final has been held on a Saturday at Old Trafford in Manchester every year since 1998. The only exception to this was the 2020 final, which as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic causing fixture congestion with Manchester United F.C.'s 2020-21 season, was rescheduled to be held at the KCOM Stadium in Kingston upon Hull. The match was also held on a Friday night for the first and only time in its history.[2]
| City | Stadium | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester |
Old Trafford | 1998–2019, 2021–2027 |
| Hull |
KCOM Stadium | 2020 |
Trophy
editThe winners of the Super League collect the Grand Final rings and the team's name, captain and year are engraved into the trophy. The winners also collect £100,000 with the runner up collecting £50,000.[citation needed]
Leeds captain Kevin Sinfield currently holds the record for captaining the most Super League title winning sides after leading Leeds to seven of their Grand Final successes. St Helens contested the final six consecutive seasons (from 2006 until 2011) during which time they succeeded only once in lifting the trophy, against Hull F.C. in 2006, after which they suffered consecutive defeats against Leeds in 2007, 2008, 2009, Wigan in 2010 and Leeds once again in 2011.
Awards
editThe Rob Burrow Award is awarded to the Man-of-the-Match in the Super League Grand Final by the Rugby League Writers' Association. The award was introduced in tribute to Rob Burrow for the 2024 Grand Final; Burrow, who won eight grand finals with Leeds Rhinos and has been awarded the Harry Sunderland award himself twice (2007 & 2011), died in June 2024 following a public battle with Motor Neurone Disease.[3] The inaugural Rob Burrow Award was handed to Wigan Warriors stand-off Bevan French by Rob Burrow's father Geoff Burrow following the conclusion of the 2024 final on 12 October.[4]
Before 2024, the trophy was named named the Harry Sunderland Trophy in tribute to Harry Sunderland, who was an Australian rugby league football administrator in both Australia and the United Kingdom. The Trophy was first awarded in the Rugby Football League Championship Final of the 1964–65 season following Sunderland's death and was retained with the introduction of the Super League Grand Final in 1998.
Finals
editThe Super League Grand Final has been the championship-deciding game since Super League III in 1998:[5]
| Year | Winners | Score | Runner-up | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 |  Wigan
|
10–4 |  Leeds
|
43,533 |
| 1999 | St Helens
|
8–6 |  Bradford
|
50,717 
|
| 2000 | 29–16 | Wigan
|
58,132
| |
| 2001 | Bradford
|
37–6 | 60,164
| |
| 2002 | St Helens
|
19–18 | Bradford
|
61,138
|
| 2003 | Bradford
|
25–12 | Wigan
|
65,537
|
| 2004 | Leeds
|
16–8 | Bradford
|
65,547
|
| 2005 | Bradford
|
15–6 | Leeds
|
65,728
|
| 2006 | St Helens
|
26–4 |  Hull
|
72,575
|
| 2007 | Leeds
|
33–6 | St Helens
|
 71,352
|
| 2008 | 24–16 | 68,810
| ||
| 2009 | 18–10 | 63,259
| ||
| 2010 | Wigan
|
22–10 | 71,526
| |
| 2011 | Leeds
|
32–16 | 69,107
| |
| 2012 | 26–18 |  Warrington
|
70,676
| |
| 2013 | Wigan
|
30–16 | 66,281
| |
| 2014 | St Helens
|
14–6 | Wigan
|
70,102
|
| 2015 | Leeds
|
22–20 | 73,512
| |
| 2016 | Wigan
|
12–6 | Warrington
|
70,202
|
| 2017 | Leeds
|
24–6 |  Castleford
|
72,827
|
| 2018 | Wigan
|
12–4 | Warrington
|
64,892
|
| 2019 | St Helens
|
23–6 |  Salford
|
64,102
|
| 2020 | 8–4 | Wigan
|
0[a] | |
| 2021 | 12–10 |  Catalans
|
45,177
| |
| 2022 | 24–12 | Leeds
|
60,783
| |
| 2023 | Wigan
|
10–2 | Catalans
|
58,137
|
| 2024 | 9–2 |  Hull KR
|
68,173
|
Results
edit| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Helens
|
9 | 5 | 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 | 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
| Leeds Rhinos
|
8 | 3 | 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 | 1998, 2005, 2022 |
| Wigan Warriors
|
7 | 6 | 1998, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2023, 2024 | 2000, 2001, 2003, 2014, 2015, 2020 |
| Bradford Bulls
|
3 | 3 | 2001, 2003, 2005 | 1999, 2002, 2004 |
| Warrington Wolves
|
0 | 4 | 2012, 2013, 2016, 2018 | |
| Catalans Dragons
|
0 | 2 | 2021, 2023 | |
| Hull F.C.
|
0 | 1 | 2006 | |
| Castleford Tigers
|
0 | 1 | 2017 | |
| Salford Red Devils
|
0 | 1 | 2019 | |
| Hull KR
|
0 | 1 | 2024 |
The Double
edit| Club | Wins | Winning years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2013, 2024 | |
| 2 | 4 | 1965–66, 2006, 2016, 2021 | |
| 3 | 2 | 1912–13, 1914–15 | |
| 4 | 1 | 1927–28 | |
| 4 | 1 | 1901–02 | |
| 4 | 1 | 1902–03 | |
| 4 | 1 | 1907–08 | |
| 4 | 1 | 2003 | |
| 4 | 1 | 2015 |
The Treble
edit| Club | Wins | Winning years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2024 | |
| 2 | 2 | 1912–13, 1914–15 | |
| 2 | 2 | 1965–66, 2006 | |
| 4 | 1 | 1927–28 | |
| 4 | 1 | 2003 | |
| 4 | 1 | 2015 |
The Quadruple
edit| Club | Wins | Winning years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2[6][b] | 1993–94, 2024[c] | |
| 2 | 1 | 2003 | |
| 2 | 1 | 2006 |
Pre-match entertainment
edit| Year | Act |
|---|---|
| 1998 | None |
| 1999 | |
| 2000 | |
| 2001 | |
| 2002 | |
| 2003 | |
| 2004 | Heather Small |
| 2005 | Madness |
| 2006 | Deacon Blue |
| 2007 | The Kaiser Chiefs |
| 2008 | Scouting for Girls |
| 2009 | The Wombats |
| 2010 | Diana Vickers |
| 2011 | Feeder[d] |
| 2012 | None |
| 2013 | |
| 2014 | James |
| 2015 | The Charlatans |
| 2016 | Feeder |
| 2017 | Razorlight |
| 2018 | Blossoms[11] |
| 2019 | Shed Seven |
| 2020 | None |
| 2021 | |
| 2022 | |
| 2023 | Reverend and the Makers[12] |
| 2024 | The Lathums[13] |
Match records
edit- Largest margin of victory: 31 points
- Smallest margin of victory: 1 point
St Helens 19–18 Bradford (2002)
- Highest scoring: 48 points
- Lowest scoring: 11 points
Wigan Warriors 9–2 Hull KR (2024)
- Highest attendance: 73,512
- Lowest attendance: 43,533
See also
edit
Notes
edit- ^ Played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- ^ Wigan have a widly misreported quadruple in 1994–95[7][8] with the club winning the treble in addition to the 1994–95 Regal Trophy. Note: No World Club Challenge was held in 1995 as it didn't become a regular competition until 2000.
- ^ This is the first widly reported quadruple to include the calendar year's World Club Challenge and not the following season's.[9] Note: The 2025 World Club Challenge was abandoned by Penrith Panthers, although no title was awarded for 2025, Wigan, without challenge, would retain their title for a second year.[10]
- ^ Feeder were cancelled due to Manchester United not wanting a stage to be erected on a wet pitch
References
edit- ^ Bazeley, Marc; O'Connor, Terry; Morley, Adrian. "The story of the first Super League Grand Final". Sky Sports. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ "Super League Grand Final: KCOM Stadium to hold showpiece event on 27 November". BBC Sport. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ "Super League Grand Final's Harry Sunderland Trophy renamed Rob Burrow Award". Sky Sports. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ Darbyshire, Drew (13 October 2024). "The astonishing feat achieved by Wigan Warriors superstar Bevan French". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ "Grand Final winners". Betfred Super League. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/story-telling/12215/13232746/how-matt-peets-wigan-completed-rugby-league-in-just-three-super-league-seasons
- ^ https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby-league/wigan-warriors-win-grand-final-to-complete-historic-quadruple-with-5-of-the-best-takeaways-from-old-trafford-4821650
- ^ https://www.wigantoday.net/heritage-and-retro/retro/retro-sport-the-all-conquering-wigan-warriors-in-1995-4243122
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
BBCRecapwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ https://amp.theguardian.com/sport/2024/oct/09/penrith-panthers-nrl-abandon-world-club-challenge-isaah-yeo
- ^ Darbyshire, Drew (4 September 2018). "Blossoms to headline entertainment at Grand Final". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ Olawumi, Ben (28 September 2023). "Super League confirm Grand Final entertainment with indie band set to rock Old Trafford; ticket sales already soaring". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ Cook, Sam (21 July 2024). "RFL confirm chart-topping band to play Super League Grand Final". Serious About Rugby League. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
External links
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