Super League Grand Final
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2020) |
 Super League Trophy | |
| 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) |
The Super League Grand Final is the championship-deciding game of rugby league's Super League competition.[1] It is played between two teams who have qualified via the Super League Play-Off series.[2] 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.
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
[edit]Use 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 inaugural Grand Final match was played that year on Saturday 24 October, between Wigan and Leeds.
Venue
[edit]
The Grand Final has been held at Old Trafford in Manchester every year since 1998, except in 2020, when it was held at the KCOM Stadium in Hull due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| City | Stadium | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester |
Old Trafford | 1998–2019, 2021–2027 |
| Hull |
KCOM Stadium | 2020 |
Trophy
[edit]The 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.
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
[edit]The Harry Sunderland Trophy is awarded to the Man-of-the-Match in the Super League Grand Final by the Rugby League Writers' Association. Named after 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.
From the 2024 Grand Final the award will be renamed, and the Grand Final Man-of-the-Match will be awarded the Rob Burrow Award. 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.
Finals
[edit]The Super League Grand Final has been the championship-deciding game since Super League III in 1998:[3] This final is held at Old Trafford.
| 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 | 1993–94, 2024 | |
| 2 | 1 | 2003 | |
| 2 | 1 | 2006 |
Pre-Kickoff Acts
[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[b] |
| 2012 | None |
| 2013 | |
| 2014 | James |
| 2015 | The Charlatans |
| 2016 | Feeder |
| 2017 | Razorlight |
| 2018 | Blossoms |
| 2019 | Shed Seven |
| 2020 | None |
| 2021 | |
| 2022 | |
| 2023 | Reverend and the Makers |
| 2024 | The Lathums[4] |
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]
- Championship Grand Final
- Million Pound Game
- Super League
- Super League play-offs
- Old Trafford
- Super League Trophy
- Harry Sunderland Trophy
- NRL Grand Final
Notes
[edit]- ^ Played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- ^ Feeder were cancelled due to Manchester United not wanting a stage to be erected on a wet pitch
References
[edit]- ^ "Grand Final - Super League". superleague.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "The Play-Off Series - Super League". superleague.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Winners - Super League". superleague.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "RFL confirm chart-topping band to play Super League Grand Final". 21 July 2024.
External links
[edit]