2010 Super League Grand Final
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Super League Grand Final was the conclusive and championship-deciding game of Super League XV
. Held on Saturday 2 October 2010, at Manchester
's Old Trafford stadium, the match was contested by English clubs St Helens and Wigan Warriors
. The 2010 final saw Wigan, who also finished League leaders, win 22-10, taking over the crown of Super League champions from the Leeds Rhinos
, who had held the title for 3 years. This was St. Helens' fifth consecutive Grand Final and their fourth consecutive Grand Final defeat, having won in 2006 and then losing the last three Grand Finals to Leeds between 2007 and 2009. Wigan extended their own record by winning a 19th league championship.
.
Pre-match entertainment was provided by a performance from Diana Vickers
. Rhydian Roberts
sang Jerusalem and then a minute's silence was also observed for Terry Newton
who had died the previous weekend before St Helens, wearing blue with white (as both sides' traditional colours are red and white), kicked off.
In the fourth minute Wigan were twelve metres out from St Helens' try-line when, on the fifth tackle
, they passed it through the hands out to the right side where centre Martin Gleeson forced his way through the defence. The video referee awarded the try
and Pat Richards' conversion attempt missed so the Cherry & Whites were in front 4-0. At the fifteen-minute mark Wigan were working the ball out of their own half when they again moved the ball out to the right where Sam Tomkins made a break and then passed back inside to Thomas Leuluai in support. Leuluai then passed to Deacon who passed for Gleeson to cross untouched, putting the ball down behind the uprights for his second try. Richards kicked the simple conversion so Wigan were in front 10-0. About three minutes later Wigan had again made their way up to within spitting distance of St Helens' try line where they passed the ball quickly out to right winger Darrell Goulding to dive over in the corner untouched. Richards' sideline conversion was successful so The Warriors now led 16-0 with little over a quarter of the match gone. In the twenty-eighth minute St Helens had managed to make their way up inside Wigan's ten-metre line where Jon Wilkin got the ball and ran back inside across the defensive line, passing to Andrew Dixon who ran untouched through a gap for a close-range try. The simple conversion was kicked by Jamie Foster so St Helens were trailing 16-6. No more points were scored in the remaining minutes so this was the half-time score.
Pat Richards did not return to the field
after the break due to an achilles tendon injury. In the fourth minute of the second half, Wigan were almost over St Helens' twenty-metre line when the ball went to Leuluai who dummied his way through a gap in the defence and managed to evade several more tacklers before clambering his way to the try line where it was ruled by the video referee that the ball was stripped from him. A penalty
was awarded to Wigan and the option to kick was taken, but Riddell missed. St Helens then enjoyed some posession but failed to convert their chances into points before Wigan were on the attack again by the fifty-third minute. From twelve metres out the ball was played and passed right, finding Sam Tomkins who dummied and took on the defensive line, somehow managing to maintain his momentum and reach out of a two-man tackle to plant the ball over the line. Riddell missed the conversion attempt badly so Wigan were leading 20-6. A few minutes later Wigan got a penalty in an easy kicking position and Riddell got the two points, extending the lead to 22-6. In the sixtieth minute Wigan crossed St Helens' line again but it was called back by the video referee due to obstruction. Wigan were awarded a penalty ten minutes later and took the kick, but Tomkins' attempt missed, leaving the margin at sixteen points with ten minutes of the game remaining. In the seventy-fourth minute St Helens had made it into the opposition's quarter of the field where they swung the ball out to Francis Meli to score on the left wing. Foster missed the sideline conversion attempt, so the score was 22-10 in favour of Wigan. No more points were scored in the remaining minutes of the match so it was Wigan who celebrated their first championship since 1998.
Thomas Leuluai was awarded the Harry Sunderland Trophy
as the Grand Final's man-of-the-match. Wigan's new Australian coach Michael Maguire had won a championship in his first season as a head coach. For St Helens' it was their fourth consecutive grand final defeat and a disappointing exit from the game for their retiring captain Keiron Cunningham in his 496th game.
Wigan's celebrations continued the following day with the team's open-top bus tour from JJB Sports HQ at Martland Park into Market Place, Wigan attracting thousands of fans despite rainy weather.
had earned the right to play against the 2010 NRL grand final
-winners, the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the 2011 World Club Challenge
in February.
Super League XV
The 2010 Super League season was the fifteenth season of rugby league football since the Super League format was introduced in 1996. Fourteen teams competed for the League Leader's Shield over 27 rounds . All clubs also participated in the 2010 Challenge Cup tournament...
. Held on Saturday 2 October 2010, at Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
's Old Trafford stadium, the match was contested by English clubs St Helens and Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
. The 2010 final saw Wigan, who also finished League leaders, win 22-10, taking over the crown of Super League champions from the Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
, who had held the title for 3 years. This was St. Helens' fifth consecutive Grand Final and their fourth consecutive Grand Final defeat, having won in 2006 and then losing the last three Grand Finals to Leeds between 2007 and 2009. Wigan extended their own record by winning a 19th league championship.
Route to final
Regular season final standings| # | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Wigan WarriorsWigan Warriors Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011.... |
27 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 922 | 411 | +511 | 44 |
| 2 |  St Helens |
27 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 946 | 547 | +399 | 40 |
Wigan Warriors
Position in Super League table: 1st- Qualifying play-off: Lost 26-27 v Leeds RhinosLeeds RhinosLeeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
- Preliminary semi-final: Won 42-18 v Hull Kingston RoversHull Kingston RoversHull Kingston Rovers or Hull KR is an English professional rugby league football club based in Hull, England. The club formed in 1882 and currently competes in Super League, having won promotion from National League One in 2006...
- Qualifying semi-final: Won 6-26 v Leeds RhinosLeeds RhinosLeeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
St Helens
Position in Super League table: 2nd- Qualifying play-off: Won 28-12 v Warrington WolvesWarrington WolvesWarrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....
- Qualifying semi-final: Won 42-22 v Huddersfield GiantsHuddersfield GiantsHuddersfield Giants are a professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire who play in the European Super League competition. They play their home games at the Galpharm Stadium which is shared with Huddersfield Town F.C....
Match details
Wigan's captain, Sean O'Loughlin, was the only player who also played in his team's previous grand final in 20032003 Super League Grand Final
The 2003 Super League Grand Final was held on Saturday 18 October 2003, at Old Trafford, Manchester, UK. The game was played between Bradford Bulls and Wigan Warriors.Referee: Karl Kirkpatrick Attendance: 65,537...
.
| Wigan Warriors | Position Rugby league positions A rugby league football team consists of thirteen players on the field, with four substitutes on the bench. Players are divided into two general categories: "forwards" and "backs".... |
St Helens |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Sam Tomkins Sam Tomkins A pre-season unofficial friendly match provided Tomkins his first experience against top-flight opposition as he came off the bench during Lee Briers' testimonial match in a 30–22 loss to Warrington Wolves. Noble followed this up by providing Tomkins, aged 19, with his first team debut on 12 May... |
Fullback | 1 Paul Wellens Paul Wellens Paul Simon Wellens is an English multi-award–winning rugby league footballer. Wellens plays for St. Helens in the European Super League. Wellens is a Great Britain and England international... |
| 24 Darrell Goulding Darrell Goulding Darrell Goulding is an English professional rugby league footballer for the Wigan Warriors of Super League. He plays as either a centre or on the wing and has spent his whole professional career to date at Wigan, with whom he won the 2010 Super League Championship.-Early life:Goulding is a former... |
Winger | 30 Jamie Foster Jamie Foster (rugby league) James "Jamie" Foster is a professional rugby league player who plays for St Helens in the European Super League. His position of preference is in the centre but he has been known to convert to the wings and fullback... |
| 3 Martin Gleeson Martin Gleeson Martin Gleeson is an English professional rugby league footballer, who plays for Hull in the Super League. A Great Britain and England international representative , and /, he previously played for Wigan Warriors, Huddersfield Giants, St. Helens and Warrington... |
Centre | 3 Matthew Gidley Matthew Gidley Matthew "Matt" Gidley is an Australian rugby league administrator and retired professional footballer. Born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Gidley represented New South Wales and Australia. He is the currently CEO of Football Operations at the Newcastle Knights... |
| 4 George Carmont George Carmont George Carmont is a professional rugby league footballer for the Wigan Warriors of the Super League competition... |
Centre | 5 Francis Meli Francis Meli Francis Meli is a professional rugby league player who currently plays for St. Helens in the Super League competition. Meli has represented both New Zealand and Samoa in internationals. His usual position is on the wing.... |
| 5 Pat Richards Pat Richards Pat Richards is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Wigan Warriors of Europe's Super League. An Ireland and Exiles international representative winger, he previously played in the National Rugby League for Sydney clubs the Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers, winning the 2005... |
Winger | 24 Jonny Lomax Jonny Lomax Jonathan "Jonny" Lomax is a professional rugby league player who plays for St Helens in the engage Super League. A versatile player, Lomax is primarily a stand-off but is equally as comfortable at scrum-half, but featured more regularly on the wing in the early stages of his professional career.... |
| 19 Paul Deacon Paul Deacon Paul Deacon is a retired rugby league footballer. He previously played for Bradford Bulls from 1998 until joining his hometown club Wigan Warriors in 2010... |
Stand Off | 12 Jon Wilkin |
| 7 Thomas Leuluai Thomas Leuluai Thomas Leuluai is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League. His position is at half-back... |
Scrum Half | 34 Matty Smith Matty Smith Matty Smith is an English rugby league footballer who plays for Salford City Reds in the engage Super League, having spent the 2010 season on loan there from his parent club St... |
| 8 Stuart Fielden Stuart Fielden Stuart Fielden is an English professional rugby league footballer for Wigan of Super League... |
Prop | 10 James Graham James Graham (rugby league) James Graham is a rugby league player for St. Helens of Super League. A Great Britain and England international representative front row forward, he has played his entire professional career to date at St... |
| 15 Michael McIlorum Michael Mcilorum Michael David J. McIlorum is an English rugby league player who currently plays for English club Wigan Warriors in the Super League competition... |
Hooker | 9 Keiron Cunningham Keiron Cunningham Keiron Cunningham is a former British professional rugby league footballer. A Great Britain and Wales international representative hooker, he played his entire club rugby career at St... (c) |
| 10 Andy Coley Andy Coley Andy Coley is a rugby league player who plays for Wigan Warriors. He previously played at Salford City Reds before transferring after six years at the club... |
Prop | 15 Bryn Hargreaves Bryn Hargreaves Bryn Hargreaves is an English rugby league player with Super League team Bradford Bulls .Bryn Hargreaves played prop forward in the Wigan Academy since 2002. He made his first team debut from the subs' bench against Salford City Reds in July 2004 and his full debut against London Broncos in... |
| 11 Harrison Hansen Harrison Hansen Harrison Hansen is a rugby league player. He plays for Wigan as a second row forward.-Early life:Kiwi forward Harrison is the son of ex Salford and Swinton professional Shane Hansen and is a product of the Folly Lane ARLFC who play at the Blue Ribbon Field, Pendlebury... |
2nd Row | 11 Tony Puletua Tony Puletua Anthony Puletua is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer for St. Helens in the European Super League. A New Zealand and Samoan international, Puletua previously played for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League competition... |
| 12 Joel Tomkins Joel Tomkins Joel Tomkins is an English professional rugby league footballer for the Wigan Warriors in the European Super League. An England international representative second-row forward, he has played his whole career to date at Wigan, winning the 2010 Super League Grand Final and 2011 Challenge Cup with... |
2nd Row | 4 Sia Soliola |
| 13 Sean O'Loughlin Sean O'Loughlin Sean O'Loughlin is an English professional rugby league footballer who captains the Wigan Warriors of Europe's Super League. A Great Britain and England international representative , and /, he has played his entire career to date with Wigan, with whom he won the 2010 Super League XV... (c) |
Loose Forward | 13 Chris Flannery |
| 9 Mark Riddell Mark Riddell Mark Robert Riddell is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 2000s and 2010s... |
Interchange | 14 James Roby James Roby James Roby is an English professional rugby league footballer for St. Helens of Super League. A Great Britain and England international representative hooker, he has played his entire professional career to date at St Helens, winning the 2006 Super League XI Championship with them.-Career:Roby... |
| 12 Paul Prescott Paul Prescott Paul Prescott is an English rugby league player. He plays prop for the Wigan Warriors. Paul is also known in celebrity circles for being the son of former UK deputy prime-minister and now lifelong Labour peer, John Prescott... |
Interchange | 17 Paul Clough Paul Clough Paul Clough is an English rugby league footballer who plays for St Helens. He is the brother of former Salford and Halifax hooker John Clough.In November 2006 Paul Clough was promoted to train full time with the Saints' first team squad... |
| 17 Iafeta Paleaaesina Iafeta Paleaaesina Iafeta Iakopo Palea'aesina , is a rugby league footballer of Samoan heritage) currently playing for the Salford City Reds of Super League... |
Interchange | 22 Andrew Dixon Andrew Dixon Andrew "Andy" Dixon is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns. The character has been commonly known by the nickname "Andy". He was born on-screen in 1976; his birth year was revised to 1970 when he was aged to 15 in 1985, at which time he was played by Scott DeFreitas... |
| 25 Liam Farrell Liam Farrell Liam Farrell is an English rugby league player for the Wigan Warriors in the European Super League. He plays in the second-row or at loose forward. He is the cousin of former Warriors player Andy Farrell.-2010 season:... |
Interchange | 25 Jacob Emmitt Jacob Emmitt Jacob Emmitt , is a professional rugby league footballer for Castleford Tigers of Super League. A Wales international representative prop, he spent the 2010 season on loan at Leigh Centurions.... |
| Michael Maguire Michael Maguire (rugby league) Michael Maguire is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is the head coach of the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Australia's National Rugby League . After serving as assistant coach of the Melbourne Storm under Craig Bellamy, in 2009 he became the head coach of... |
Coach | Mick Potter Michael Potter Michael "Mick" Potter is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is currently coaching English Super League club Bradford Bulls. Potter played in the Australian club competition for the Canterbury Bulldogs, St... |
Pre-match entertainment was provided by a performance from Diana Vickers
Diana Vickers
Diana Vickers is an English singer-songwriter, stage actress and fashion designer who initially came to public attention as a semi-finalist on the fifth series of British talent show The X Factor in 2008...
. Rhydian Roberts
Rhydian Roberts
Rhydian James Roberts , popularly known as Rhydian, is a classically trained Welsh baritone and crossover artist. He rose to fame on The X Factor in 2007...
sang Jerusalem and then a minute's silence was also observed for Terry Newton
Terry Newton
Terry Newton was an English international rugby league player. He played for Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, Bradford Bulls and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, and was one of a handful of players to feature in each of the first 15 seasons of Super League...
who had died the previous weekend before St Helens, wearing blue with white (as both sides' traditional colours are red and white), kicked off.
In the fourth minute Wigan were twelve metres out from St Helens' try-line when, on the fifth tackle
Tackle (football move)
Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....
, they passed it through the hands out to the right side where centre Martin Gleeson forced his way through the defence. The video referee awarded the try
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
and Pat Richards' conversion attempt missed so the Cherry & Whites were in front 4-0. At the fifteen-minute mark Wigan were working the ball out of their own half when they again moved the ball out to the right where Sam Tomkins made a break and then passed back inside to Thomas Leuluai in support. Leuluai then passed to Deacon who passed for Gleeson to cross untouched, putting the ball down behind the uprights for his second try. Richards kicked the simple conversion so Wigan were in front 10-0. About three minutes later Wigan had again made their way up to within spitting distance of St Helens' try line where they passed the ball quickly out to right winger Darrell Goulding to dive over in the corner untouched. Richards' sideline conversion was successful so The Warriors now led 16-0 with little over a quarter of the match gone. In the twenty-eighth minute St Helens had managed to make their way up inside Wigan's ten-metre line where Jon Wilkin got the ball and ran back inside across the defensive line, passing to Andrew Dixon who ran untouched through a gap for a close-range try. The simple conversion was kicked by Jamie Foster so St Helens were trailing 16-6. No more points were scored in the remaining minutes so this was the half-time score.
Pat Richards did not return to the field
Rugby league playing field
The rugby league playing field, also referred to as a pitch or paddock, is the playing surface for the sport of rugby league football and is surfaced exclusively with grass....
after the break due to an achilles tendon injury. In the fourth minute of the second half, Wigan were almost over St Helens' twenty-metre line when the ball went to Leuluai who dummied his way through a gap in the defence and managed to evade several more tacklers before clambering his way to the try line where it was ruled by the video referee that the ball was stripped from him. A penalty
Penalty (rugby)
In rugby football, the penalty is the main disciplinary sanction available to the referee to penalise players who commit deliberate infringements. The team who did not commit the infringement are given possession of the ball and may either kick it towards touch , attempt a place kick at goal, or...
was awarded to Wigan and the option to kick was taken, but Riddell missed. St Helens then enjoyed some posession but failed to convert their chances into points before Wigan were on the attack again by the fifty-third minute. From twelve metres out the ball was played and passed right, finding Sam Tomkins who dummied and took on the defensive line, somehow managing to maintain his momentum and reach out of a two-man tackle to plant the ball over the line. Riddell missed the conversion attempt badly so Wigan were leading 20-6. A few minutes later Wigan got a penalty in an easy kicking position and Riddell got the two points, extending the lead to 22-6. In the sixtieth minute Wigan crossed St Helens' line again but it was called back by the video referee due to obstruction. Wigan were awarded a penalty ten minutes later and took the kick, but Tomkins' attempt missed, leaving the margin at sixteen points with ten minutes of the game remaining. In the seventy-fourth minute St Helens had made it into the opposition's quarter of the field where they swung the ball out to Francis Meli to score on the left wing. Foster missed the sideline conversion attempt, so the score was 22-10 in favour of Wigan. No more points were scored in the remaining minutes of the match so it was Wigan who celebrated their first championship since 1998.
Thomas Leuluai was awarded the Harry Sunderland Trophy
Harry Sunderland Trophy
The Harry Sunderland Trophy is awarded to the Man-of-the-Match in the Super League Grand Final by the Rugby League Writers' Association. It is named after Harry Sunderland, who was an Australian rugby league football administrator in both Australia and the United Kingdom...
as the Grand Final's man-of-the-match. Wigan's new Australian coach Michael Maguire had won a championship in his first season as a head coach. For St Helens' it was their fourth consecutive grand final defeat and a disappointing exit from the game for their retiring captain Keiron Cunningham in his 496th game.
Wigan's celebrations continued the following day with the team's open-top bus tour from JJB Sports HQ at Martland Park into Market Place, Wigan attracting thousands of fans despite rainy weather.
2011 World Club Challenge
By winning the grand final, the Wigan WarriorsWigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
had earned the right to play against the 2010 NRL grand final
2010 NRL Grand Final
The 2010 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2010 NRL season. Played on Sunday, 3 October at Sydney's ANZ Stadium, the match was contested by the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters. It was the first time the two sides met in a grand final. They...
-winners, the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the 2011 World Club Challenge
2011 World Club Challenge
The 2011 World Club Challenge was contested by Super League XV champions, Wigan Warriors, and 2010 NRL Premiers, the St. George Illawarra Dragons...
in February.