Who will get the glory?

Very often the grand final is a rather one-sided affair, with one team or the other having used up all their energy in the fight to get there.  I had felt that this weekend would be the same, with St Helens easily beating Leeds to win the treble for the second time in three years.  Now, thinking about it and looking at the teams, I’m not so sure.  Both teams are at full strength (though of course Leeds lost Toopi earlier in the season) with Lee Smith avoiding suspension despite being found guilty of kicking a Wigan player.  Can’t quite get to grips with how someone can be guilty of something but yet not get suspended, though I am glad for the sake of the game, Smith was important to Leeds last weekend.

Leeds lost comprehensively to St Helens two weeks ago, and I thought then that no-one could get close to Saints.  They will be buoyed by James Graham being voted Man of Steel by the superleague players - four straight wins for Saints players in four years.  They have had another week’s rest, and have played only twice in the last month.  But that can be a disadvantage too, they could be out of practice and a little complacent by the ease with which they reached the final. Leeds have had two tough matches against Saints and Wigan, and are definitely battle-hardened.

St Helens will want to send their coach Daniel Anderson back to Australia on a high.  They will also want to gain the kudos of winning the treble again.  But Leeds are the champions and won’t give that up without a fight.

I would have liked an upset at an earlier stage in the playoffs, as the Leeds/Saints final is a rather predictable end to the season.  If Wigan or Catalans had made the final from outside the top two, that would have been a more exciting final run, though I think it would have given St Helens an easy win in the end.  As things stand, it’s a difficult one to call, but I am going to stick with my gut instincts and go with St Helens.  But I hope that, for a change, it will be a close and exciting final which keeps us on the edge of our seats till the final whistle!