Eight times Castleford have played Leeds in the past two seasons, eight times they have won. But that counted for little in the 2017 Super League grand final as the underdog Rhinos upset the Tigers 24-6 at Old Trafford to send their departing stars Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow out as winners.
Leeds gave neighbours Castleford a lesson in wet-weather rugby league and in handling big games in the biggest occasions, as they won their eighth grand final since 2004. It was a heart-breaking night for the Tigers, who had been so good all season but couldn’t get over the line in the ultimate match that mattered. Winger Tom Briscoe grabbed a brace and McGuire signed off in style with the Harry Sunderland medal and two tries of his own
The absence of Zak Hardaker and a heavy down pouring of rain pre-match were levelers in the favour of Leeds. The wet conditions contributed to a range of knock ons and dropped balls in the first 10 minutes. Brian McDermott’s men pounced when Greg Minkin fumbled a grubber backwards and Castleford were forced into a drop-out. McGuire then slung a bomb to the right wing and Briscoe soared above Jy Hitchcox to claim the ball for his first try. Kallum Watkins added the extras to give Leeds the early 6-0 lead.
Six minutes later Michael Shenton lost the ball in his own half. It should have been a penalty to the Tigers, but Leeds were given the ball in an enviable position. McGuire dinked the ball into the in-goal and Watkins dived on it and looked to have scored. But controversially the video referee ruled no try because of a knock on. It was the luck Castleford needed.
The Tigers should have evened it up in the 29th minute after a fortuitous penalty. Greg Eden got on the outside and as he glided over the line to score somehow McGuire knocked the ball loose with a desperate tackle. It was brilliant but crucial defence.
Castleford keep the pressure on as Ben Roberts forced a drop-out. But Junior Moors’ pass to a try-line-bound Grant Millington was forward and they coughed up possession. A loose carry from Ryan Hall gave the Tigers the ball straight back, and Gale grubbered to the left for Hitchcox to dive over. However Gale had ran behind Oliver Holmes in the lead up, and the video referee chalked it off for obstruction. Daryl Powell was left an increasingly frustrated man on the sidelines.
With three minutes left in the half Tom Briscoe got the ball down after a smart kick in behind from McGuire. Again the video referee was called in, but Briscoe was adjudged to have pushed Paul McShane as they jostled for the ball and the score stayed the same. It could have been 18-0 to the Rhinos on another day, but in the end it didn’t matter.
As half-time approached McGuire capped off a brilliant 40 minutes with a drop-goal to edge it to 7-0. It was a masterclass from the number 6 in his final game for his hometown club.
McGuire’s first mistake of the game came in the 44th minute, when he accidently kicked out on the full. This gave the Tigers possession on the Rhinos 30-metre line but again their hands let them down, this time through Moors. Again and again Leeds’ defence was getting up in Castleford’s face and forcing errors.
The turning point came in the 51st minute. Eden spilled a massively high bomb from Joel Moon and McGuire swooped through to score. Watkins couldn’t convert but it was 11-0 and Castleford’s dream night was turning into a nightmare.
The Rhinos wrapped up the game eight minutes later when Moon dummied, beat his hand and slipped a pass to Briscoe to touch down. Moon’s pass was forward but it was given and suddenly the lead had grown to an unassailable 17-0. Powell’s players just couldn’t crack Leeds’ line.
Castleford started to get desperate and a short goal-line drop-out in the 67th minute ended with a another knock on. Leeds kept their heads and their calm paid off. The nail in the coffin came soon after wen a Burrow kick was knocked on by Mike McMeeken in front of his posts. McGuire ran through and cleaned up the crumbs for his second try to well and truly kill Cas off.
It was some finale for the man nicknamed ‘Maggs’, who heads to Hull KR next year as a hero with an eight grand final crown. With less than four minutes the halfback added another drop-goal. Right before full-time Alex Foster scored for Castleford to get on the board, but it didn’t matter. The night belonged to the 34-year old McGuire and his triumphant teammates.
#SuperLeagueGrandFinal
