Super League Semi-Finals Review

steemsports (80)in #steemsports • 8 years ago

SteemSports Presenter: @mojorisin

SteemSports Editor: @ldauch

Castleford Tigers will play Leeds Rhinos in an all Yorkshire Grand Final at Old Trafford next Saturday. Both teams won exhilarating home ties to book their place in the final. For Leeds, it will be a record equaling 11th Grand Final appearance, but for Castleford it will be their 1st appearance in the showpiece match.

On Thursday, Castleford saw off the might of St Helens in an epic 23-22 extra-time win. It was tough luck for the Saints as they were arguably the better team on the night, but Castleford showed the class that earned them the League Leaders Shield to overcome the dogged Saints.

Castleford beat St Helens 23-22 to reach their first Grand Final

Luke Gale was the hero for the Tigers. Only 16 days after having his appendix removed the scrum-half scored 1 try and kicked 4 goals to put the home side into a commanding 20-10 lead with only 15 minutes remaining.

But as always, you write St Helens off at your peril, and they duly fought back with 3 tries in the last 10 minutes to edge in front. Mark Percival missed all 3 of the conversions, but St Helens still lead 20-22 with only 3 minutes remaining.

Then up stepped the hero of the night, Luke Gale, once again. With only 1 minute remaining, Gale kept his nerve to put a penalty over the posts and send the game into golden point extra-time. He then showed more equanimity to put a winning drop goal over the posts to make it 23-22 and send the Tigers on their way to a first ever Grand Final appearance.

Hero of the night Luke Gayle

It was just deserts for Cas, who have been by far the best team in the league this season. They finished an astonishing 17 points clear of their opponents, but as always, St Helens know how to play the big occasions. It wasn’t to be this time, however, and nobody will deny Castleford deserve their place in the final against their West Yorkshire neighbours, Leeds Rhinos.

Leeds, who finished 2nd in the league and were favourites to join Castleford, made hard work of seeing off their old rivals Hull.

A final Headingley appearance for the Leeds legends

It was the final Headingley appearance for Rob Burrow and Danny McGuire. Walking out to a guard of honour, for two legends of the game, surely it would be a fitting end for the two veterans. Burrow will hang up his boots and move into the coaching set-up at Headingley, while McGuire will move to newly promoted Hull KR next season.

The game might not have been as dramatic as the game at Castleford the night before, but after taking an early 12-0 lead, it seemed like Leeds might cruise this one in a one-sided forgettable win.

Dumfounded and looking like a long night ahead for the Challenge Cup winners, Hull then started to pick up their game and make it another match to remember. A try from the retiring Gareth Ellis brought Hull back into it, and Sneyd put the conversion over to make it 12-6 at half-time. Hull then scored first in the second-half but a missed conversion meant Leeds were hanging on to their lead. Then Hull scored again to put themselves ahead for the first time on the night.

Rhinos players celebrate securing a record 11th Grand Final win

The skeptics have always been quick to criticize Leeds, and with the home side seemingly cracking under the pressure, the script was being written by the mud-slingers. Although they’re the most successful team in the SuperLeague era, Leeds never make life easy for themselves. Yes, they won the treble in 2015, but previous wins have come from lower league positions. But the thing about the Rhinos is that they know how to play the big games.

They duly picked themselves up and struck back when Liam Sutcliffe created a try from nothing. It was a moment of magic from Sutcliffe who weaved in and out of the Hull defence to touch down and bring the scores level. Kalum Watkins kept his nerve to put the conversion over to put Leeds 18-16 ahead with about 18 minutes remaining.There were plenty of nervous moments for the Rhinos, but they managed to hold on in a fitting finale at Headingley.

After Castleford’s impressive season, they will be favourites to win their first Grand Final, but as Leeds have showed on many occaissions, they know how to play the big matches and only a fool would write them off.

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