2014 Super League Grand Final

The 2014 Super League Grand Final was the 17th official Grand Final and conclusive and deciding match of Super League XIX. It was held on Saturday 11 October 2014,[1] at Old Trafford, Manchester with a 6pm kick-off time. The game was played between the top two teams from the regular season, St Helens RLFC and Wigan Warriors.[2]

2014 (2014) Super League Grand Final  ()
St Helens RLFC Wigan Warriors
14 6
12 Total
STH 212 14
WIG 60 6
Date11 October 2014
StadiumOld Trafford
Location Manchester
Harry Sunderland Trophy James Roby ( St Helens)
HeadlinersJames
RefereesPhil Bentham
Attendance70,102
Broadcast partners
Broadcasters
Commentators

Background
Further information: Super League XIX

The 2014 Super League season (known as the First Utility Super League XIX due to sponsorship by First Utility)[3] was the 19th season of rugby league football since the Super League format was introduced in 1996. Fourteen teams competed for the League Leaders' Shield over 27 rounds (including the Magic Weekend in Manchester), after which the highest finishing teams will enter the play-offs to compete for a place in the Grand Final and a chance to win the championship and the Super League Trophy.

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 St. Helens 271908796563+23338[4]
2 Wigan Warriors 271818834429+40537

Route to the Final

St Helens
Round Opposition Score
Qualifying Play-Off Castleford Tigers (H) 41-0
Semi-Final Catalans Dragons (H) 30-12
Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue.

Wigan
Further information: 2014 Wigan Warriors season
Round Opposition Score
Qualifying Play-Off Huddersfield Giants (H) 57-4
Semi-Final Warrington Wolves (A) 16-12
Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue.

Match details
12 October 2014
18:00 BST
St. Helens 14–6 Wigan Warriors
Tries: Soliola  54'
Makinson  69'
Goals: Percival 3/3 30', 54', 69'		 (Report) Tries: Burgess  40'
Goals: Smith 1/3 17'
Flower  3'
Old Trafford, Manchester
Attendance: 70,102
Referee: Phil Bentham
Man of the Match: James Roby
St Helens Position Wigan Warriors
17 Paul Wellens (c) Fullback 1 Matthew Bowen
2 Tommy Makinson Wing 2 Josh Charnley
22 Mark Percival Centre 5 Anthony Gelling
4 Josh Jones Centre 23 Dan Sarginson
5 Adam Swift Wing 32 Joe Burgess
15 Mark Flanagan Stand-off 6 Blake Green
6 Lance Hohaia Scrum-half 7 Matty Smith
16 Kyle Amor Prop 10 Ben Flower
9 James Roby Hooker 19 Sam Powell
8 Mose Masoe Prop 17 Dom Crosby
10 Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook Second-row 11 Joel Tomkins
11 Iosia Soliola Second-row 12 Liam Farrell
3 Jordan Turner Loose forward 13 Sean O'Loughlin (c)
13 Willie Manu Interchange 22 Eddy Pettybourne
18 Alex Walmsley Interchange 24 Tony Clubb
27 Greg Richards Interchange 25 John Bateman
28 Luke Thompson Interchange 27 George Williams
Nathan Brown Coach Shaun Wane

Following a fiery opening that started with the kind of big tackles that this derby game has become known for, the game suffered a dramatic twist in only the second minute of the game when Wigan Prop, Ben Flower, became the first and only player to be sent off in a grand final by referee Phil Bentham after he punched Lance Hohaia in the face, thus knocking him out, then as he lay defenceless on the floor, he punched him in the face again.[5]

This forced Wigan to play 78 minutes with 12-men, causing a switch in the Wigan approach to one of smash-and-grab. A valiant first-half performance by Wigan's 12-men meant they entered the break with a 6–2 lead.[6]

Despite further strong defensive displays by the Wigan outfit in the ensuing second-half, Iosia Soliola forced himself over the Wigan try-line in his final appearance in the Red-Vee to put St. Helens ahead, and in control of the game. An admirable, yet desperate display by Wigan, to get themselves back into contention was halted, when Tommy Makinson crashed over for Saints, 12 minutes from time to make the score 14–6, after a precise kick over-the-top of the Wigan defence from Saints stalwart, Paul Wellens. Despite a late Wigan flurry, Makinson's try proved to be the one that sealed the game and the championship for St. Helens, meaning that the Saints claimed their first championship title since 2006, and their sixth overall in the Super League era (St Helens are now equal with Leeds Rhinos for titles since 1996, both have 6 titles).[7][8]

World Club Series
Main article: 2015 World Club Series

By winning this match the Saints had qualified for the World Club Series Final, to be played early in the 2015 season against the winners of the 2014 NRL Grand final, the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

See also

References
  1. "2014 Super League fixtures announced". Super League. Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  2. "Super League Grand Final 2014: Wigan favourites but St Helens have momentum ahead of Old Trafford showdown". Daily Telegraph. 4 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  3. "First Utility powers title sponsorship of Super League". Super League. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  4. "League Table". Super League. Super League. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  5. "St Helens 14 Wigan Warriors 6: Moment of madness from Wales international Ben Flower costs Wigan dear". Daily Telegraph. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  6. "St Helens 14–6 Wigan: Tommy Makinson and Sia Soliola secure Grand Final glory after Warriors prop Ben Flower sees red". Daily Mail. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  7. "St Helens win Grand Final after Wigan's Ben Flower is sent off". Guardian. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  8. "St Helens 14–6 Wigan Warriors". BBC Sport. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
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