Wigan Warriors claim 2010 Grand Final
Wigan Warriors won their first Super League Grand Final since 1998 when they beat St Helens 22-10.
The minute’s silence in the memory of Terry Newton, who committed suicide on Sunday and a player who had appeared in four of the first six Grand Finals at Old Trafford, was impeccably observed before the Theatre of Dreams was once more engulfed in the collective roar of a sell-out crowd as St Helens got the game underway.
But the Warriors, as so often this season, were the team who got off to a flying start when Martin Gleeson, playing against his former club, set the Wigan fans alight with a fourth-minute try in the right-hand corner, although Pat Richards – the new Man of Steel – failed with the conversion.
The Saints defence was in disarray in the first 10 minutes as Wigan turned the s***w and St Helens made handling errors in front of their own try line, surviving by luck as much as anything else. It was nearly the quarter-hour mark before St Helens even got the ball near the Wigan line. It was easily cleaned up by Richards and, from the resulting set of six, the Warriors cut through the St Helens defence as Gleason scored his second try under posts – which Richards converted – for a 10-0 lead.
Darrell Goulding weighed in with his 29th try of 2010 with 20 minutes gone and Richards slotted the conversion from the right-hand touchline to leave St Helens shell shocked.
St Helens were playing in their fifth consecutive Grand Final, having lost the last three to Leeds Rhinos, with their fans already beginning to fret. But they started to look more like they could make a fight of it when a last-ditch tackle from Goulding stopped Francis Meli just short of the line. Then Andrew Dixon, in his first major final, sparked some life into his team when he ran onto a pass from Jon Wilkin to run under the posts, on 28 minutes, which Matty Smith converted.
Now Saints seemed to be revitalised by the sight of some points on the board and began to apply the pressure to Wigan as they went into half-time 16-6 down, but not out, which was more than could be said for Richards as he limped from the field just before the break with an Achilles’ tendon injury.
After the change over Mick Potter, the St Helens coach, had to decide when to bring Keiron Cunningham, who came off in the first half, back on to provide the vital impetus that his team would need. That seemed more pressing when Thomas Leuluai went over the line but Paul Wellens saved a try. Referee Richard Silverwood passed the decision over to video referee Ian Smith, who spotted the steal from Paul Wellens. Wigan elected for the kick at goal but Mark Ridell, deputising for Richards, missed.
Again St Helens were lifted and began battering at Wigan’s defence and Wikin was through in the 50th minute, but fumbled the pass a yard from the try line. Three minutes later Sam Tomkins made no mistake for Wigan as he broke through to men to stretch his right hand beyond the line but Ridell sliced his kick.
Cunningham, seeking the dream ending in his last match for St Helens, was back on the pitch for a 25-minute gamble as Saints tried to claw back a 14-point deficit, which went up by two when Riddell slotted a penalty, awarded for a late tackle from Sia Soliola, from in front of the posts in the 58th minute.
As the match entered the final quarter St Helens tried to find a late rally but the fumbles, as the pressure to score against the clock just became too much, left Saints with a mountain to climb in the closing minutes. Meli squeezed over in the left-hand corner for a try in the 73rd minute, which went unconverted, as his team summoned up what they had left.
It was not enough and it was Wigan, almost relegated in 2006, who were back on the summit.
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