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1998 Super League Grand Final
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| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| year | 1998 |
| title | Super League Grand Final |
| alt | 1998 Super League logo |
| home | Wigan Warriors |
| away | Leeds Rhinos |
| home_abbr | WIG |
| away_abbr | LEE |
| home_half1 | 6 |
| home_half2 | 4 |
| home_total | 10 |
| away_half1 | 4 |
| away_half2 | 0 |
| away_total | 4 |
| date | 24 October 1998 |
| stadium | Old Trafford |
| location | ENG Manchester |
| MoM_title | Harry Sunderland Trophy |
| MoM | ENG Jason Robinson ( Wigan) |
| anthem_title | Jerusalem |
| referee | Russell Smith |
| attendance | 43,533 |
| network | Sky Sports |
| commentators | Eddie Hemmings |
| commentators2 | Mike Stephenson |
| tournaments | Super League Grand Final |
| next | [1999](1999-super-league-grand-final) |
The 1998 JJB Super League Grand Final was the first staging of the Super League Grand Final and the conclusive and championship-deciding game of 1998's Super League III, and the first Grand Final of the Super League era. It was held on Saturday 24 October 1998, at Old Trafford, Manchester, United Kingdom. This was the first time the League Championship had been decided by play-off since the 1972–73 Championship Final. The game was played between Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos.
Background
JJB Sports Super League III was the official name for the year 1998's Super League championship season, the 104th season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the third championship run by Super League. The League format changed in 1998 and the championship became a play off series to determine the Super League champions, similar to the way the Premiership was played a few seasons earlier. This meant the first Final to determine the British champions since the 1972–73 season. Huddersfield Giants, the league's bottom club was saved from relegation in 1998 due to the expansion of the league to fourteen teams in Super League IV.
Route to the Grand Final
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [[Image:Wigancolours.svg | 16x16px]] Wigan Warriors | 23 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 762 | 222 | +540 |
| 2 | [[Image:Rhinoscolours.svg | 16px]] Leeds Rhinos | 23 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 662 | 369 | +293 |
Wigan Warriors
By finishing first in the regular season, Wigan qualified directly to the play-off semi-finals. They were drawn against Leeds at home and beat their eventual Grand Final opponents 17–4.
Leeds Rhinos
The play-off system in use only gave the league leaders a bye to the semi-finals. Leeds had finished second so had to play a qualifying play-off first. Drawn at home to Halifax Blue Sox Leeds won 13–6 to go through to the semi-final. This was an away fixture to Wigan where the Rhinos were beaten 17–4. However this loss did not end their season. The losers of the qualifying semi-final got another chance by playing the winners of the other semi-final in a final eliminator. Therefore Leeds' third play-off game was a home tie against St Helens where they cruised through 44–16.
| Round | Opposition | Score | Qualifying Play-off | Qualifying Semi-Final | Final Eliminator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halifax Blue Sox (H) | 13-6 | ||||
| Wigan Warriors (A) | 17-4 | ||||
| St Helens (H) | 44-16 | ||||
| **Key:** (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue. |
Match details
bg = #eeeeee | date = 24 October 1998 | team1 = [[Image:Wigancolours.svg|16px]] Wigan Warriors | score = 10–4| report = Report| team2 = [[Image:Rhinoscolours.svg|16px]] Leeds Rhinos | points1 = Tries: Robinson Goals: Farrell (3) | points2 = Tries: Blackmore | stadium = Old Trafford, Manchester | attendance = 43,533{{cite news | access-date = 2009-10-05}} | referee= Russell Smith (Castleford)}}
| **Wigan Warriors** | Position | **Leeds Rhinos** | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 10 | 25 | 17 | 11 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 24 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 27 | 8 | 20 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENG Kris Radlinski | **Fullback** | WAL Iestyn Harris (c) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ENG Jason Robinson | **Winger** | ENG Leroy Rivett | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AUS Danny Moore | **Centre** | NZL Richie Blackmore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ENG Gary Connolly | **Centre** | AUS Brad Godden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AUS Mark Bell | **Winger** | ENG Francis Cummins | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NZL Henry Paul | **Stand Off** | ENG Daryl Powell | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ENG Tony Smith | **Scrum half** | ENG Ryan Sheridan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IRE Terry O'Connor | **Prop** | TON Martin Masella | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AUS Robbie McCormack | **Hooker** | ENG Terry Newton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AUS Tony Mestrov | **Prop** | ENG Darren Fleary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ENG Stephen Holgate | **2nd Row** | ENG Adrian Morley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ENG Lee Gilmour | **2nd Row** | ENG Anthony Farrell | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ENG Andy Farrell (c) | **Loose forward** | AUS Marc Glanville | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ENG Paul Johnson | **Interchange** | ENG Marcus St Hilaire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ENG Simon Haughton | **Interchange** | ENG Graham Holroyd | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ENG Mick Cassidy | **Interchange** | ENG Andy Hay | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WAL Neil Cowie | **Interchange** | AUS Jamie Mathiou | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AUS John Monie | **Coach** | AUS Graham Murray |
References
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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