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Super League Grand Final
Oct. 30th, 2014 05:46 pm(Warning, will get long)
So my hometown team won the league this year. However, several years ago, the powers that be in rugby league decided it wasn't enough that a team be the best over 27 games, no, to be the champions, they have to win a play-off series as well.
As I may have mentioned, Saints won the league despite being without their two most creative players for most of the season (Luke Walsh and Jonny Lomax) and then lost the next nearest they had to someone with creativity just before the end of the season (Jon Wilkin). So, obviously, being down to the bare bones being minus a few more players on top of those three, we weren't going to win the play-offs.
First off Saints were drawn to play Castleford Tigers who they narrowly held off to win the league leader's shield. Despite the vexed forces usually at work against Saints (see also Alex Walmsley getting banned), they beat Castleford.
Next up, it was assumed that we'd pick Huddersfield when they beat Catalan Dragons but Huddersfield forgot to actually beat Catalan so we picked Catalans instead.
So everyone jumped on the Catalan Dragons bandwagon. Now I don't mind it when it's fans of other teams but when the press does it too ... they'd never have done it to Leeds or Wigan*.
Saints win vs the Dragons, in keeping with the example of St George, not Illawara, and as luck would have it, in the play-off final, we have to play our nearest and most hated adversaries - Wigan.
Who are evil.
And no-one gives us a hope. Because they've got Joel Tomkins back from union, and we have our 3 most creative players injured and Saints choke and we allegedly only won the league by a fluke and so on (missing that, in games played this season, Saints were 1-1 against Wigan).
It's the day of the game and the trains are slightly late so I get in the house 5 minutes after the game had started.
AND WIGAN HAVE ALREADY HAD A MAN SENT OFF!
I told you they were evil.
Basically Lance Hohaia (of Saints) put a forearm into Ben Flower's face. Which is naughty, so no one minded Flower's first punch. Only the first punch knocked Hohaia spark out and Flower's decided to punch him again why Hohaia was on the floor. The second punch was what got him sent off.
Hohaia, meanwhile, was taken to hospital with a broken face. Which, other than the obvious 'you don't like seeing players hurt' is a bit of a bugger because Hohaia was the last creative/flair type player Saints had left.
But still, even Saints couldn't lose to a team that's going to have 12 men for 78 minutes. Right?
So, of course, Saints immediately go behind to a Matty Smith penalty. And the entire Saints team forget how to play rugby. Catching a ball becomes impossible to them. To quote the BBC commentary "When Paul Wellens starts making mistakes, you may begin to think it is not your day." And every Saints fan starts getting that sinking feeling.
Thankfully Mark Percival (whose name is not Lance) evens the score up with a penalty.
Then, with 30 seconds to go to half time, Wigan score a try. And every Saints supporter goes, 'no, not this' because we do not want to be the other party in a story of Wigan's triumph over adversity, particularly not when they'll never shut up about it for the rest of forever and it'll be mentioned every time a player gets sent off in a big match.
Now, because I was watching on the radio, I have no idea what was said at half-time, but what I do know is that Nathan Brown earned his pay, because the Saints team that came out in the second half couldn't have been more different. They stuck to their tasks, the played sensibly, they didn't panic. It was wonderful.
This forced Wigan into errors. And two of them in a row lead to a try for Sia Soliola who will be going back to Australia next season. We will miss you.
Then, after a bit of loose play from our lot, and Matty Smith** missing a penalty for them to even the score, the ever-wonderful Paul Wellens set up the dashing Tommy Makinson for a try.
Cue pandamonium in the Saints fans because it has been some time since we won the league and there's been 5 losing grand finals since and they hurt. Especially against Wigan.
But this time they won, because they are glorious, glorious boys.
I shall leave you with the most important photo:
*Saints fans aren't paranoid. Everyone is out to get us.
** who, in one of those stories, is the younger brother of someone I went to school with.
So my hometown team won the league this year. However, several years ago, the powers that be in rugby league decided it wasn't enough that a team be the best over 27 games, no, to be the champions, they have to win a play-off series as well.
As I may have mentioned, Saints won the league despite being without their two most creative players for most of the season (Luke Walsh and Jonny Lomax) and then lost the next nearest they had to someone with creativity just before the end of the season (Jon Wilkin). So, obviously, being down to the bare bones being minus a few more players on top of those three, we weren't going to win the play-offs.
First off Saints were drawn to play Castleford Tigers who they narrowly held off to win the league leader's shield. Despite the vexed forces usually at work against Saints (see also Alex Walmsley getting banned), they beat Castleford.
Next up, it was assumed that we'd pick Huddersfield when they beat Catalan Dragons but Huddersfield forgot to actually beat Catalan so we picked Catalans instead.
So everyone jumped on the Catalan Dragons bandwagon. Now I don't mind it when it's fans of other teams but when the press does it too ... they'd never have done it to Leeds or Wigan*.
Saints win vs the Dragons, in keeping with the example of St George, not Illawara, and as luck would have it, in the play-off final, we have to play our nearest and most hated adversaries - Wigan.
Who are evil.
And no-one gives us a hope. Because they've got Joel Tomkins back from union, and we have our 3 most creative players injured and Saints choke and we allegedly only won the league by a fluke and so on (missing that, in games played this season, Saints were 1-1 against Wigan).
It's the day of the game and the trains are slightly late so I get in the house 5 minutes after the game had started.
AND WIGAN HAVE ALREADY HAD A MAN SENT OFF!
I told you they were evil.
Basically Lance Hohaia (of Saints) put a forearm into Ben Flower's face. Which is naughty, so no one minded Flower's first punch. Only the first punch knocked Hohaia spark out and Flower's decided to punch him again why Hohaia was on the floor. The second punch was what got him sent off.
Hohaia, meanwhile, was taken to hospital with a broken face. Which, other than the obvious 'you don't like seeing players hurt' is a bit of a bugger because Hohaia was the last creative/flair type player Saints had left.
But still, even Saints couldn't lose to a team that's going to have 12 men for 78 minutes. Right?
So, of course, Saints immediately go behind to a Matty Smith penalty. And the entire Saints team forget how to play rugby. Catching a ball becomes impossible to them. To quote the BBC commentary "When Paul Wellens starts making mistakes, you may begin to think it is not your day." And every Saints fan starts getting that sinking feeling.
Thankfully Mark Percival (whose name is not Lance) evens the score up with a penalty.
Then, with 30 seconds to go to half time, Wigan score a try. And every Saints supporter goes, 'no, not this' because we do not want to be the other party in a story of Wigan's triumph over adversity, particularly not when they'll never shut up about it for the rest of forever and it'll be mentioned every time a player gets sent off in a big match.
Now, because I was watching on the radio, I have no idea what was said at half-time, but what I do know is that Nathan Brown earned his pay, because the Saints team that came out in the second half couldn't have been more different. They stuck to their tasks, the played sensibly, they didn't panic. It was wonderful.
This forced Wigan into errors. And two of them in a row lead to a try for Sia Soliola who will be going back to Australia next season. We will miss you.
Then, after a bit of loose play from our lot, and Matty Smith** missing a penalty for them to even the score, the ever-wonderful Paul Wellens set up the dashing Tommy Makinson for a try.
Cue pandamonium in the Saints fans because it has been some time since we won the league and there's been 5 losing grand finals since and they hurt. Especially against Wigan.
But this time they won, because they are glorious, glorious boys.
I shall leave you with the most important photo:
*Saints fans aren't paranoid. Everyone is out to get us.
** who, in one of those stories, is the younger brother of someone I went to school with.
