As the stands began to empty and the stunned silence at Headingley shifted towards murmurings of discontent and the occasional boo, there was a plea from Leeds Rhinos’ stadium announcer to hang around and greet the players after their final home game of the Super League season.
The reaction was muted at best. Leeds’ players retreated down the tunnel for an unexpected postmortem and by the time they returned, this grand old ground had emptied. It wasn’t supposed to be like this; a night which was supposed to be straightforward and lead to bigger and brighter things panned out in a way few would have imagined.
