The big day has arrived. St Helens and Leeds Rhinos will lock up at Old Trafford today with the Super League trophy on offer. For both clubs, it is an opportunity to declare themselves as the greatest club of the era, for now at least, with victory taking them to an unprecedented ninth Grand Final triumph.
For the coaches, Kristian Woolf and Rohan Smith, there are a number of difficult selection issues which will have resulted in sleepless nights. Both camps feature one player fighting a race against time. Will Hopoate, who has struggled with persistent issues all season, and Ash Handley, the Rhinos' star winger, are both fighting to recover from hamstring and knee issues respectively.
Though both coaches were coy, they gave off the impression that both would feature. Given it is the biggest game of the season, you'd suspect they'll go to extra lengths to get them out on the hallowed Old Trafford turf. It's a tricky predicament for Saints. Hopoate has been excellent in the spine this year and his absence does result in something of a patched up spine. Jon Bennison played fullback last weekend and that will likely be the case if he misses out.
Read more: Leeds Rhinos' halfback headache poses Rohan Smith with grandest dilemma
As for Leeds, replacing Handley is relatively straightforward as Liam Tindall simply comes in as a like-for-like replacement, though dealing with Handley's absence isn't quite that simple. Leeds' bigger selection issue comes in the halves, with Aidan Sezer unavailable due to failing protocols last week. On paper, Smith has four options; Richie Myler, Kruise Leeming, Cameron Smith and Jack Sinfield.
Smith pretty much ruled out Sinfield at the Grand Final press conference and, with Myler and Smith playing so well at fullback and loose forward in recent weeks, the obvious choice seems Leeming, who has been restricted to cameo roles in the play-offs due to Jarrod O'Connor's excellent displays from the start. Though not a natural halfback, Leeming did play the role superbly for large parts of last season and, when you consider his place on the bench can be taken by Brad Dwyer, not a bad replacement in itself, it appears to be the safest option.
Predicted teams
St Helens : Will Hopoate, Tommy Makinson, Konrad Hurrell, Sione Mata'utia, Mark Percival, Jonny Lomax, Jack Welsby, Agnatius Paasi, James Roby, Matty Lees, Curtis Sironen, Joe Batchelor, Morgan Knowles. Subs: Joey Lussick, Jake Wingfield, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, James Bell.
Leeds Rhinos : Richie Myler, Tom Briscoe, Liam Sutcliffe, Zak Hardaker, Ash Handley, Blake Austin, Kruise Leeming, Mikolaj Oledzki, Jarrod, O'Connor, Matt Prior, Rhyse Martin, James Bentley, Cameron Smith. Subs: Brad Dwyer, Zane Tetevano, Bodene Thompson, James Donaldson.
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