Leeds 18-16 Hull FC: Rhinos reach Grand Final with narrow win
Leeds claimed a thrilling 18-16 semi-final victory over Hull to ensure that long-serving half-backs Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow will bring the curtain down on their Rhinos career at Old Trafford.
Match Stats: Leeds Hull FC
Leeds tries: Ward (4), Mullally (18), Sutcliffe (63)
Goals: Watkins (4,18,63)
Hull FC tries: Ellis (27), Fonua (45), Manu (56)
Goals: Sneyd (27,56)
Match report
Leeds claimed a thrilling 18-16 semi-final victory over Hull to ensure that long-serving half-backs Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow will bring the curtain down on their Rhinos career at Old Trafford.
The Rhinos prevailed in a tense clash at Headingley to secure an 11th Grand Final appearance - their eighth in the last 11 years - and set up a showdown with table-toppers Castleford next Saturday.
That will provide a fitting farewell for McGuire and Burrow, but Friday's defeat signalled the end for Hull captain Gareth Ellis, the former Leeds forward who hung up his boots after the match, and there was no fairytale ending for winger Mahe Fonua, who is returning to the NRL.
Leeds have been priced up as Sky Bet's 7/4 outsiders to win the Grand Final. Castleford are odds-on at 1/2 to get the win.
ALL OF SKY BET'S GRAND FINAL ODDS!
This semi-final may have failed to live up to the standard set by Castleford's epic win over St Helens 24 hours earlier, but it was just as breath-taking, with the outcome in doubt until the last second, with referee Phil Bentham blowing his whistle to mark a 13th successive home win for the Rhinos over the Black and Whites.
It was a night of high emotion on and off the field, as the club bade farewell to the North Stand, which will go the way of the already demolished South Stand as part of a major stadium development.
Hull resembled by-standers at the start of the game as Leeds raced into a 12-0 lead.
They made the most of the position gained from an early penalty conceded by prop Liam Watts, with loose forward Stevie Ward powering his way to the line in the first play and stretching out of a three-man tackle to plant the ball on the line.
Kallum Watkins added the conversion and he was also on target after hooker Matt Parcell had got substitute prop Anthony Mullally romping through a gaping hole in the visitors' defence within seconds of entering the action.
The shell-shocked cup winners gradually worked their way into the game and, after stand-off Albert Kelly had been held up over the line, Ellis proved unstoppable after charging on to Danny Houghton's pass from dummy half.
Marc Sneyd added the goal to make it 12-6, which is how is stayed until half-time, and Hull picked up from where they left in the second half as centre Jake Connor created a try for Fonua with a superb one-handed offload.
Sneyd was unable to convert, so Hull remained two points adrift and were somewhat fortunate not to slip further behind when Leeds prop Brad Singleton reached the line following a barnstorming run only to have his try disallowed, referee Phil Bentham ruling he had failed to ground the ball.
It looked to be a crucial call when, two minutes later, Connor palmed the ball back from Sneyd's kick for second rower Sika Manu to score a try that put Hull in front for the first time.
But Leeds picked themselves up and struck back on 62 minutes when centre Liam Sutcliffe created a try from nothing, evading a string of defenders on a weaving run to the line.
That brought the scores level and Watkins kept his nerve with the conversion to restore his side's advantage and, although there were plenty of nervous moments left in the game, the Rhinos clung on for a famous win.
Match reaction
Leeds coach Brian McDermott hit back at the critics after his side reached the Super League Grand Final just 12 months after fighting a relegation battle.
"The job is not done and, if we don't win next week it will hurt, but I think that's a huge achievement from the players who endured all sorts of ridicule," he said.
"Things were written and said about them. We only added one bloke to the squad and for them to first off finish second and secure top-four with two games to go in itself shows what a character they've got, and to get through to the Grand Final is big."
McDermott almost brought ridicule on himself when he claimed his side could win the Grand Final shortly after they suffered a 66-10 hammering at Castleford in March.
"I believed it at the time," he said. "It wasn't a Hollywood moment, I believed we could do it.
"Because of what's gone on over the last 18 months, I reckon my group has had more honest chats than any other team in Super League. We nearly got relegated and that level of honesty now far outweighs the quality that we come up with on game day."
Hull coach Lee Radford said: "We're obviously hugely disappointed not to be going to a Grand Final.
"We just fell short unfortunately.
"I can't knock the effort, it was phenomenal. Leeds started like an absolute house of fire - it was like a smack between the eyes in that first 30 minutes - so to show the grit that we did and still be in the game when lot of teams would have folded was outstanding."