Wolfpack have promotion in sight
Victory over Leeds means loss by Hull would land Toronto in top tier Bob Beswick, left, celebrates with Wolfpack teammate Matty Russell during Friday’s game against Leeds Rhinos.
LEEDS, ENGLAND—
The Toronto Wolfpack recorded the biggest win of their young career Friday, edging the storied Leeds Rhinos17-16 to move a step closer to Super League promotion.
Wolfpack fullback Gareth O’Brien, no stranger to matchwinning kicks, booted a longrange drop goal with five minutes remaining in the final round of the Super 8s Qualifiers.
Toronto (5-2-0) can finish now lower than fourth in the playoff table, which would mean hosting the so-called Million Pound Game on Oct. 7 with the winner earning promotion.
The Wolfpack can also finish third and secure automatic promotion if Hull Kingston Rovers (4-2-0) don’t beat Widnes (1- 5-0) by at least 14 points Sunday.
If Hull KR do win by enough, Toronto will host the London Broncos in the Million Pound Game.
“We’ll sit and watch Sunday’s game. We’ll relax, watch that and who knows, we might book aflight or go to the nearest pub,” Toronto coach Paul Rowley told Sky TV after the game. “We’ll see what happens at the end of Sunday. But I’m proud of the boys. They deserved that today.”
The Super 8s Qualifiers group the bottom four teams in the elite Super League (Leeds, Hull KR, Salford and Widnes) with the top four in the second-tier Betfred Championship (Toronto, London, Toulouse Olympique and Halifax RLFC).
The top three in the standings secure automatic places in the Super League while No. 4 faces No. 5 in the Million Pound Game to see who joins them.
Trailing 16-12, Toronto pulled even in the 64th minute when, after captain Josh McCrone changed the direction of the attack, winger Matty Russell touched down a well-placed Bob Beswick grubber kick to the corner. But O’Brien missed the kick, leaving the score tied at 16-16.
Leeds was reduced to 12 men in the 68th minute when Dom Crosby was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle.
Both teams then narrowly missed a drop goal — McCrone in the 73rd minute and Richie Myler for Leeds in the 74th.
But O’Brien made no mistake. He was also on target in 2016 when his drop goal for Salford in sudden-death extra time relegated Hull Kingston Rovers and kept the Red Devils in the top-flight. His drop goal also proved to be the difference in Toronto’s 13-12 win over Toulouse on Sept. 15.
“We dug in for each other, we knew it was going to be tough,” O’Brien told Sky. “Leeds are a champion side.”
“We’ve done our bit now,” he added. “We can’t control what other teams do, but we’ll see what happens.”
Leeds won the 2017 Grand Final but finished ninth this season in the Super League with an 8-13-2 mark. Coach Brian McDermott paid the price, fired in early July after seven straight super League losses.
“I thought we were poor,” said Kevin Sinfield, Leeds’ director of rugby. “And I have to say, I didn’t think Toronto was much better. I didn’t think it was a great game.”