DANNY’S DAY
Two-try McGuire goes out with a bang for Leeds as Castleford freeze on their Grand Final debut
FOR anyone outside of Leeds, this was tough to watch.
Castleford were supposed to be the story. The club from a tiny town which almost went bust four years ago had strolled to the top of the league and were down as favourites for their first visit to Old Trafford and the Super League Grand Final.
There was to be no fairytale at the Theatre of Dreams.
To put it bluntly, the Tigers froze on the big stage. Yes it was Manchester, and yes it rained heavily, but a staggering number of knock-ons and a memorable final outing for Rhinos magician Danny McGuire killed them.
Perhaps we should have known on Thursday when Castleford, via a brief club statement, dropped the bombshell that their star player Zak Hardaker had been dropped from the squad for a breach of club rules.
The Tigers are expected to release another statement in the near future to explain exactly what was behind Hardaker’s breach. Regardless, they missed him.
A 25-year-old full-back, he had been in fine form for Castleford, who paid Leeds £150,000 for his services in June. He was named runner-up to team-mate Luke Gale in the Man of Steel award, which recognises the sport’s player of the year.
In an interview that appeared in the match programme, which presumably went to press before he was dropped, the Pontefract-born former Leeds player referenced what has, at times, been a controversial history. ‘Am I a changed man?’ he said. ‘A little bit. I’ve still got some similarities, but I’m a bit of an older head now. I know what to do and what not to do.’
All the first-half headlines went to McGuire — who has been with Leeds since the age of 12. The Leeds-born lad is a prolific assist-maker, setting up 24 tries this season — and it did not take him long to reach a quarter of a century.
After a strong Castleford start, wing Greg Minikin inexplicably knocked on a straightforward kick and from the resulting set of six McGuire’s deft kick to the corner found Tom Briscoe, who grabbed the ball from the air to touch down. Kallum Watkins impressively nailed the extras and the Rhinos were 6-0 up.
On 18 minutes, McGuire was almost at it again. This time, a deft grubber set up Watkins, only for a video replay to rule that he had not managed to get downward pressure on the ball.
We then had a glimpse of wily McGuire’s defensive skills when he brilliantly forced a knock-on from Greg Eden as the Castleford stand-in full-back looked certain to score. It was hard to imagine Hardaker making the same mistake.
Tigers winger Jy Hitchcox had a try correctly ruled out for obstruction, while Briscoe suffered the same fate after a push as an error-strewn first half ticked towards its conclusion.
There was still, however, time for more McGuire magic, the scrumhalf dropping a goal on the hooter to extend the lead to seven.
An estimated 30,000 Tigers supporters had crossed the Pennines from a town whose population numbers around 40,000.
Leeds, meanwhile, are old hands. Their seven Grand Final victories put them two clear of anyone else and it showed.
New half, old hat, with knock-ons aplenty. A high bomb from the impressive Joel Moon could not be held by Eden and McGuire pounced on the loose ball to add another golden moment to an impressive collection. It was his seventh Grand Final try but again, it was hard not to wonder whether Hardaker would have dealt with the kick. Watkins could not con- vert with Leeds now 11 points ahead. With the Rhinos forwards beginning to dominate, brilliant work from Moon set Briscoe up in the corner, although the final pass looked forward. When Watkins converted from the touchline, it appeared to be game over. McGuire made certain it was with 10 minutes to play when he capitalised on yet another error to go in under the posts. Cas have pulled off some comebacks in a memorable year but at 23-0 it was mission impossible. With the press filling out their Harry Sunderland man-of- the-match forms, McGuire booted another drop goal before a late try from Alex Foster, goaled by Luke Gale, offered scant consolation. This was incredibly harsh on many in the Castleford camp, not least Tigers coach Daryl Powell. The sharp 52-yearold, who played in the first Grand Final in 1998 for Leeds, has gone back to the future, introducing an oldfashioned, entertaining style packed with flair. He had told Sportsmail that his team talk would be aimed at ensuring that his players kept their cool in the Old Trafford cauldron. The message did not get through.