FRAN-TASTIC AT SIXTEEN
PLAY-OFF FINAL
SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD winger Fran Goldthorp scored two second-half tries as Leeds Rhinos Women completed a cup final double.
Goldthorp – who also touched down in the Challenge Cup win over Castleford – scored twice in nine second-half minutes at St Helens’ Totally Wicked Stadium.
Yet it was the Tigers had struck first, with two tries inside the first six minutes. Winger Maisie Lumb finished in the corner, before Rhiannon Marshall’s outstanding pass put Lacey Owen over.
The Rhinos hit back before half-time as Abby Eatock showed superb pace, and were level when Courtney Hill (below) created a try for Goldthorp. Then the winger produced a moment of magic, breaking from dummy half 60 metres out, stepping inside Tara Stanley and racing to the line.
But there was controversy in the score too, with replays indicating Goldthorp may not have grounded the ball in Hollie Dodd’s desperate cover tackle. Hill’s conversion made it 14-8 and the scrum-half then turned creator again to send Elle Frain over for the decisive try. Kelsey Gentles gave the Tigers hope of a late charge, but the Rhinos stood firm. SUPER LEAGUE Grand Finals are all about pressure.
There’s the pressure that you have during the build-up to the game, and the pressure within the match itself.
If you look at the first point, there has been zero pressure on Salford this week because nobody expected them to get here and they have been a wonderful story for the sport.
They can go into the game relaxed with no expectation on their shoulders, outside their own dressing room at least.
But favourites St Helens will be feeling a greater amount of pressure, and it’s crucial to how they start the game.
It’s vital that they stay as relaxed as possible and ignore what’s happened in previous knock-out games, and having people like assistant coach Paul Wellens around will help them with that.
That pressure can eat teams alive. It’s one of the reasons that Castleford – themselves so dominant in 2017 – didn’t produce their best performance when it mattered most.
You could see that they started nervy and that led to a nervous performance. The on-field pressure is just as important. In a Grand Final you have to understand that with the ball you can’t score off every set – it might take 10 minutes of sustained pressure to find a chink in the defence.
The other side of that is defensively you have to appreciate that giving the ball away or conceding a penalty could lead to your team being under pressure for five, six, seven or even 10 minutes. The team that handles all of this the best will win.
At Leeds Rhinos we were rarely the most consistent side over the season but we were the best team at handling, building and absorbing pressure, and that’s where matches at Old Trafford are won and lost.
Man of Steel Jackson Hastings is important for Salford, but I actually think their past Grand Final winners Lee Mossop, Gil Dudson, Josh Jones and Mark Flanagan are even more crucial. Their experience can rub off on their team-mates and help them deal with the day.
For St Helens Lachlan Coote is key – when he’s calm and composed at the back they look a great side.
The longer it stays tight the more chance Salford have of winning, and I love the