Leeds claimed a thrilling 18-16 semi-final victory over Hull to ensure that long-serving halfbacks 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 West Tigers forward who hung up his boots after the match.
And there was no fairytale ending for winger Mahe Fonua, the ex-Melbourne Storm back who is returning to the NRL to play for the Wests Tigers in 2018.
The game 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 breathtaking, with the outcome in doubt until the last second.
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.
And Hull resembled bystanders at the start of the game as Leeds race into a 12-0 lead.
The shell-shocked cup winners gradually worked their way into the game and, after 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 halftime, 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.
But Leeds steadied 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.
