2005 World Club Challenge
The year 2005 Carnegie World Club Challenge was contested by Super League IX champions Leeds Rhinos and 2004 NRL season premiers, the Bulldogs. The match was played on 4 February at Elland Road, Leeds before 37,208 spectators. Australian Sean Hampstead was the referee. The home team came out winners in the end of what was, at the time, the highest-scoring WCC match ever, with a final scoreline of 39-32.
| 2005 World Club Challenge | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Date | 4 February 2005 | ||||||||||||
| Stadium | Elland Road | ||||||||||||
| Location | Leeds, England | ||||||||||||
| Referees | Sean Hampstead | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 37,208 | ||||||||||||
| Broadcast partners | |||||||||||||
| Broadcasters | |||||||||||||
| Commentators | |||||||||||||
Qualification
Leeds Rhinos
The 2004 Super League Grand Final was held on Saturday 16 October 2004, at Old Trafford, Manchester, UK. The game was played between Leeds Rhinos, who finished top of the league after the 28 weekly rounds, and Bradford Bulls, who finished second after the weekly rounds.
Bulldogs
The 2004 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2004 NRL season. It was contested by the Bulldogs, who had finished the regular season in 2nd place, and the Sydney Roosters, who had finished the regular season in 1st place. After both sides eliminated the rest of 2004's top eight teams over the finals series, they faced each other in a grand final for the first time since the 1980 NSWRFL season's decider.
Match details
The Bulldogs had less than a week to adjust from Sydney summer to Yorkshire winter with four training sessions to prepare whereas the Rhinos had been playing friendlies since Boxing Day.[1] The Sydnesiders were also without six senior players who stayed at home after off-season surgeries.[1]
4 February 2005 |
Leeds Rhinos  |
39 - 32 |  Bulldogs |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Chev Walker Mark Calderwood Danny McGuire Willie Poaching Rob Burrow Richie Mathers Jamie Jones-Buchanan Goals: Kevin Sinfield (5) Field Goals: Kevin Sinfield |
Tries: Hazem El Masri (2) Jamaal Lolesi (2) Luke Patten Tony Grimaldi Goals: Hazem El Masri (5) |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
| Leeds Rhinos | Position | Bulldogs |
|---|---|---|
| Richie Mathers | Fullback | Luke Patten |
| Mark Calderwood | Wing | Trent Cutler |
| Chev Walker | Centre | Willie Tonga |
| Keith Senior | Centre | Jamaal Lolesi |
| Marcus Bai | Wing | Hazem El Masri |
| Kevin Sinfield (c) | Stand-off | Braith Anasta |
| Danny McGuire | Scrum-half | Corey Hughes |
| Ryan Bailey | Prop | Roy Asotasi |
| Andrew Dunemann | Hooker | Adam Perry |
| Danny Ward | Prop | Chris Armit |
| Jamie Jones-Buchanan | Second-row | Sonny Bill Williams |
| Chris McKenna | Second-row | Reni Maitua |
| Gareth Ellis | Loose forward | Tony Grimaldi (C) |
| Rob Burrow | Interchange | Ben Czislowski |
| Ali Lauitiiti | Interchange | Nate Myles |
| Barrie McDermott | Interchange | Trevor Thurling |
| Willie Poching | Interchange | Brett Oliver |
| Tony Smith | Coach | Steve Folkes |
Leeds opened the scoring with their left centre Chev Walker crossing around the five-minute mark. Kevin Sinfield's conversion was successful so the Rhinos were leading 6 - 0.
References
- Wilson, Andy (3 February 2005). "Dogs with a title to win and a bad name to lose". theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 7 October 2018.