2014 Super League Grand Final

The 2014 Super League season (known as the First Utility Super League XIX due to sponsorship by First Utility)[3] was the 19th season of rugby league football since the Super League format was introduced in 1996. Fourteen teams competed for the League Leaders' Shield over 27 rounds (including the Magic Weekend in Manchester), after which the highest finishing teams will enter the play-offs to compete for a place in the Grand Final and a chance to win the championship and the Super League Trophy.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	St. Helens	27	19	0	8	796	563	+233	38[4]
2	Wigan Warriors	27	18	1	8	834	429	+405	37

St Helens

Round	Opposition	Score
Qualifying Play-Off	Castleford Tigers (H)	41-0
Semi-Final	Catalans Dragons (H)	30-12
Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue.

Wigan

Further information: 2014 Wigan Warriors season

Round	Opposition	Score
Qualifying Play-Off	Huddersfield Giants (H)	57-4
Semi-Final	Warrington Wolves (A)	16-12
Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue.

12 October 2014 18:00 BST

St. Helens	14–6	Wigan Warriors
Tries: Soliola  54' Makinson  69' Goals: Percival 3/3 30', 54', 69'	(Report)	Tries: Burgess  40' Goals: Smith 1/3 17' Flower  3'

Old Trafford, Manchester Attendance: 70,102 Referee: Phil Bentham Man of the Match: James Roby

St Helens		Position	Wigan Warriors
17	Paul Wellens (c)	Fullback	1	Matthew Bowen
2	Tommy Makinson	Wing	2	Josh Charnley
22	Mark Percival	Centre	5	Anthony Gelling
4	Josh Jones	Centre	23	Dan Sarginson
5	Adam Swift	Wing	32	Joe Burgess
15	Mark Flanagan	Stand-off	6	Blake Green
6	Lance Hohaia	Scrum-half	7	Matty Smith
16	Kyle Amor	Prop	10	Ben Flower
9	James Roby	Hooker	19	Sam Powell
8	Mose Masoe	Prop	17	Dom Crosby
10	Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook	Second-row	11	Joel Tomkins
11	Iosia Soliola	Second-row	12	Liam Farrell
3	Jordan Turner	Loose forward	13	Sean O'Loughlin (c)
13	Willie Manu	Interchange	22	Eddy Pettybourne
18	Alex Walmsley	Interchange	24	Tony Clubb
27	Greg Richards	Interchange	25	John Bateman
28	Luke Thompson	Interchange	27	George Williams
Nathan Brown		Coach	Shaun Wane

Following a fiery opening that started with the kind of big tackles that this derby game has become known for, the game suffered a dramatic twist in only the second minute of the game when Wigan Prop, Ben Flower, became the first and only player to be sent off in a grand final by referee Phil Bentham after he punched Lance Hohaia in the face, thus knocking him out, then as he lay defenceless on the floor, he punched him in the face again.[5]

This forced Wigan to play 78 minutes with 12-men, causing a switch in the Wigan approach to one of smash-and-grab. A valiant first-half performance by Wigan's 12-men meant they entered the break with a 6–2 lead.[6]

Despite further strong defensive displays by the Wigan outfit in the ensuing second-half, Iosia Soliola forced himself over the Wigan try-line in his final appearance in the Red-Vee to put St. Helens ahead, and in control of the game. An admirable, yet desperate display by Wigan, to get themselves back into contention was halted, when Tommy Makinson crashed over for Saints, 12 minutes from time to make the score 14–6, after a precise kick over-the-top of the Wigan defence from Saints stalwart, Paul Wellens. Despite a late Wigan flurry, Makinson's try proved to be the one that sealed the game and the championship for St. Helens, meaning that the Saints claimed their first championship title since 2006, and their sixth overall in the Super League era (St Helens are now equal with Leeds Rhinos for titles since 1996, both have 6 titles).[7][8]

By winning this match the Saints had qualified for the World Club Series Final, to be played early in the 2015 season against the winners of the 2014 NRL Grand final, the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

• Super League XIX