Saturday 10 October 2015 17:04, UK
So here we are. The end of the season and just one game away from crowning the 2015 Super League Champions.
It is fitting that first plays second in the Grand Final. We've had 240 days of competition and the best two teams are left to compete over 80 minutes on the biggest stage we've got.
Leeds are looking to win Rugby League's Grand Slam of trophies and Wigan aim to stop them. For the Warriors it would make up for last year's disappointment. In fact, it's more than that. When you look back over the last two years Wigan have had a series of disappointments.
When the pressure has been on they've failed to win any of their last five 'big' games. The World Club Challenge in Sydney, the Challenge Cup match with Castleford and the Grand Final of 2014 were all lost, as were the World Series game with Brisbane this year and the Challenge Cup game against Hull KR. They've been unable to balance their actions with their emotions. If they don't win this match they could be labelled as 'chokers'.
Leeds will be full of emotion for this game. It's the end for three of their players - Kevin Sinfield, Jamie Peacock and Kylie Leulauai - who have given great joy and entertainment not just to Leeds fans but lovers of the game in general. They've also played the best rugby to watch this year. But sport doesn't deal in sentimentality, it just lets the best team win and I think that will be Wigan on Saturday.
Most people know the Olympic Motto, 'Citius, Altius, Fortius.' It's Latin for 'Faster, Higher, Stronger'. Well I think the Grand Final has one too 'Velocius, Durius, Amplius' - 'Faster, Harder, Longer', because that's what you've got to do if you want to stand on the winners' podium.
The winning team have to do things quicker than their opponents, at a greater intensity and for more minutes. Whenever I tip Wigan to win a match people assume that's because I used to play for them. It's not true. It's because I think that they will play this game faster, harder and can do that for a lot longer than Leeds.
The Rhinos' best two 'engines', Stevie Ward and Jamie Jones-Buchanan, won't play and they needed them in the middle to match Wigan in that aspect. I don't think that Leeds have enough left in them after an amazing season and have looked tired in the last two games even though they've won them both.
I think that they have better individuals who are capable of brilliant things, their backline is amazing, but I think Wigan are a more balanced team, and more often than not the better team wins the Grand Final. That's not a biased opinion, it's what I genuinely believe.
Last year's Grand Final was a low scoring affair but I think we'll see more tries this this year. We've had the best season of summer rugby ever and this feels like the perfect ending.
Good luck to both teams. I have an idea of what it feels like walking down that tunnel at the start. It's like the beginning of a rollercoaster ride when you want to get off and you want to stay on. The nerves are awful but the experience will be well worth it.
Thanks for a brilliant season.
