The 2008 Super League Grand Final was the 11th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding match of the Super League XIII season. Held on Saturday 4 October 2008, at Old Trafford, Manchester, the match was between League Leaders St. Helens and defending champions from 2007 Leeds Rhinos.
| 2008 Super League Grand Final | |||||||||||||
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 Leeds Rhinos celebrating their victory after the full-time whistle | |||||||||||||
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| Date | 4 October 2008 | ||||||||||||
| Stadium | Old Trafford | ||||||||||||
| Location |  Manchester | ||||||||||||
| Harry Sunderland Trophy | Lee Smith ( Leeds Rhinos) | ||||||||||||
| Headliners | Scouting for Girls | ||||||||||||
| Referee | Ashley Klein | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 68,810 | ||||||||||||
| Broadcast partners | |||||||||||||
| Broadcasters | |||||||||||||
| Commentators | |||||||||||||
Background
edit| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  St. Helens
|
27 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 940 | 457 | +483 | 43 |
| 2 | Leeds Rhinos
|
27 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 863 | 413 | +450 | 42 |
Route to the Final
editSt Helens
edit| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying Semi-Final | Leeds Rhinos (H)
|
38-10 |
| Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue. | ||
Leeds Rhinos
edit| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying Semi-Final | St Helens (A)
|
38-10 |
| Elimination Final |  Wigan Warriors (H)
|
18-14 |
| Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue. | ||
Match details
edit4 October 2008
18:00 UTC+1 |
| St. Helens
|
16 - 24 | Leeds Rhinos
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Graham 6' Gidley 43' Gardner 59' Goals: Long (2) |
Report |
Tries: Smith 24' Hall 37' McGuire 49', 63' Goals: Sinfield (4) |
| St Helens | Position | Leeds Rhinos | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Wellens
|
Fullback | 5 | Lee Smith
|
| Ade Gardner
|
Winger | 22 | Ryan Hall
| |
 Matthew Gidley
|
Centre | 19 | Carl Ablett
| |
 Willie Talau
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Centre | 4 | Keith Senior
| |
| Francis Meli
|
Winger | 2 | Scott Donald
| |
| Leon Pryce
|
Stand Off | 6 | Danny McGuire
| |
| Sean Long
|
Scrum half | 7 | Rob Burrow
| |
| 10 | James Graham
|
Prop | 8 |  Kylie Leuluai
|
| 9 |  Keiron Cunningham (c)
|
Hooker | 9 | Matt Diskin
|
| Bryn Hargreaves
|
Prop | 10 | Jamie Peacock
| |
| Lee Gilmour
|
2nd Row | 11 | Jamie Jones-Buchanan
| |
| 12 | Jon Wilkin
|
2nd Row | 12 | Gareth Ellis
|
| 13 | Chris Flannery
|
Loose forward | 13 | Kevin Sinfield (c)
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| 14 | James Roby
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Interchange | 14 | Ali Lauitiiti
|
| Nick Fozzard
|
Interchange | 16 | Ryan Bailey
| |
| Paul Clough
|
Interchange | 17 | Nick Scruton
| |
| Maurie Fa'asavalu
|
Interchange | 18 | Ian Kirke
| |
| Daniel Anderson
|
Coach | Brian McClennan
| ||
The coin to see who kicked off was tossed by 12-year-old, James Baxter who won the opportunity through a competition through the leagues sponsor Engage.
2009 World Club Challenge
editThe Rhinos' win in the grand final earned them the right to play against the 2008 NRL season premiers, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles on 1 March 2009 in the World Club Challenge.