As expected the tension in the air was palpable at the pre-Grand Final media conference before Leeds’ meeting with Wigan at Old Trafford on Saturday. Players both young and old are rightly susceptible to feeling nervous in the buildup to the biggest match of the year, but amid all the pre-match discussions, one man was quick to point out he is here to enjoy it all one last time.
The fact he is gearing up for a record-breaking 11th Grand Final appearance no doubt makes Jamie Peacock more relaxed, but as he prepares for his final appearance before retirement, the Leeds prop is determined to make the most of his final week as a professional after the Rhinos emerged through last week’s thrilling semi-final against St Helens.
“Because it was my last game at Headingley and there was always another game if we’d won, I felt emotional because of the journey I’d been on,” Peacock says. “I wanted to win and make sure it was this week where it all finished, but this week I know this is it, there’s no more games after this one.
“I’m just enjoying the week, trying to make the most of it and remembering it. It’s great to be here again because it’s been three years since we were at Old Trafford. There’s lots of facets of rugby league I’ll miss when I retire but I think when it comes to finals, I’ve played in a few so I don’t know if I will miss them because I’ve had my fair share.
“We all dream of finishing like this, but at the beginning of the year you don’t think about how you want it to end. I just wanted to get back here initially, but in the last couple of weeks I’ve started to think about how I’d love it to end this way.”
If Leeds do win, the Rhinos will become only the third side in Super League history to complete the domestic treble, adding the Grand Final to their League Leaders’ Shield and Challenge Cup successes already achieved in 2015. The fact Peacock will be the only one of the 34 players on the field on Saturday to have done that already – with Bradford in 2003 – speaks volumes of his achievements in the game, and he thinks this Leeds team would cement itself as the best he has played with if they emerge triumphant.
“It’s up there with the best in my career; I’ve been really lucky to play in some great sides in all my career, but if we win the treble I think it’ll be the best,” he says. “It’s more difficult to do now than ever before because there’s more than one or two good sides in the league.
“When I won the treble in 2003 the structure wasn’t how it was now – the Challenge Cup finished in May for example – and it’s tougher to do now. It’s harder because emotionally Wembley takes a lot out of you later in the year. When you win you obviously celebrate then it’s difficult the week after, and the week after and so on. We’ve played a lot of games and are down on numbers but we’re confident.”
Given Peacock’s impressive form in his final year as a player, the inevitable question of the 37-year-old carrying on in 2016 was posed this week. But there will be no U-turn, no reversal of the decision he made at the start of 2014. A role off the field as Hull KR’s football manager awaits him next year, and he is determined to make sure his playing career ends in fairytale fashion.
“I think I could do another year, not a problem,” Peacock says. “It’s not the playing, it’s more all the stuff that happens in between games. I’ve made a lot of hard decisions along the way and I’m ready to take a backward step from it. There’s only so long you can lead this sort of lifestyle but I could quite easily go on playing for another year.
“There’s enough left in the tank this weekend, because this is it. The reality is that I’ll wake up Sunday and I won’t be a rugby league player, so I’ll be giving it everything I’ve got. We’re battle-hardened from some incredibly tough games over the past few weeks and we’re ready for the big one.”
