There are tears for Warrington and Gidley sinks to his knees, the sufferer of yet more final heartache. But after losing the past two Grand Finals, Wigan are victorious again – for the fourth time at this stage. Warrington’s long wait continues. Those in red and white shirts are, naturally, overjoyed. That was an excellent spectacle. It wasn’t the most high scoring but the intensity and defensive effort from both was remarkable. Liam Farrell is given the Harry Sunderland man of the match award. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for Aaron Bower’s report from Old Trafford.
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FULL-TIME! Warrington 6-12 Wigan
It’s over. The Warriors have beaten the Wolves thanks to a brilliant comeback.
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79 min: The clock is stopped as Charnley goes down with a head injury. He is OK to continue and Wigan are counting down the seconds. It’s theirs to lose.
79 min: Wigan’s defence have produced an amazing series of tackles on the line to stop Gidley, Westerman and Ruseell. Smith and Gelling both made massive tackles there and, with 47 seconds to go Wigan have a fresh set near their own try line. Warrington look heartbroken.
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78 min: Smith kicks to the right but it goes out on the full and Warrington have a fresh set beginning at halfway. This is their chance, you sense.
77 min: Warrington drive forward and Patton’s kick to the right finds Lineham but Tierney is on hand to quickly force him into touch. And Wigan will take their time now with this fresh set.
76 min: Wigan make it as far as Warrington’s 40m but instead of going for the one point they seem to be searching for four, run out of phases and concede possession.
75 min: Wigan have the put in but there’s a break in play as Smith gets some attention on his jaw – he was elbowed (accidentally, of course) by Charnley when they went to tackle Russell.
75 min: From the short kick-off Warrington retain possession and Atkins pumps his way towards goal. Gidley feeds Sandow who gives it to Evans. He is grounded. They come back across to the left but Matty Russell is tackled into touch by a combination of Smith, Gelling and Charnley.
PENALTY! Warrington 6-12 Wigan (Smith)
74 min: Ice cool from Smith, who sends the ball over to increase the advantage to six points with six minutes to go.
73 min: Wigan have a penalty because the referee believes Daryl Clark has unfairly stolen the ball. It’s a contentious one, it does not look like a penalty. But Smith is going for the posts …
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72 min: Russell concedes a drop out after Smith sends a wonderful kick towards the right corner. Warrington are struggling to find a way out at the moment.
70 min: Gidley now has a horrific head injury with blood pouring after he collided with his team-mate Bateman when making a tackle. He’ll need a fresh shirt.
68 min: Warrington make some ground but Gidley knocks on near halfway. Oh dear, Wigan will have the put in and should eat up another minute and, they hope, produce a gap to score what would be a decisive score.
67 min: Smith drills a magnificent kick that crosses the tryline but does not go dead, meaning Ratchford must run it. And he’s then tackled 10m from his own goal.
65 min: What do Warrington have left in the tank? A converted try will be enough but they have never beaten Wigan in a play-off game.
TRY! Warrington 6-10 Wigan (Charnley)
63 min: Charnley, on his final appearance for Wigan, has put them in front but it’s come from an absolutely beautiful kick from Dan Sarginson, who is also departing, into the right corner. Charnley has no problem collecting it and touching down. It all came from a Tom Lineham knock-on when fielding a high kick that gave Wigan a penalty close to goal. Smith has missed a difficult kick to add the extra two points.
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60 min: Sandow has been superb since coming on. He’s just dinked a lovely ball through. Rhys Evans gets to it but knocks on before crossing the line.
59 min: Warrington’s response is good. Sandow sends a tidy chip that Charnley collects but Sandow and Gidley force the Wigan man over his own try line for a drop out.
TRY! Warrington 6-6 Wigan (Gildart)
55 min: Well, Atkins’ drop has certainly become a turning point because Wigan have scored the 100th Grand Final try thanks to a rapid break, finished off by Gildart’s first since early August. From the penalty following Atkins’ knock-on, they gained steady ground before Liam Farrell broke past Kurt Gidley’s limp tackle. Farrell then fed Gildart on his left and the Wigan No4 touched down close to where Patton scored his try in the first half. But Smith’s conversion goes wide to the right and we remain level.
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54 min: A huge moment and a possible turning point if Wigan can be kicked into gear. Atkins crosses over, the referee’s decision is to give the try but he goes to the video ref. And the decision is overturned. Replays show the ball popped out of Atkins’ grasp, with Gelling, Smith, Flower Sarginson and Charnley all tackling him.
53 min: Warrington’s Chris Sandow has come in for Daryl Clark, who is hobbling off. And Sandow’s first act is to send a kick towards Charnley. The Wigan player drops it and then Gelling tries to pick up the loose ball but knocks it on. Oh no, that is a mess. Warrington have a scrum on the 40m and have some momentum. There is a lot of time to go but would a second try kill off Wigan? They are growing increasingly sloppy.
52 min: Could this be the lowest scoring Grand Final? Two have finished with only 14 points – in 1998 and 1999.
50 min: This is quite scrappy now but the Wolves remain defensively formidable. Wigan are trying their best to find a hole but each time they kick, Ratchford and Lineham appear to be getting to the ball first.
48 min: Daryl Clark goes down with an injury after making a tough tackle but he picks himself up and dusts himself down. He has made 23 tackles in 48 minutes!
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47 min: Warrington pin Wigan back and Patton’s kicking is causing some bother.
45 min: Patton sends a sublime kick towards the left corner. Charnley collects it but falls and is quickly smothered. They need three tackles to get to halfway and after that fail to make much more ground. Smith’s high kick is well gathered by Lineham.
44 min: A promising move from Wigan’s Tierney, who breaks down the left, but on the third tackle Charnley moves and Warrington are given a penalty.
42 min: To borrow a Stevo phrase, the second stanza has started a tad more calm than the first. But Patton kicks a beauty to touch. Wigan will have the put in about 25m from their own goal.
Restarted!
41 min: Warrington gets us going again, playing towards the Stretford End.
Phew, time to catch our breath: and we definitely need it. There may have only been one try but there’s been a plethora of talking points and, on the whole, some gripping rugby on show.
Warrington have grown into the game well after Wigan’s early dominance – and conversely, the Warriors look increasingly lost in the final third. To make matters worse, Ben Flower looked in some discomfort when coming off the field and Warrington still have a Chris Sandow-shaped ace up their sleeve sat on the bench.
Credit to the referee, Robert Hicks, too, who, despite being involved in the most bizarre play of the half close to the interval, has let the game flow well. As a result it’s been breathless and it’s been frantic: just how the Grand Final, and rugby league as a whole, should be.
More of the same in the next 40, lads. So far, it’s been a game befitting of the grand stage Old Trafford provides.
Half-time! Warrington 6-2 Wigan
That’s the break. It’s not been high scoring, but it has been fascinating.
39 min: Again Wigan search for a hole and Gildart, on the left, gets to within 5m of a first try but he offloads to Sutton before being tackled. Sutton is pressured into a loose pass.
35 min: We’re heading for half time but there is finally a pattern to the game: Wigan are enjoying better territory but neither team is making much ground with the ball in hand. Can either dispatch a spot on kick to force an error?
33 min: Wigan are enjoying a short spell of territorial advantage now but they cannot find a way through Warrington’s impressive defence. Wigan have gained 614m to Warrington’s 588m, but what does that matter when it is the Wire who are leading?
32 min: When play restarts with a penalty, Wigan gain precious little territory and Westerman claims Smith chip.
30 min: Much better from Wigan with the ball this time as Gidley almost makes it through. It’s recycled to Bateman, who has buds up his nostrils to stem the flow of blood, but Atkins pinches the ball and races clear. He thinks he is through but the referee has blown his whistle for offside. Such is the noise inside Old Trafford the Warrington player cannot hear it though, so play continues for a while before Mr Hicks finally blows his whistle loud enough to halt proceeedings.
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29 min: When play gets going again, Ratchford knocks on after Westerman chucks a wild pass at him. Wigan breath a sigh of relief.
29 min: To compound matters for Wigan, Ben Flower is off with ice on his neck and a lot of strapping on his right hand, while John Bateman has a busted nose.
28 min: A Warrington set ends with Tierney floating another tasty kick to his right. Charnley claims it, unconvincingly, and Taulima Tautai fumbles under pressure from Ryan Atkins 20m from his own goal. Can Warrington punish them?
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26 min: Wigan have a free play that sees Sarginson make huge ground but when the ball is recycled Williams is too excited and chips it out of play. Fear not Warriors fans: Sean O’Loughlin has entered the fray.
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24 min: And from it Hughes crosses the line on the final phase but knocks on under pressure from Gelling. Well defended from Wigan but they need to up a gear here.
23 min: So for all of Wigan’s good work, they find themselves behind. How can they respond? By tackling firmly and forcing Gidley to kick in the last phase. It’s a teasing, high one and Sarginson mistimes his jump, knocking on in the process. Warrington will have another scrum in a very threatening position indeed.
TRY! Warrington 6-2 Wigan (Patton, conv)
21 min: There we go! Patton, making his ninth appearance of the season has his fourth try of the campaign and, most importantly of all, the first of the Grand Final. Clark feeds Patton to his left and he makes a dummy that fools Smith completely. The Warrington No7 exploits the gap and crosses over. He adds the extras without any problem.
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20 min: A wild prediction a quarter of the way in: there is no way they can keep this intensity up.
19 min: Sims and Clark make good ground before Atkins sees a huge gap and has one eye on a try instead of two on the ball, so he ends up knocking on. That is a let off for Wigan and a big missed chance for Warrington.
18 min: And at the end of Warrington’s ensuing set, Gidley kicks towards Charnley who then makes a complete mess of his catch, knocking on about 30m from the Wigan posts.
16 min: Warrington kick again. Gidley’s low boot trickles along the right touchline but stays in play and Wigan come back. Powell and Farrell make huge ground before Charnley, fed by a Gelling no-look pass, crosses the line but … no, wait. It’s a forward pass. But what a rapid move from the Warriors.
14 min: Rhys Evans smothers Smith’s kick at the end of that set, but it took a lucky bounce. Again, they cannot make much ground so Gidley kicks and the electric Lewis Tierney collects. This is breathless, frantic, hectic stuff.
12 min: Wigan are almost through but a nice chip from Smith is cleverly intercepted by Kurt Gidley. Warrington can only make it to halfway, though, so Gidley ends up kicking deep to Sarginson.
11 min: Oh dear, Chris Hill knocks on after a big hit from Sam Powell. Smith kicks superbly, Charnley chases but he doesn’t reach the ball but Wigan still get a 40-20.
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9 min: Nuuausala and then Williams make good ground for Wigan upon the restart before a high Smith kick is claimed by Ratchford under pressure 10m from the Wire posts.
Penalty! Warrington 0-2 Wigan (Smith)
8 min: Easy for the Wigan No7. Warrington need to watch their discipline.
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7 min: And now Westerman fouls again right in front of the posts, this time for holding down Sam Powell. Will they get an early two points on the board or run it?
6 min: Warrington have certainly enjoyed the better opening but now Westerman has been penalised for holding down Charnley and they will gain a fair chunk from that, beginning a fresh set of six 30m from Warrington’s line.
5 min: Wigan’s Matty Smith kicks after Wigan fail to make inroads. That allows Warrington to attack again and Westerman makes some decent ground on the fourth tackle, with Kurt Gidley going another few yards on the next phase. That leads to a Patton kick but the ball ends up in touch.
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4 min: Wigan turn it over about 5m from their own tryline, but Warrington looked good there, a Patton kick almost seeing Westerman cross in the right corner. Wigan, however, get the numbers across to haul the Warrington No13 to the ground.
2 min: But then Patton makes a big tackle and forces a knock on from John Bateman. Warrington have the put in about a dozen metres inside the Wigan half.
2 min: Warrington do not gain much on their opening drive. Declan Patton kicks and Josh Charnley claims it.
Kick-off!
1 min: Wigan’s Matty Smith kicks off, with Wigan playing towards the Stretford End.
Warrington are in blue and yellow, Wigan red and white. Robert Hicks is this evening’s referee.
Britain’s top, top anthem singer Laura Wright appears to sing Jerusalem – beautifully, it must be said. What a voice! – before the teams emerge to a Guy Fawkes level fireworks display. We’re almost ready to go.
“That’s the internationally acclaimed Feeder,” Eddie Hemmings says on TV. “They are delighted to be here on the big night.” And soon, I hope, there will be some rugby league.
Feeder are Rocking Out on a stage above the tunnel at Old Trafford. They are currently playing this number … and look a tad older.
You’d think it would be quite important for the England head coach, Wayne Bennett, to be in attendance at Old Trafford this evening. But, no, he’s watching on TV in Australia.
2013 revisited
“Wigan became the first team since St Helens in 2006 to complete the double of Super League and Challenge Cup, after a Grand Final that was free-flowing and compelling but which occasionally tiptoed the tightrope between tough and thuggish.”
Tonight’s pre-match entertainment will be brought to you by 2004’s Feeder, who were down to do a set before the 2012 final but it was cancelled because the pitch was too wet for a stage to be built.
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Hello. For any youngsters watching, this is the end of an era. As I keep saying, this is the last stand for Mike ‘Stevo’ Stephenson, the most famous rugby league analyst around. It’s as simple as that, though at least one bookmaker is bidding farewell to a familiar face by opening a Stevo Bingo market, where you can place money on which cliches he will trot out. (The three above are all money on)
Anyway, that’s your lot when it comes to tributes – until he says something amusing – because there is a rather big game to tee up.
Warrington face Wigan in a repeat of the 2013 final. Eleven miles separate the two towns but in terms of silverware, Wigan are a much bigger distance clear. The Warriors beat the Wolves 30–16 three years ago for their third Super League title, though they have endured a fair share of heartache since, succumbing St Helens and Leeds in the ‘14 and ‘15 showpieces. Warrington, meanwhile, will be hoping this is third time lucky having also lost to Leeds in 2012.
For an in-depth lowdown on the showdown – here’s Aaron Bower’s big final preview.
The game kicks-off at Old Trafford at 6pm BST. How’s it going to go? Email alan.smith@theguardian.com or tweet @alansmith90.
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