Leeds Rhinos top-10 moments – No 3: 2004 Grand Final

October 16 of that year was the evening Leeds finally got their respect back after two decades as rugby league’s great underachievers.

Leeds had waited 32 years to be crowned champions for the fourth time in the club’s history.

After lifting the Championship trophy in 1961, 1969 and 1972, Leeds had to look on enviously as less fashionable clubs – including Featherstone Rovers and Leigh – won the biggest honour in the domestic game.

Rhinos were runners-up in the inaugural Grand Final, of 1998, but then waited six more years for a return to the Theatre of Dreams.

It was to become a home from home over the next decade, but at the time Leeds were bidding to become Super League’s fourth different title winners, after St Helens, Bradford Bulls and Wigan Warriors.

Remarkably, 16 years later they remain the last new name on the trophy.

Under coach Tony Smith, in his first year at the helm, Leeds finished nine points clear at the top of the table, the first time they had managed that since 1972.

They had a shock when defending champions Bradford won at Headingley – only Leeds’ fourth defeat of the year – in the opening round of the play-offs, but a crushing win over Wigan sent Rhinos into the final in buoyant mood.

Leeds have been involved in better Grand Finals and have produced superior performances, but the 16-8 defeat of Bradford was a pivotal win in the club’s history.

It banished the tag of under-achievers and big-game chokers and was the evening the Golden Generation came of age.

Of the 17 players on duty, 10 came through Leeds’ academy system and six of those were born in Leeds.

Barrie McDermott joined a select club of players who had won both Challenge Cup and championship finals for Leeds and Danny McGuire, scorer of the clinching try, announced himself as a big-match player.

****

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. These are challenging times but the team at the Yorkshire Evening Post need your support more than ever in the weeks ahead.

While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you. In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you - wherever possible and providing it is safe for you to do so - to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Inevitably falling advertising revenues will start to have an impact on local newspapers and the way we continue to work during this period of uncertainty. So the support of our readers has never been more important as we try to make sure that we keep you connected with the city you live in during this time. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. We need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Our team of trusted reporters are working incredibly hard behind the scenes- from kitchen tables and spare bedrooms - to look at how we can do this and your continued support to the YEP will help to protect its viability in the days and weeks ahead.

For more details on our subscription offers please visit www.localsubsplus.co.uk/YEP, email [email protected] or call us on 0330 4033004

Thank you, Laura Collins, Editor