'Spicy' prediction made as Leeds Rhinos wheelchair aces go for Grand Final glory to finish perfect season

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Leeds Rhinos are 80 minutes away from completing an incredible unbeaten league season.

Rhinos face old foes Halifax Panthers on Sunday in the Betfred Wheelchair Super League Grand Final at the Allam Sports Centre, in Hull (5.30pm). Rhinos qualified by winning all their eight regular season fixtures and beating defending champions Wigan Warriors in a play-off semi-final two weeks ago.

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That means they will go into the Sky-televised showpiece as hot favourites against second-placed Panthers, but Leeds came unstuck in similar circumstances 12 months ago and captain Jodie Boyd-Ward revealed they will be taking a fresh approach this time to what she reckons will be “the spiciest game of the season”.

Boyd-Ward said: “It has been a really good season, getting the league leaders - for the fifth year on the bounce - has instilled a bit more confidence in the team, because last year didn’t quite go the way we wanted it to.

Jodie Boyd-Ward scores for Leeds Rhinos in their 2023 Grand Final loss to Wigan Warriors. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.Jodie Boyd-Ward scores for Leeds Rhinos in their 2023 Grand Final loss to Wigan Warriors. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.
Jodie Boyd-Ward scores for Leeds Rhinos in their 2023 Grand Final loss to Wigan Warriors. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.

“The season does kind of hinge on the Grand Final, however, to go completely undefeated in the league is an immense achievement and we’re not treating the Grand Final like a Grand Final; we are treating it like any other game because that’s what we’ve done all this year.

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Grand Final glory beckons for Leeds Rhinos as England wheelchair rugby league ac...

“We’ve focused on each game and when it’s done and dusted it is on to the next one. Obviously there’s no next game as such after the Grand Final, but we’re taking the same approach so the team says relaxed and focused.”

Last year’s final was a huge disappointment, but Boyd-Ward says Rhinos have put the experience to good use. “That’s the nature of the game, it’s all on the day,” she added. “Last year there was a lot of change - we didn’t have Simo [James Simpson] as a player, he had just moved into the coaching role and I was stepping into his shoes as captain.

Leeds Rhinos wheelchair captain Jodie Boyd-Ward, with coach James Simpson. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.Leeds Rhinos wheelchair captain Jodie Boyd-Ward, with coach James Simpson. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.
Leeds Rhinos wheelchair captain Jodie Boyd-Ward, with coach James Simpson. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.

“We were set in our ways of being that core squad for so long, it kind of upset the balance for a brief period while we all figured out our new roles and how it was going to work. We took the lessons we learned last year and put them into this season and it has shown, but it is all on the day and we are staying relaxed. When you bring emotion into it, you start to get into your own head a little bit.

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“I know I do that myself, so I am treating it as a normal day in Super League. We know it is a big event and we want that trophy, but putting pressure on ourselves isn’t going to help us get it.”

This year’s competition has been much tighter than previous years and Leeds have had to battle to the final whistle in several of their games, including a last-gasp home win over Halifax. Boyd-Ward reckons that will stand them in good stead for the final and future campaigns.

“The standard is constantly improving,” she noted. “We have been able to use this season as an opportunity to make changes and put some of our newer players in and give them a chance to get some game time and experience.

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Jodie Boyd-Ward, sixth from left, with her Leeds Rhinos teammates after the Super League semi-final win over Wigan Warriors two weeks ago. Picture by John Victor.Jodie Boyd-Ward, sixth from left, with her Leeds Rhinos teammates after the Super League semi-final win over Wigan Warriors two weeks ago. Picture by John Victor.
Jodie Boyd-Ward, sixth from left, with her Leeds Rhinos teammates after the Super League semi-final win over Wigan Warriors two weeks ago. Picture by John Victor.

“There’s two players in particular: Becky Wilkinson has come from a Championship club straight into Super League and Cam Hills was playing in Super League within four months of starting the sport. It has been an opportunity to widen the core team and develop as a team as well.

“When you’ve been set in having the same players for 10-plus years, you do need people to come in and you do need that chance to learn. The only way you are going to learn is by having people come in with new ideas, who look at the game a different way.

“Though some results have been closer than we’d like, it has given an opportunity to those new players and given us a chance to work on the pitch with them. It is going to be an interesting season next year, I think. We will keep cracking on and pushing as hard as we can.”

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Rhinos and Halifax have been arch rivals since wheelchair rugby league began. Panthers finished seven points behind Leeds on the league table, but both meetings were close and Halifax have won four of the five Grand Finals involving the two clubs.

Boyd-Ward warned: “They’ve got people - like Jeremy [Bourson] and Rob [Hawkins] - who are players who make life difficult for us. They are more than capable of rising to the occasion and I would expect nothing less. I keep joking it is probably going to be the spiciest game of the season, because it means so much to both teams to get our names back on the trophy. I am more than looking forward to it; it’s always good when it’s a local derby so it is going to be interesting, to say the least.”

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