Why it's not all doom and gloom for Leeds Rhinos: wheelchair side set for 7th successive Grand Final

Coach James Simpson’s side are preparing for their seventh successive Grand Final in Betfred Wheelchair Super League, having won all their eight matches in the regular season and beaten defending champions Wigan Warriors in a play-off semi-final last weekend. Rhinos have topped the league table every season since 2019 and will bid for their third Super League title when they face Halifax Panthers in the final at Allam Sports Centre, in Hull, on Sunday, October 13.

Their only defeat this year was to Wigan in a Challenge Cup semi-final in May and Simpson is proud of what the team have achieved so far. “You always want to make finals and at a club like ours, we’ve got to be in finals,” Simpson stressed.

“We are one of the biggest clubs in the country, wheelchair and rugby league in general, so we are expected to make finals. But it is special to be there and we have been fantastic this year.

“Last year there was a lot of disruption with me retiring [as a player] and Jodie [Boyd-Ward] taking over the captaincy and post-World Cup blues among the players. But this year I think we’ve really clicked and connected. We’ve found a slightly new identity without me there and it has been an absolute pleasure to coach them. Watching them flourish in a different way is absolutely fantastic.”

Simpson is a nominee for Wheelchair Super League coach of the year, alongside Halifax’s Wayne Boardman, England and London Roosters boss Tom Coyd and Mike Swainger of Hull FC. However, he is more pleased to have three players on the Wheels of Steel shortlist, for the competition’s top player, with Tom Halliwell, Nathan Collins and Josh Butler vying for the big prize alongside Jeremy Bouson (Halifax) and Joe Coyd (London).

It could be a double for Butler, who is also a contender for young player of the year, along with Wigan’s Nathan Roberts and the Panthers duo Nat Wright and Rob Hawkins. Simpson said: “It’s nice to be nominated, but having three players nominated for Wheels of Steel shows how strong we are across the board. Usually you have one player who really shines, but we’ve got three that have stepped up this year. It is testament to them.”

Halifax finished as runners-up on the league table before beating London Roosters in their semi-final last Saturday. They have the upper hand in Grand Final meetings with Leeds, who came out on top in 2018, but were beaten by their West Yorkshire rivals in 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2022.

Rhinos also won the trophy in 2021, against Leyland Warriors and were runners-up last year to Wigan, after going into that game as strong favourites. “Three different teams have won the last three Grand Finals,” Simpson noted.

“It shows how competitive the game is now at the top level. On the day, anyone can take it; we’ve won every game this year and beaten Halifax twice, but as far as we are concerned, in the play-offs that doesn’t really mean anything.

“It is very different playing a game in the league where you can chance your arm a bit because there’s not as much on the line. In a Grand Final, you’ve got to play differently.

“We’re using the wins we’ve had this year as experience in the bag, ready for the Grand Final. We will play slightly different in that; past wins don’t mean we’re going to win this time.”

Simpson isn’t interested in revenge for previous Grand Final losses and stressed Rhinos will be preparing as they would for any match. He insisted: “We’re trying not to be emotional about it. I don’t want the players to be talking about being desperate or getting revenge; I just want them to do what we do and play our game and treat it like another game.

“I don’t want us to get too wrapped up in the emotion of it, we have to play the game and not the occasion. We’ll be keeping it normal. I am in my fifth year of coaching this team and I have evolved a lot as a coach.

“This year, we have built around adaptability, that’s our big thing - being adaptable and robust and dealing with whatever comes up in front of us. That has done well for us - we’ve not gone into games with a lot of really structured game plans, we’ve been very loose with game plans and things we want to achieve and we’ll be the same for the final.

“It’ll be ‘let’s see what they come at us with and we’ll adapt to that’. That has been the theme of our season and it has paid off. I love how the players have embraced this philosophy of ‘let’s be adaptable, let’s be robust’.”