The 2024 Super League Grand Final, named the 2024 Betfred Super League Grand Final for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th official Super League Grand Final and the championship-deciding rugby league game of the 2024 Super League season. The match saw Wigan Warriors take on Hull KR at Old Trafford in Manchester, England.
| 2024 Betfred Super League Grand Final | |||||||||||||
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 A view of Old Trafford during the match | |||||||||||||
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| Date | 12 October 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Stadium | Old Trafford | ||||||||||||
| Location | Manchester, England | ||||||||||||
| Rob Burrow Award | Bevan French | ||||||||||||
| Jerusalem | Laura Wright | ||||||||||||
| Referee | Chris Kendall | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 68,173 | ||||||||||||
| Broadcast partners | |||||||||||||
| Broadcasters |
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Wigan Warriors were the defending champions, having won six titles including in 2023, while Hull KR were making their first appearance at a Grand Final, having last won a league title in the First Division, the Super League's predecessor, in 1985.
Wigan successfully retained their title with a narrow 9–2 victory to claim their seventh Super League title, and in doing so, become the first team in Super League era to win all 4 major trophies in the same year.
Background
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 723 | 338 | +385 | 44 | |
| 2 | 27 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 719 | 326 | +393 | 42 |
Route to the final
editWigan Warriors
edit| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Semi-final | 38–0 | |
| Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue. | ||
2023 Grand Final winners Wigan finished the regular season as league leaders, earning the Warriors a bye to the semi-final. They played the lowest ranked winner from the eliminators, which was the Leigh Leopards.
Final score: Wigan Warriors 38–0 Leigh Leopards[1]
Hull Kingston Rovers
edit| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Semi-final | 10–8 | |
| Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue. | ||
Hull Kingston Rovers ended the regular season in 2nd place, having lost a highly contested match against Wigan in the 25th round of the season. The position earned them a bye to the semi-finals, where they would play the highest ranked winner of the Eliminators, which was the Warrington Wolves.
Final score: Hull Kingston Rovers 10-8 Warrington Wolves[2]
Pre-match
editBroadcasting
editThe 2024 Super League season marked the introduction of the SuperLeague+ over-the-top streaming platform, allowing for the Grand Final to be broadcast globally on the platform alongside terrestrial broadcasters.[3]
In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports aired the event, with highlights on terrestrial channel BBC Two.[4]
Sky Sport's coverage was shared globally with Fox League in Australia and the US, Digicel in the Pacific Region, Premier Sports in South East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, ESPN Africa in Central and Southern Africa, Sportsnet in Canada, SportsMax in the Caribbean and Sportdigital in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.[3]
Entertainment
editPre-match and half-time entertainment was provided by The Lathums.[5]
Officiating
editChris Kendall was the referee for the match, with Richard Thompson and Johnny Roberts as touch judges. Liam Moore was the video referee, while Jack Smith was the reserve referee.[6]
Team selection
editThe Wigan Warriors squad remained unchanged following their semi-final match against Leigh.[7]
Hull KR's centre Oliver Gildart was replaced by Jack Broadbent, following his performance in the semi-final against Warrington, while captain and loose forward Elliot Minchella, returned to the squad following a two-match ban, displacing Matty Storton to a substitution. Dean Hadley was assigned as second-row, having covered for Minchella as loose forward during his ban.[8]
Match
editDetails
edit| Wigan Warriors | 9–2 | Hull KR |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: French 23' Goals: Keighran 24', 62' (pen) Field goals: Smith 40' |
1st: 7–0 2nd: 2–2 Report |
Goals: Lewis 57' (pen) |
Old Trafford, Manchester
Attendance: 68,173 Referee: Chris Kendall Touch judges: Richard Thompson, Johnny Roberts[6] Rob Burrow Award: Bevan French |
| Wigan Warriors | Position | Hull KR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jai Field | Fullback | 2 | Niall Evalds |
| 2 | Abbas Miski | Wing | 35 | Joe Burgess |
| 3 | Adam Keighran |
Centre | 1 | Peta Hiku |
| 4 | Jake Wardle | Centre | 36 | Jack Broadbent |
| 5 | Liam Marshall | Wing | 5 | Ryan Hall |
| 6 | Bevan French |
Stand-off | 27 | Tyrone May |
| 7 | Harry Smith | Scrum-half | 7 | Mikey Lewis |
| 8 | Ethan Havard |
Prop | 8 | Sauaso Sue |
| 17 | Kruise Leeming |
Hooker | 14 | Matt Parcell |
| 16 | Luke Thompson |
Prop | 16 | Jai Whitbread |
| 21 | Junior Nsemba |
Second-row | 11 | Dean Hadley |
| 12 | Liam Farrell | Second-row | 12 | James Batchelor |
| 13 | Kaide Ellis | Loose forward | 13 | Elliott Minchella |
| 10 | Liam Byrne |
Interchange | 9 | Jez Litten |
| 15 | Patrick Mago |
15 | Sam Luckley | |
| 19 | Tyler Dupree |
17 | Matty Storton | |
| 27 | Tom Forber |
20 | Kelepi Tanginoa | |
| Head coach | ||||
Post- match
editBy winning the Grand Final, Wigan Warriors won their second 'quadruple' since the 1993-94 season, having also won of the World Club Challenge, the Challenge Cup and the League Leaders' Shield. The quadruple has only been achieved elsewhere by Bradford Bulls in 2003 and St Helens in 2006.[9]
As winners of the Grand Final, Wigan are expected to play the 2025 World Club Challenge against 2024 NRL Grand Final winners Penrith Panthers in February 2025. However, Penrith have announced they were not willing to play the match due to logistical and player welfare concerns relating to the 2025 Rugby League Las Vegas event held the following March.[10]
Television viewing figures for the Sky Sports broadcast averaged at 374,000 during the match, marking a rise in viewership by 40% when compared to the 2023 final.[11]
References
edit- ^ Wellens, Megan (6 October 2024). "Wigan Warriors 38-0 Leigh Leopards: Reigning champions put in dominant performance to book Grand Final spot". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ Wellens, Megan (5 October 2024). "Hull KR 10-8 Warrington Wolves: Robins make history and book spot in first ever Grand Final with close victory". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ a b "How to watch the Betfred Super League Play-Offs". Betfred Super League. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ Walker, Callum (25 September 2024). "2024 Super League Grand Final set for largest attendance for at least six years". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ Cook, Sam (21 July 2024). "RFL confirm chart-topping band to play Super League Grand Final". Serious About Rugby League. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ a b Walker, Callum (7 October 2024). "Chris Kendall appointed as Super League Grand Final referee with Liam Moore as video official". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ "Wigan squad for Grand Final". Wigan Warriors. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ Rej, Arindam (12 October 2024). "Hull KR Grand Final team news with Broadbent reward and Minchella back". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ Freeman, Jay (12 October 2024). "Wigan beat Hull KR in Grand Final to seal quadruple". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ Bower, Aaron (8 October 2024). "Huge World Club Challenge update as Penrith Panthers make decision on event's future in 2025". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ Bower, Aaron (14 October 2024). "Super League Grand Final posts huge viewing figures increase from 2023 with full numbers revealed". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 14 October 2024.