IN THE SPOTLIGHT - Leeds vs Warrington

We saw an engaging, if not attritional, semi final last night between Leeds and Warrington. The Wire are returning to the Grand Final for the first time since 2018. Leeds are once again thinking about what might have been.

Whoever Warrington play in the Grand Final next week, we saw their blueprint for how they think they can end a long wait to call themselves champions.

Warrington's win last night was based on playing error-free rugby, combined with impeccable discipline. Warrington made just seven errors and conceded just six penalties. Even players who you associate with having particularly poor discipline (such as James Bentley) pulled rank.

This is quite different to Warrington sides we have seen over time. Some of those sides have been more kamikaze in nature. When things got tough, composure could drop. Not the 2026 version of Warrington though.

I have seen more talented Warrington sides than this one. I have not seen one with a better attitude.

There will be some questions though. Warrington's blueprint is based on not having to chase a game. If they find themselves in that position, last night's tactics be unlikely to work. 

When Warrington took a 14-12 lead, they were satisfied to play in an ultra-conservative manner and back their defence to hold on.

That may be more difficult next week. There were times that Leeds' pack got on top. There were times when Leeds had extended spells of pressure on the Warrington line but appeared short of ideas. Next week, Warrington may face a stronger pack still. They may face more attacking threat when defending their goal line.

That being said, Warrington had limited territory in the first half and scored two tries (and it should have been three but for a comical mix-up between Aaron Lindop and Albert Hopoate). There was some evidence of a clinical attack.

These are questions for another day though. Warrington fans will rightly be basking in the glow of reaching the Grand Final after a long time away. They may also thrive on going into the Grand Final (if Wigan beat Wakefield today) as underdogs. 

This side seems to have the temperament not to treat the Grand Final as a high-pressure occasion where the opportunity to end a 71 year wait for a title drags them down. They seem a side who will enjoy being written off and in the knowledge that, whatever happens next Saturday night, 2026 has been a success.

As for Leeds, it is another season and another case of what might have been.

Leeds will feel desperately unlucky that as the key games in the season came around, they lost Miller, Sivo, Handley, Bird and Hankinson to injury. This thrust Fergie McCormack, Ned McCormack and Riley Lumb into a play off semi final, having seen little first team action all year.

May Leeds have won with the injured players on the field? Possibly. We will never know. What we do know is that the incoming players handled a high pressure game expertly.

Fergie McCormack dealt with all of Warrington's kicks apart from one. He was a solid presence at the back. Wakefield fans will be excited at the prospect of Ned McCormack joining their club. And Riley Lumb looked threatening, especially coming out of back field.

Ironically, from Leeds' backline, it was the other side that struggled. Toby King gave Harry Newman the runaround all night. Ryan Hall struggled under aerial bombardment. I expect Riley Lumb will have a significant case to be a starting winger for Leeds next year.

Leeds will also feel aggrieved that Warrington's winning points came from a harsh penalty, in which George Williams theatrically hit the floor on contact from James McDonnell, which was deemed an escort.

It would surprise me not if in 2027, the escort rule interpretation changes and the threshold for a penalty increases, in an attempt to avoid players hitting the floor when they feel contact, as Williams did (and was rewarded for) last night.

Yet if Leeds look at that incident as a reason for defeat, they are mistaken. They didn't score a point from the 34th minute of the match. They had ample opportunities on Warrington's line and looked short of ideas.

And this is another in a long line of defeats. Since reaching the Grand Final in 2022, Leeds have lost the following knockout matches to Super League clubs:

• Leeds 14-18 Wigan (2023 Challenge Cup, 6th round).
• Leeds 6-20 St Helens (2024 Challenge Cup, 6th round).
• St Helens 22-14 Leeds (2025 Challenge Cup, 4th round).
• Leeds 14-12 St Helens (2025 Super League play off, preliminary semi final).
• Wakefield 24-14 Leeds (2026 Challenge Cup, 4th round).
• Leeds 12-14 Warrington (2026 Super League play offs, semi final).

They have not won any match against Super League opponents in a knockout fixture in that time. The only knockout fixtures they have won were against minnows Wests Warriors in the Challenge Cup and they laboured past Widnes (winning 25-12) in this year's Challenge Cup.

There is only so many times you can go "we were unlucky with injuries", "we were unlucky with the cup draw", "we were unlucky with refereeing decisions". 

For whatever reason, when the big games come around, Leeds fail to deliver and have failed to deliver for years. Quite the contrast to Leeds' "golden generation", who were the opposite.

I have seen some criticism of Jake Connor last night. I too have questioned his performance in big games before but I feel doing so last night is harsh. Connor masterfully set up and scored Leeds' second try, his kicking game was largely spot on (the successfully challenged 40/20 especially). He could have done little more.

Obviously, the decision to kick for goal in the final play was an error and unlikely ever to succeed. But to point to that as a reason for defeat would be folly too. If Leeds took the opposite approach and kicked for touch, the prospects of scoring a try to win the game were also minuscule.

So Leeds are out. Warrington are through. And if tonight's semi final between Wigan and Wakefield has as many talking points, there's nowhere else I would want to be at 5:30pm this evening!