I HAVE never played in a losing grand final team and that's a proud record I'm determined to hold on to this weekend when we go up against St Helens at Old Trafford.

Everyone keeps saying we are the underdogs but that won't mean anything to either us or Saints come six o'clock because this is a grand final and anything can happen.

I consider myself very fortunate to have played in two grand finals and won both. Some players go their whole career without getting there so I am lucky to have collected two winner's rings.

It's a great feeling when the hooter goes and you know you're a member of that season's best Super League team. Every sportsman wants to be the best he can be and that's what the grand final is all about.

I missed out on 2005 with an ankle injury and it was hard sitting back watching Leeds lose to Bradford.

I hope I never get to find out what it felt like to be out there while the opposition celebrate their win.

Beating St Helens last year in the way we did was great, but for me the most special win came in 2004.

I'd never been to a grand final before and the atmosphere was electric.

Your first one is always the most special. The manner in which we won in 2004 was something else, and not just because we were playing Bradford.

We had to stay focused for the full 80 minutes to beat a very good Bradford team 16-8. There were different factors last year; it was a totally different match. We ran away with it and it all looked pretty comfortable at the end, but the 33-6 scoreline didn't reflect the game.

St Helens are a better team than they were 12 months ago, but so are we and this is a chance for us to show how good we really are.

If you go on results throughout this year then St Helens have definitely been the form side. At the beginning of the year everybody would have said we were the team to beat because we started like champions.

We still have the title as champions but St Helens have shown over the last few years that they are the side everyone has to beat.

It's our goal – and it should be the goal of every club – to change that situation.

If you look at their team-sheet it's easy to see why they have had the success they've had: they are dangerous all over the park.

James Graham has stood tall this year, Leon Pryce has evolved into a superb attacking player and James Roby is deadly off the bench.

He's a massive handful, especially when you've been dealing with Keiron Cunningham for the first 20 minutes.

They have bags of experience but we're not exactly novices ourselves.

The team that defends the title tonight will have eight players who won the grand final four years ago and a handful of players who have already played in three Super League grand finals.

There haven't been any nerves this week because this isn't a team you associate nervousness with.

However, it is important that we do not become over-excited. All the boys are really fired up for this and we have to stay controlled and make sure we are focused in the right way.

I'm 32 now, but as good as I'm feeling I know I haven't many more grand finals left in me and you have to take these chances while you can. This could be my last one because there are no guarantees we'll make it next year.

It would be superb to win another one.

You work all year for this, there are only two major trophies for you to win and we've already missed out on the Challenge Cup.

This is a chance for us to finish off on a high because it's a long time until the start of next season.

We know we have to play to the best of our ability.

If we do then I have no doubts we will win, regardless of the fact that Saints have gone 23 matches without losing.

No team is unbeatable.

We are 80 minutes from glory and our fate is in our own hands. The engage Super League grand final is for us to win and us to lose.