Delight for McDermott after Leeds Rhinos produce perfect ending to their comeback tale

They produced a ruthless display to defeat League Leaders’ Shield winners and favourites Castleford Tigers 24-6 at Old Trafford on Saturday night.

It ended an eight-game losing run against their West Yorkshire derby rivals, who finished 10 points clear of second-placed Leeds and vanquished Rhinos 66-10 in March. McDermott said Rhinos’ triumph from fifth place in 2011 was his best Grand Final win but this year is “the best story”.

Leeds, of course, finished ninth last term so, in that sense, it is some turnaround.

That said, McDermott often gave contributory reasons for that low finish and subsequent relegation fight as the loss of their training base to flooding and a crippling injury list.

With both of those issues remedied in 2017, Leeds should really have been challenging – they had won two of their opening three games before that loss to Castleford – and, in that sense, maybe it is not such an unlikely tale.

Nevertheless, the manner in which they delivered in such commanding style at the Grand Final is unquestioned; they mercilessly set about picking apart Castleford, who had such high hopes of winning a first league title in their 91-year history.

McDermott said: “This is not the coach’s win or the players, this win is for the club.

“When we got pumped by Cas I remember spending all the weekend on the phone to (chief executive) Gary Hetherington.

“They are not easy conversations to have – questions have been asked – but the answer always was to hold your nerve.

“The level of support (at the club) has been strong this year – everybody’s been saying we’ll come through, we’re good.

“To win it, it’s crazy – and not just to win it by a wafer-thin margin, we were pretty dominant.

“When a group of people go through so many emotions like we have over the last 18 months, you just become a very, very strong group.

“Castleford have been more skilful than us this year and put on better shows, but I would question anybody who says they’ve had more commitment than us.”

McDermott became the first coach to win four Super League Grand Finals and it was the perfect send-off for legends Danny McGuire and the retiring Rob Burrow. Captain McGuire scored twice – he has eight Grand Final tries for Leeds from as many wins – to claim the Harry Sunderland Trophy in his last match for the club he has served since 2001 before joining Hull KR.

“You want the fairytale ending, you want to win and play really well, but you realise there’s a lot of hard work to go through before that,” said the veteran half-back, who also added two drop-goals.

“The commitment to the cause and the work ethic was unbelievable. My job is to steer the team around and it’s easy when you’ve a bunch of players willing to run through brick walls for you.

“I am really pleased with the win, but no regrets about leaving. I have made my decision and you have to stick by it. I was really determined to make sure my Leeds career ended on a really positive note. We’ve won a Grand Final so it couldn’t get any better. It’s sad, but I think it’s the right thing for me and the club.”

He gave a hint at who may replace him as captain, too, when referencing Stevie Ward, the 23-year-old who played all 80 minutes just a week after surgery on a dislocated shoulder.

McGuire added: “I thought Jack Walker showed a lot of maturity for an 18-year-old, and the big thing is how you get him and Ashton Golding in the team.

“Stevie’s going to lead the team, Brad Singleton was brilliant again, Ryan Hall puts his hand up every week. A few of us will move on but we’ll be there in spirit, and what we’ve passed on to the younger players, they’ll carry that on, too.”

Castleford coach Daryl Powell conceded: “It is hugely disappointing. We made 18 errors, 10 in the second half. I didn’t think we could get any worse with ball retention, but we managed to achieve that in the second.

“I am disappointed we didn’t do ourselves justice. Leeds massively deserved the win. We were nowhere near and that’s the most disappointing thing.”

Tigers were without Zak Hardaker who was dropped for breaching club rules. Asked if the England star has a future at the club, Powell said: “I can’t really comment. I think it will come out in due course. It is nothing to do with me, that.”