Leeds Rhinos v St Helens: Departure of Rhinos legends is finally sinking in

BRIAN McDERMOTT readily admits he has not wanted to even think about this moment.
FINAL BOW: Challenge Cup winners Jamie Peacock, Kevin Sinfield and Kylie Leuluai play their last game at Headingley tonight. Picture: steve ridingFINAL BOW: Challenge Cup winners Jamie Peacock, Kevin Sinfield and Kylie Leuluai play their last game at Headingley tonight. Picture: steve riding
FINAL BOW: Challenge Cup winners Jamie Peacock, Kevin Sinfield and Kylie Leuluai play their last game at Headingley tonight. Picture: steve riding

Not the Super League semi-final against St Helens, of course, as that is the sort of challenge the Leeds Rhinos head coach lives and breathes for.

But the fact tonight’s game is when Headingley finally has to say farewell to not just Kevin Sinfield and Jamie Peacock but a certain Kylie Leuluai, too.

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They are such cornerstones of the whole place you imagine the old lady might just topple over come the end of play this evening.

FINAL BOW: Challenge Cup winners Jamie Peacock, Kevin Sinfield and Kylie Leuluai play their last game at Headingley tonight. Picture: steve ridingFINAL BOW: Challenge Cup winners Jamie Peacock, Kevin Sinfield and Kylie Leuluai play their last game at Headingley tonight. Picture: steve riding
FINAL BOW: Challenge Cup winners Jamie Peacock, Kevin Sinfield and Kylie Leuluai play their last game at Headingley tonight. Picture: steve riding

Granted, Leeds have known for a long time that this illustrious trio of players – 1,062 appearances in the famed blue and amber between them – would be departing come the season’s end.

Nevertheless, it is not something McDermott, for one, has been willing to take on board, at least until now.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, he said: “There comes a point in time where you have to admit and realise that these guys are retiring, they are going and we have to recognise that.

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“It starts to become part of your prep’, too. Up until a certain point you dismiss it and it’s been the right thing to do as you’ve to focus on what’s going to get you into the position we are in now.

“We are in a great position. We’re 80 minutes away from the Grand Final and you start to look at the big picture and think ‘What are we about this year?’

“We have the chance of doing something really special – the treble. We have two of those trophies already and to be in the position to go get the treble that in itself is such a carrot in front of us, waiting for us.

“But everyone wants to get to a Grand Final anyway as it’s such a brilliant place to be whether playing, coaching or just watching.

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“But then what we’ve got at the moment is Super League’s most successful overseas signing in Kylie Leuluai, Leeds Rhinos most successful captain and arguably one of the best players that’s played our game in Kevin Sinfield and probably one of the best players rugby league has ever seen in Jamie Peacock.

“I base that judgement on Peacock not just in the last four or five years but since he played in 1999 and consistently, year in year out, has kept getting recognised as one of the best performers – this week was his 11th Dream Team involvement.

“What we’re doing is saying ‘ta-ra’ to just three absolute legends of people as well. It is at this point of the season where you start thinking about some of that.”

Leeds, memorably, ended their three-game losing run since their Wembley success by winning in the very last second at Huddersfield last Friday, snatching the League Leaders’ Shield and this home tie in the process.

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McDermott admitted the dramatic victory has lifted his players no end for what they hope will be a first return to Old Trafford since their last title win in 2012.

He revealed the club had been training with as few as seven players at times in recent weeks, which had partly led to that drop in form, and said: “I know there’s a few schools of thought about this that you should just make them train.

“But we’re talking about a very tough, experienced group of men who don’t need to show how tough they are in training, they just need to do so on game day.

“That’s been the quandary; if you don’t train during the week you start to lose some of your edge and sharpness but, at the same time, if you force them to train they won’t be able to play.

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“It’s been a juggling act most weeks and you lose some cohesion but we’re at a stage now where, hopefully, we’ve only have a couple of games left. We always knew we weren’t far off.”

Defending champions St Helens, meanwhile, arrived at Headingley to inflict the first of those three post-Wembley defeats so Leeds are only too aware of their threat. McDermott admitted: “They are a team of winners; the club has got that in their bones.

“Showing up in big games is in their bones. When you’ve (Jon) Wilkin and (James) Roby in your team and (Alex) Walmsley, they are a special group that can turn up on a game day and come up with a performance from nowhere. We have to be spot on.”