Meeting of bitter rivals is fitting way to end the season

THERE will be a welcome sense of relief sweep over Old Trafford when the season reaches its climax.

Not in the sense it has been so arduous and exerting that we are all ready for the end – far from it, given Super League has been one of the most fascinating yet.

Whether it be the thrilling renaissance of Wigan, Warrington's emergence as a side that can finally live up to its billing, watching Sam Tomkins and Rangi Chase find yet more new ways to bemuse confused opponents or the amusing sight of Nathan Brown cheering home Leroy Cudjoe like he had just backed a 100-1 winner, it has been a colourful campaign. Even the Crusaders surprised everyone bar Brian Noble.

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However, a lot of that lustre could have been lost, or at least dulled, if it had all rounded off with yet another Leeds Rhinos v St Helens Grand Final.

Undoubtedly, those giants of the game would have produced an absorbing 80 minutes if they had contested a fourth straight showpiece tomorrow but, and as galling as this is to write bearing in mind there will be no Yorkshire presence in Manchester, it is probably best for the sport as a whole that there is at least one new contestant in 2010.

Familiarity breeds contempt and – whether it be Huddersfield v Wigan, Saints v Wigan, or Huddersfield v Leeds – the Grand Final needed a refreshing new angle from which to enrapture the masses.

As it stands, the enthralling meeting of bitter rivals Wigan and Saints has brought fresh appetite for the biggest game of the season as it is the first time they have met at Old Trafford in an entire decade.

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Anyone watching the remarkable feats of Keiron Cunningham in recent weeks will seem certain he is destined to inspire Saints to victory in the last game of his outstanding

17-year career but Wigan, having secured the League Leaders Shield and with their own gamebreaker Sam Tomkins in devastating form, are confident of finally ending their long wait for success.

Leeds' three-year run as champions is over and they have rightfully highlighted that slow start to the campaign as their downfall.

Even when Brian McClennan's team recovered their winning form around the turning point of Easter there was a foreboding sense that they were far from the clinical machine which had swept past all before. They were failing to win in the style to which they were accustomed, their play not as crisp and fluent as in recent years yet, despite their stuttering form, if Jamie Peacock and Danny McGuire had not fallen injured in the last few weeks, they may well have been venturing out at the Theatre of Dreams again tomorrow.

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While not reaching the heights of last season in terms of their league placing – third – Huddersfield can point to improvement given the standard of their play-off performances, narrowly overcoming Crusaders but then delivering one of the displays of the season to triumph at Challenge Cup winners Warrington.

The continued development of younger players such as Cudjoe, Larne Patrick and Michael Lawrence has been a real plus as has the capture of Danny Brough who brought a much-needed new dimension to their kicking game. Winning at Warrington and Wigan were highlights and further proof Brown's side are maturing into contenders.

Like Huddersfield, Hull KR did not replicate their 2009 league finish, dropping three places to seventh, but recorded their first-ever play-off win in memorable style at the KC Stadium where Hull FC made significant improvements themselves, finishing sixth after two seasons down in 12th yet Richard Agar will walk away thinking it should have been so much more.

They held fourth spot for much of the season, a real feat given the absence of key signing Sean Long for long periods and Richard Horne, but were ousted on the penultimate weekend.

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Castleford coach Terry Matterson rightfully survived calls for his head after a poor early run to produce some excellent form in the face of much adversity, the most pleasing aspect being the successful promotion of so many Academy products - Jonathan Walker, Oliver Holmes and the exciting Joe Arundel.

Bradford's season nosedived in direct correlation with the loss of star signing Matt Orford.

The Bulls won just one of the 12 games after the ex-Manly scrum-half was ruled out injured and without an on-field leader their already threadbare and youthful squad lost momentum.

However, with Steve McNamara having departed for England, they could have a Grand Final winning coach take charge next month with Mick Potter arriving from St Helens. Rumours suggest former Bulls and England stand-off Leon Pryce could follow him which, with Orford's Super League future shrouded in doubt, would be the ideal signing to alleviate their playmaking problems.

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Losing Terry Newton to a drug ban just two games in, then seeing homesick Shane Tronc return to Australia before selling Brough to Huddersfield saw Wakefield destined to slip.

Glenn Morrison proved an astute capture and captain Jason Demetriou typically gave his all in his final Super League season but Trinity needed more like that pair and it is no surprise John Kear is making big changes ahead of 2011 which, with licences being awarded, could be a big year in the club's future.