St Helens 24 Leeds Rhinos 12: Grand Final heartache but only the start for Rohan Smith's side

The Rhinos have closed the gap in the space of five memorable months under Rohan Smith but they now know just how far is still left to travel.

Saints, who continued their dominance of Super League by claiming the League Leaders' Shield, were the better team from the moment Matty Lees scored the opening try with barely two minutes on the clock.

Leeds claimed some remarkable wins on their way from 11th to Old Trafford but they were unable to conjure another miracle in the season decider.

The night belonged to St Helens as they gave departing head coach Kristian Woolf a glorious send-off and gained revenge for four Grand Final defeats by Leeds between 2007 and 2011.

While it is the end of an era at the Totally Wicked Stadium, the Rhinos are only just getting started.

Leeds have made huge strides and will be a force to be reckoned with in 2023 once Smith has time to catch breath and fully put his stamp on the team.

To be the best next season, the Rhinos boss must find a way to break Saints' spell over the Headingley club.

St Helens have now won the last 12 meetings between the sides, a streak that stretches back to March 2018.

Although Leeds traded punches in a competitive Grand Final, it had the feel of a first versus fifth clash from the early stages.

Near faultless in the semi-final win over Wigan Warriors, the Rhinos' defence was breached while some fans were still making their way to their seats.

A high shot by former St Helens forward James Bentley left Leeds on the back foot and they were carved open all too easily by Jonny Lomax, the first act of a man of the match display.

The Saints half-back dummied his way into a gap left by Mikolaj Oledzki and gave Lees a clear run to the line.

St Helens went about suffocating the Rhinos with their incessant line speed – led by Morgan Knowles after his two-match ban was controversially overturned – but Smith's side did their utmost to put some doubt in their minds.

With Saints packing the middle, Blake Austin kicked early and found Tom Briscoe in space only for referee Liam Moore to blow for offside.

Austin got Leeds on the front foot with a superb 40/20 but a mistake quickly followed, a theme of the opening half an hour.

St Helens were making ground with ease and had a second try to celebrate 18 minutes in when Jon Bennison touched down Jack Welsby's neat kick into the in-goal area.

Tommy Makinson knocked over the extras to make it 12-0, which already had the look of an insurmountable lead.

The Rhinos were sloppy on both sides of the ball, piggybacking Saints up the field through penalties and turning the ball over too cheaply when they had the chance to turn the screw.

Smith's Leeds are nothing if not resilient and they clawed their way back into the game after Makinson missed a penalty from out wide, thanks in no small part to the introduction of captain Kruise Leeming off the bench.

The hooker injected pace and energy into the Rhinos and scored a timely try 28 seconds before the half-time hooter.

Zak Hardaker's break left Saints scrambling and they failed to recover, Leeming twisting his way over after Rhyse Martin, Ash Handley – who passed a fitness test – and Cameron Smith combined to get Leeds out of a tight spot.

Martin broke the Super League record with a 37th consecutive goal kick and Leeds went into the break the happier side.

But there was a sense St Helens had another couple of gears in them and so it proved.

As good as Saints were, the Rhinos continued to give them a leg-up.

In a repeat of the first half, Leeds gave away a penalty for a high shot and were punished, Austin the culprit on this occasion.

Konrad Hurrell – released by the Rhinos at the end of last season – took advantage of generous defending from his former team-mates to touch down in heavy traffic.

It was a killer blow that Leeds were never likely to recover from.

The Rhinos threw plenty at Saints and had joy opening up Super League's best defence on the edges.

But St Helens were too good, too clinical when half a chance presented itself, as evidenced by Mark Percival's try from another smart kick from the boot of Welsby.

Leeds never threw in the towel and Martin had a moment to savour when he exchanged passes with the departing Briscoe to touch down.

But the night and the season belonged to the all-conquering Saints.

St Helens: Bennison, Makinson, Hurrell, Percival, Hopoate, Welsby, Lomax, Paasi, Roby, Lees, Sironen, Batchelor, Knowles.

Substitutes: Mata'utia, Lussick, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Wingfield.

Leeds Rhinos: Myler, Briscoe, Hardaker, Sutcliffe, Handley, Austin, Smith, Oledzki, O'Connor, Prior, Bentley, Martin, Tetevano.

Substitutes: Thompson, Walters, Leeming, Donaldson.

Referee: Liam Moore.