LEEDS clinched an unprecedented treble of consecutive Grand Final wins, shading a bruising encounter against their arch rivals at Old Trafford courtesy of a controversial late try from centre Lee Smith.
The Rhinos, who had trailed 8-0 inside the ope
ning half hour, were leading 11-10 when Smith pounced for his second score of the game, racing on to a stabbed kick from England stand off Danny McGuire on the right flank eight minutes from time.
Referee Steve Ganson sent the decision upstairs and video official Phil Bentham eventually gave the green light after viewing a succession of replays which, if anything, suggested that Smith was definitely in front of McGuire when the ball left his boot.
Captain Kevin Sinfield, who took the Harry Sunderland Trophy after directing the Yorkshiremen with real assurance all evening, stepped up to kick the conversion and that, effectively, was that at 17-10.
The St Helens sides of the recent past might have been capable of closing such a relatively slender gap in the closing minutes.
This year's class aren't, especially against a Leeds team who spent most of the second period throwing up a stonewall defence that Mick Potter's side rarely looked like breaching.
Although Sean Long, playing his last game for the club after 12 glorious years at Knowsley Road pushed his team around the field efficiently, only his heir apparent at scrum half, young Kyle Eastmond, looked capable of piercing the Leeds rearguard from left centre.
After a build up crammed full of genuine animosity, the result of that ill-tempered semi final meeting at Headingley and the hangover from last autumn's disastrous World Cup, Saints were surprisingly magnanimous in defeat.
Long described Bentham's decision as "massive", but nevertheless said the Rhinos deserved to win.
Potter, on the other hand, adopted the Wenger-esque defence of not even having watched the replays.
Nevertheless, this year's annual reverse against the Rhinos must have been particularly galling after making such a strong start.
Saints had the better of some predictably fierce opening exchanges and took the lead on 13 minutes when Eastmond, the cousin of Halifax full back Miles Greenwood, darted clear down the left after a Jon Wilkin kick through took a fortuitous ricochet and added the conversion for a 6-0 lead.
A foul by Keith Senior on Matt Gidley allowed Eastmond to stretch that advantage to 8-0 as the half hour approached, but when Leeds did finally gain a foothold in Saints territory, they made it pay, hooker Matt Diskin burrowing through a clutch of defenders to touchdown.
Sinfield missed the conversion, but when Smith pounced for his first score to level things at half time, Francis Meli badly misjudging McGuire's kick through, you got the distinct impression that it was Saints who had missed the opportunity.
Sinfield's drop goal within a minute of the second half restart put Leeds back in front at 9-8, setting the scene for a tight, tense closing act that was big on intensity and physicality but distinctly short on real attacking inspiration.
Saints regained the lead when Long was - bizarrely - taken high by the tiny Rob Burrow, before Keiron Cunningham's ball steal on Kylie Leuluai saw Sinfield restore the Rhinos advantage on 64 minutes.
Eastmond went close in the left corner soon after, but then came Smith's controversial second.
After that, there was only going to be one winner, a fact confirmed by Burrow's last-gasp drop goal.
