Watch highlights as Warrington Wolves earn a thrilling narrow Super League semi-final win over Leeds Rhinos to reach their first Grand Final for eight years.
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MATCH REPORT: Warrington edge past Leeds to reach Grand Final
Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur said:
“I’ve not whinged or complained the whole time I’ve been here. I’m extremely proud of our team and our club and players.
“I don’t know what more we could have really done. We got a couple of bits and pieces wrong but so did they. It just would have been really nice if the game was decided by an individual or a piece of skill.
“We’re talking about a field goal or something like that rather than a soft penalty to decide such a big game. It is a soft penalty.
“Ned got escorted four or five times tonight on kicks and I wasn’t expecting penalties for them. But that’s a soft penalty to decide such a big game.”
Warrington Wolves captain George Williams told BBC Radio Merseyside:
“Nerve-wracking, mad game, just pleased we’ve came through the other side.
“Credit to Leeds, they gave it a good crack. They’ve been a great team all year but we rode the waves and the main thing is we’re through to the big dance next week.
“They were probably dominant for the first 20 [minutes], we came home strong in the back end [of the first half]. It’s no good for the nerves but sometimes it’s better when you’re out there, you can do something about it.”
[On earning the match-winning penalty] “People think it might be a bit controversial but I was chasing the ball and I got a little nudge. I was off balance and nowadays, with the escorts, they give them. Luckily, it went to us and that was the game.”
Leeds: F. McCormack; Lumb, N. McCormack, Newman, Hall; Croft, Connor; Oledzki, O’Connor, Lodge, Watkins, McDonnell, Palasia.
Interchanges: Holroyd, Jenkins, Smith, Cassell.
Warrington: Josh Thewlis; Hopoate, Lindop, King, Ashton; Williams, Irwin; Byrne, Walker, Harrison, Bentley, Stone, Currie.
Interchanges: Yates, Powell, Philbin, Tanginoa.
Referee: Chris Kendall.
Leeds come into the fixture following two losses against Wigan and Hull FC at home.
Looking further back, they closed out their regular campaign with three defeats in five matches.
Asked what it would take to reach the Grand Final, Leeds boss Brad Arthur said he is not worried about his side’s inconsistent run of form.
“[We have to be] the best version of us. We’ve seen that plenty of times this year and we’ve played a lot of good footy,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
“Our past couple of weeks haven’t been ideal but it doesn’t really count for much right now. It doesn’t mean anything. All those past two games showed was a couple of things that we need to tidy up which we’ve done during the week around execution.
“But like the first 27 rounds, all that’s done is put us in a position where we’re 80 minutes away from Old Trafford so that’s all we got to focus on.”
Leeds last reached a Grand Final in 2022, however that achievement came off the back of Richard Agar’s departure in March of that season, when Leeds had won just once in their opening six games of the campaign.
In stepped Rohan Smith, who eventually strung together 11 wins from 13 matches to take them to Old Trafford where they were defeated by St Helens – however it was an even more impressive achievement given their fifth-placed finish at the end of the season.
This year, Arthur thinks his side are prepared for the rigours of a post-season campaign.
“We’re ready to go. We’re nice and fresh and the best version of us, we know, is good enough,” he added.
“We’ve got to find that and we’ve got to do it for 80 minutes.”
For the Premier League’s biggest clubs, this competition is usually an opportunity to blood youngsters and give fringe players valuable minutes.
However, only 35-year-old Danny Welbeck, who scored twice, emerged from the starters with a compelling case for more regular involvement.
Even Valentin Barco, despite scoring Chelsea‘s fifth goal, was partly at fault for Leeds‘ second and was among several players who repeatedly surrendered possession during a difficult first half.
Young attackers Estevao Willian and Jamie Gittens suffered the disappointment of being substituted at half-time, while £40m signing Geovany Quenda, who joined from Sporting, did not add to his solitary substitute appearance for the club as he watched from the bench.
Midfielder Reggie Watson, making his debut at the age of 16, was also withdrawn at the break after being booked.
Alonso later said he would not take a “cynical” view as some on the outside might about the difference in level between his proven stars and Chelsea‘s back-up options.
He added: “I know that probably I have to take the right decisions for them to show their best level, so it’s something that I will analyse and learn from today.”
Nevertheless, reaching the fourth round is important for Chelsea.
It is not only about preserving their hopes of silverware in a season without European football, but Chelsea are also a club that need as many competitive fixtures as possible.
They have a 27-man squad, supported by a strong academy pipeline, and these matches are vital for keeping a large group of players engaged throughout the campaign.
There is an irony, then, that Palmer, Rogers and Chelsea‘s other established stars may have secured future opportunities for the very fringe players whose performances had put the club’s EFL Cup campaign at risk.