MCMANUS: SAINTS ARE THE BEST EVER
Saint Helens chairman Eamonn McManus has said that whatever the outcome in Saturday's Grand Final against Leeds Rhinos, his team will go down as the greatest in rugby league history.
Saints are still on for a back-to-back triple, having already won the Challenge Cup in a 30-8 victory against Les Catalan Dragons at Wembley in late August.
For Tony Smith, who has taken the Rhinos to three of the last four Grand Finals, this showdown will be his last hurrah before he becomes full-time Great Britain coach.
Ironically the Saints' coach Daniel Anderson and Smith were both assistant coaches together at Parramatta Eels in 2000.
Anderson said: "Tony is a very good friend of mine and it's enjoyable for our old friends at Parramatta that we have come head-to-head with each other."
Director of rugby at Leeds, Gary Hetherington, heaped praise on the departing coach. "To win in this final would be no more than Tony deserves," he said.
"He has had a really good four years with us - we have never been out of the top three - and Tony leaves us in very good shape.
"With all the work and dedication he has put into the club, to win the Grand Final would be the icing on the cake. I know all the squad want to win it for him as well."
The Rhinos and Saints have beaten each other this season, and judging by the last game they played - a 10-8 thriller edged by St Helens in the play-offs - it will be a tight one to call.
"It is really nip-and-tuck - there really isn't much between us," considered Anderson. "People can analyse it as much as they want, but in the end there is very little to separate us."
His chairman, McManus, believes that the battle will be won up front. "I think pairs of half-backs - Sean Long and Leon Price at St Helens and Rob Burrow and Danny McGuire at Leeds - and the face-off they will provide is intriguing, and will be highly influential on the outcome of the game."
Either way, McManus argued his men will still be regarded the better team: "We will go down as one of the greatest teams in the history of the game, certainly the best of this generation.
"Regardless of what happens on Saturday I think facts speak for themselves.
"We got the treble last year and so far this year we have beaten Brisbane Broncos. By beating them we beat probably the strongest team, in the strongest sport, in the strongest sporting nation in the world. It's as simple as that.
"We have followed it up with winning the Super League and the Challenge Cup.
"What people forget is that we have been at a huge disadvantage to other teams in that last season went on much longer for us than anyone else, because we got to the Grand Final.
"Then 12 of our team were away for six weeks in Australia for the Tri-Nations. We didn't actually have a close season in which to prepare for this year. So to back it up with the results of this year based on a long season previously and no close season is remarkable."
McManus' opposite man, Leeds Rhinos chairman Gary Hetherington, agreed that such a lofty statement was not far from the mark.
"The Saints have had a remarkable run, particularly in the last two years," Hetherington conceded.
"To get so far in so many competitions as they have has been a remarkable effort. Given rugby league's competitive nature and the salary caps, it is enviable if any team wins a competition.
"But to win as many trophies as they have is a remarkable achievement. We are full of respect for the achievements of the St Helens team."
Saint Helens chairman Eamonn McManus has said that whatever the outcome in Saturday's Grand Final against Leeds Rhinos, his team will go down as the greatest in rugby league history.
Saints are still on for a back-to-back triple, having already won the Challenge Cup in a 30-8 victory against Les Catalan Dragons at Wembley in late August.
For Tony Smith, who has taken the Rhinos to three of the last four Grand Finals, this showdown will be his last hurrah before he becomes full-time Great Britain coach.
Ironically the Saints' coach Daniel Anderson and Smith were both assistant coaches together at Parramatta Eels in 2000.
Anderson said: "Tony is a very good friend of mine and it's enjoyable for our old friends at Parramatta that we have come head-to-head with each other."
Director of rugby at Leeds, Gary Hetherington, heaped praise on the departing coach. "To win in this final would be no more than Tony deserves," he said.
"He has had a really good four years with us - we have never been out of the top three - and Tony leaves us in very good shape.
"With all the work and dedication he has put into the club, to win the Grand Final would be the icing on the cake. I know all the squad want to win it for him as well."
The Rhinos and Saints have beaten each other this season, and judging by the last game they played - a 10-8 thriller edged by St Helens in the play-offs - it will be a tight one to call.
"It is really nip-and-tuck - there really isn't much between us," considered Anderson. "People can analyse it as much as they want, but in the end there is very little to separate us."
His chairman, McManus, believes that the battle will be won up front. "I think pairs of half-backs - Sean Long and Leon Price at St Helens and Rob Burrow and Danny McGuire at Leeds - and the face-off they will provide is intriguing, and will be highly influential on the outcome of the game."
Either way, McManus argued his men will still be regarded the better team: "We will go down as one of the greatest teams in the history of the game, certainly the best of this generation.
"Regardless of what happens on Saturday I think facts speak for themselves.
"We got the treble last year and so far this year we have beaten Brisbane Broncos. By beating them we beat probably the strongest team, in the strongest sport, in the strongest sporting nation in the world. It's as simple as that.
"We have followed it up with winning the Super League and the Challenge Cup.
"What people forget is that we have been at a huge disadvantage to other teams in that last season went on much longer for us than anyone else, because we got to the Grand Final.
"Then 12 of our team were away for six weeks in Australia for the Tri-Nations. We didn't actually have a close season in which to prepare for this year. So to back it up with the results of this year based on a long season previously and no close season is remarkable."
McManus' opposite man, Leeds Rhinos chairman Gary Hetherington, agreed that such a lofty statement was not far from the mark.
"The Saints have had a remarkable run, particularly in the last two years," Hetherington conceded.
"To get so far in so many competitions as they have has been a remarkable effort. Given rugby league's competitive nature and the salary caps, it is enviable if any team wins a competition.
"But to win as many trophies as they have is a remarkable achievement. We are full of respect for the achievements of the St Helens team."
Labels: Eamonn McManus, Gary Hetherington, Grand Final, Leeds Rhinos, Rugby league, St Helens
