St Helens and Leeds Rhinos go head-to-head in the Super League Grand Final on Saturday, with Saints aiming to end a run of four straight losses at Old Trafford.
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These two sides are no strangers to the final, having played each other three times in the last four years, with the Yorkshire club coming out on top on all three occasions.
But Saints can finally end their Grand Final disappointment this weekend with their first victory since 2006, and should be backed at 8/13 to beat Leeds in 80 minutes.
Both sides were outsiders to reach Old Trafford, as Warrington and Wigan were the clubs that had the most success throughout the regular season.
However, Royce Simmons’ men did get the better of their rivals twice in the play-offs, with the important win coming in the semi-finals to secure their spot for a fifth consecutive final.
Saints struggled in the first half of the campaign due to a catalogue of injuries, but now have most of their top stars available for selection in the biggest game of the season.
Seven of Simmons’ side have yet to feature in a Grand Final, and were not part of the disappointing defeat to Wigan at this stage last year. Youngsters Jamie Foster, Lee Gaskell and Jonny Lomax have all stepped up from the youth ranks to impress.
James Graham has been exceptional for Saints this season and can be backed at 20/1 to score the opening try of the game. It will be a fitting way for the Merseyside-born star to end his career at St Helens, before he heads to Australia next season to take part in the NRL for Canterbury Bulldogs.
Leeds finished the regular season fifth in the table and have already suffered defeat twice to Saints this season.
Many critics doubted if the Rhinos would make the play-offs this time around, after an even slower start to their campaign but they have confounded the critics to get this far.
They were without Jamie Peacock and Danny McGuire for the early stages, but once all their experienced stars returned to action, there was a visible improvement.
Although most of their players have been there and done it, they will lack the youth of the St Helens side, and they may just find their opponents want it a bit more.
Leeds have already suffered major disappointment once this season, losing 28-18 in the final of the Challenge Cup to Wigan at Wembley.
If both play to their best level, you can expect St Helens to come out on top. It is unlikely to be a high scoring game, though, and neither side are likely to run away with large victory.
So it should be a fascinating contest in Manchester, and both sets of supporters will travel to the ground with high expectations but Saints, who have not had much luck in the last four finals, should just edge it.
