In the end it finished like a Hollywood movie.
Phil answers your emails...
Got a question for Phil? Email him at skysportsclub@bskyb.com or use the feedback form below...
Final flaws?
Phil, Impressive as Leeds were in the Grand Final, I do think that their win is bad for the sport and for the format of the Play-Offs. Having the Super League champions as a team who have been average for more than half of the season is not good for the sport! What Leeds have proved is that being able to win the big games when the Play-Offs come means that the rest of the season is not that important. The Play-Off system is supposed to reward sides for their success during the season, maybe the format needs looking at in light of Leeds' wins. Finishing fifth means that you start your Play-Off campaign at home and then you can take some momentum in to the next week where you meet a side that has been beaten the week before. Steve Chatwin
PHIL REPLIES: Interesting point of view. If you accept the idea of a Play-Off system then you should be happy that a team from fifth has won it. If the team from first or second won it every year then there would be no point in trying to drag fans to Play-Off games. If you feel as though there should be a greater advantage in finishing first or second then let me hear it.
We all know that the rest of the season is not that important, where have you been for the last 12 months? It's September when success is determined. I am sure that every coach and player know the rules and competition format in January. It's not cheating to win it from fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth. It's just much harder.
The Play-Off format has been agreed with the clubs for the next four years, and it is to have eight teams in it as far as I am aware. You and I may not agree with that, for example, eight seems too many to me, but you wouldn't drop it to less than five, even if you did reduce it slightly.
If you don't accept the Play-Off system, then Wigan were the champions in your eyes. If you do then it was Leeds. Better luck next year.
Sporting chance
It is a disaster for league to see Leeds do it again. If we are going to stick with this Play-Off rubbish then it needs to go back to the old system. Leeds are champions again after winning only 16 of the 27 league games and losing five more games than the top two teams. Once again our game is a laughing stock to other sports. Lee Davis
PHIL REPLIES: Is that really the view of other sports? It is clearly how you feel, but perhaps not the other 70,000 people who paid to watch Warrington play Leeds last Saturday. I agree that Leeds haven't played consistently well in Super League games this season. (They've actually conceded more points this year than they have for the last 10 years). But again, that is how the champions are determined in this competition.
I believe that the Grand Final has been credited as a wonderful spectacle, in an entertaining sport by many journalists / media outlets since Saturday. We would never have been able to get 70,000 people to watch a team crowned champions in a first-past-the-post system (i.e. top of the table at the end of the regular season like they do in the Premier League). Does that not help a sport like rugby league?
Sinfield of dreams
What do you think of Kevin Sinfield? For me, his unassuming, post-match comments, deflecting praise to others, remind us, in these days of over-paid, over-hyped, over-egoed "superstars", what the term "sportsman" really means! Michael Flannery
PHIL REPLIES: I'm not really a fan of knighthoods for people from sport, but you could make him Sir Kevin for me. He seems to maximise his potential which is all that anyone can ever do.
His goal kicking in the Play-Offs is absolutely remarkable and I hope that he and his team-mates can enjoy the next few weeks together. Well done.
