By St Helens forward Jon Wilkin

Leeds players celebrate their third straight Grand Final win over Saints

I'd like to congratulate Leeds on making history by winning their third straight Grand Final.

They have been the best team on the night for the last three years. I hope they celebrate in a manner that their achievement deserves.

To be honest, I thought that we dominated in terms of the running and tackling side of the game. Our forwards certainly had the better of their opponents.

What Leeds did have was a very, very astute kicking game that really boosted the yardage they made on their sets.

Players like Kevin Sinfield - one of the most dedicated professionals I have ever met - and Rob Burrow turned us around constantly, a tactic they've employed successfully for the last three years now. It makes it very hard to bring the ball back with the required energy.

Leeds had some relatively poor sets during the game but finished with massive kicks. I think this was perhaps the key area in the game. We also made a few errors that they capitalised on very well.

The decisive score turned out to be Lee Smith's second try, which was awarded by the video referee.

Some think he was offside when Danny McGuire kicked through, but I don't think there was any controversy about the decision. Leeds won fair and square. When it is a close call, the benefit of the doubt has to go to the attacking team.

Sean Long and Lee Gilmour are both genuine characters of the game - old school, if you like. They have come through a tough system that brought them up to be tough players.

One thing that does worry me, though, is the speed of the game nowadays.

In my oprinion, Super League is a lot slower than it used to be. This is because referees are dictating the speed around the ruck, which in turn affects the speed of the play-the-ball.

Defenders seem to be given more leeway when an attacking player is trying desperately to get to his feet, slowing the play down without being penalised.

I'm not sure this is a good or a bad thing. I suppose it brings Super League in line with the way the international game is refereed, but it is something that everyone at St Helens needs to work on.

Kyle Eastmond scored all our points in the final and showed just what a talent he is. Saints must do everything in their power to make sure he signs a new contract because he would be very difficult to replace. Players like him come along extremely rarely.

Eastmond scored all Saints' points as they lost 18-10 to Leeds

Talking of players who are difficult to replace, I must pay tribute to Sean Long and Lee Gilmour, who made their final appearances for the club at Old Trafford.

They are both genuine characters of the game - old school, if you like. They have come through a tough system that brought them up to be tough players.

Given that the current youth and scholarship systems seem to drain the character out of players these days, they might be the last of an era.

Finally, a question. I would like to know is why they water the field every year for the Grand Final? It strikes me as being an extremely bizarre thing to do.

We play for the first few months in the rain and the slush, then have several summer months where conditions are usually dry, promoting a high quality of attacking rugby.

We then come to Old Trafford, where the sprinklers are busy at work on the pitch, making the ball slippy. That in turn tightens the game up because people are less willing to throw it around.

It doesn't give either team an advantage, just makes it a touch dull. It really is a weird one.

Jon Wilkin was talking to BBC Sport's Paul Fletcher.

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