By Phil Harlow
BBC Sport at Old Trafford |
The victory marked Leeds' first domestic title since 1972 and allowed them to finally cast off their tag as the game's biggest underachievers.
But statistics aside, what really marked out the day as something special was the incredible atmosphere surrounding the whole occasion.
As a string of packed trains pulled into Manchester Piccadilly station, the city centre was alive with noise and colour as the Leeds and Bradford supporters set about making their personal preferences clear.
For once, football was not quite the centre of attention in Manchester as the thousands of fans dwarfed several contingents of Chelsea supporters drinking in the pubs ahead of the Premiership clash with Manchester City.
A sunny afternoon had led to hopes that the match would be played out in dry conditions, but normal service was soon resumed as rain began to fall on the walk to the stadium.
But nothing could dampen the spirits of the thousands of Leeds and Bradford supporters.
Mingling freely, they engaged in plenty of light-hearted banter and singing, much of it centring around the relative merits of the two teams' try-scoring machines, Danny McGuire and Lesley Vainikolo.
 |  An absorbing contest in which the intensity and noise never dropped |
And the decision of former Leeds hero Iestyn Harris to defect to Bradford on his return from rugby union did not pass without comment either. With the ever-resourceful stall traders doing a roaring trade in merchandise, the atmosphere outside the ground gave a good indication of what could be expected from the sell-out crowd.
It briefly looked as if the RFL had pulled off a remarkable coup by convincing Robbie Williams to run through some of his greatest hits in the pre-match entertainment. It turned out to be a Robbie impersonator with a good line in rugby league banter.
The empty seats were disappearing quickly and the decibel level in the stadium - helped by constant drumming and brass playing from some Rhinos fans - was increasing by the second as the tension mounted.
The real trump card, though, was the appearance of ex-M People vocalist Heather Small, and her rousing rendition of 'Search for a Hero' provided an appropriate introduction to the main event.
Then, with typical rugby league efficiency, the players came out, lined up and kicked off on the stroke of 1800 BST as planned.
No tedious shaking of hands to suit administrators for these sportsmen. Just straight into an absorbing contest in which the intensity and noise never dropped.
As Bulls coach Brian Noble said afterwards, the game was not the greatest spectacle of rugby league the sport has ever seen, but no-one would have guessed from the sheer volume inside the stadium. One questionable tackle from Leeds legend Barrie McDermott that left Bradford hardman Stuart Fielden in a heap prompted a mass intake of breath before enthusiastic chants of 'Barrie' broke out from the Rhinos fans massed in the East Stand.
Every half break or bone-shuddering tackle was greeted with a ear-splitting reaction from both sets of supporters, not to mention the sizeable number of neutrals.
Bradford's Vainikolo and Shontayne Hape and Leeds' Matt Diskin all crossed for tries, while Kevin Sinfield's place kicking kept the Rhinos' noses in front.
Hape's score early in the second half brought the score to 10-8. But then the crowd had to endure a horribly tense 30 minutes of scoreless action as both teams went desperately close.
Both sets of supporters harangued the referee for perceived misjudgements, and held their heads in their hands as a succession of try-scoring chances were spurned.
But, when Danny McGuire scooted over to clinch the match for Leeds, the collective outburst of sheer joy and relief from the Rhinos fans took the breath away. And left the ears ringing too.
Truly a day to remember.
MMIX
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