Leeds Rhinos 18–14 Wigan Warriors — Elimination Final, 2008 Super League Finals Series
26 Sep 2008 · Headingley, Leeds · Attendance: 13,112
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Elimination Final, 2008 Super League finals series: Leeds Rhinos 18–14 Wigan Warriors, at Headingley, Leeds on 26 Sep 2008.
Sourcing caveat: Leeds' listed try-scorer (Lee Smith, credited with 2 tries) plus 3 goals total only 14 points, four short of the actual 18-point score — at least one further Leeds try-scorer is missing from the sources found; reported as found rather than guessed at. Both lineups fetched cleanly and cross-match exactly against these same clubs' other 2008 finals appearances (Leeds' Qualifying Semi-Final v St Helens; Wigan's Elimination Playoff and Elimination Semi-Final), with only genuine bench rotation — Leeds swapping Jordan Tansey for Ian Kirke, Wigan swapping Eamon O'Carroll for Liam Colbon — between weeks.
Scorers
| Leeds Rhinos | Tries: Smith (2) Goals: Sinfield (3/5 conversions) |
| Wigan Warriors | Tries: Hansen; Palea'aesina Goals: Richards (3/3 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Leeds Rhinos | Wigan Warriors | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brent Webb | Fullback | Richard Mathers | 1 |
| 5 | Lee Smith | Wing | Mark Calderwood | 2 |
| 19 | Carl Ablett | Centre | Cameron Phelps | 21 |
| 4 | Keith Senior | Centre | George Carmont | 4 |
| 2 | Scott Donald | Wing | Pat Richards | 5 |
| 6 | Danny McGuire | Five-Eighth | Trent Barrett | 6 |
| 7 | Rob Burrow | Halfback | Thomas Leuluai | 7 |
| 8 | Kylie Leuluai | Prop | Stuart Fielden | 8 |
| 9 | Matt Diskin | Hooker | Mick Higham | 9 |
| 10 | Jamie Peacock | Prop | Andy Coley | 15 |
| 11 | Jamie Jones-Buchanan | Second Row | Harrison Hansen | 16 |
| 12 | Gareth Ellis | Second Row | Phil Bailey | 12 |
| 13 | Kevin Sinfield | Lock | Joel Tomkins | 22 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Ali Lauiti'iti | Iafeta Palea'aesina | 10 | |
| 16 | Ryan Bailey | Gareth Hock | 11 | |
| 17 | Nick Scruton | Tim Smith | 32 | |
| 18 | Ian Kirke | Liam Colbon | 14 | |
| Brian McClennan | Coach | Brian Noble | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Steve Ganson |
Match report
Leeds Rhinos beat Wigan Warriors 18-14 at Headingley on 26 September 2008 in a Super League Elimination Final, a tight, low-scoring arm-wrestle level 6-2 at half-time. Leeds' home advantage as 2nd seed proved decisive, denying Wigan a Grand Final berth and setting up a Leeds-St Helens rematch of the Qualifying Semi-Final.