‘No way have they left him out!?’ – Super League’s biggest omission?

We’re in international season at the moment and a lot of talk in rugby league circles becomes about player selection as England boss Shaun Wane tries to name the perfect team to topple Tonga. Of course many fans become obsessed about their team’s player getting the nod for their country, eager to see them do well on the international stage. But sometimes things don’t go exactly as we expect. The talk among supporters over recent days and weeks over Wane’s selections got us thinking, what is the biggest omission we have have seen on these shores?

Down the years in Super League we have seen some notable omissions from big matches. In 2004 then Leeds Rhinos head coach Tony Smith made the bold decision to leave out experienced Australian duo Andrew Dunemann and Matt Adamson. The pair had played key roles in the season up until that point, while Adamson lived and breathed the club and was even a Manchester United fan. Both were desperate to make their final appearance for Leeds at Old Trafford, with Dunemann the forgotten fourth member of Leeds’ sensational set of half-backs that year. He made an impressive 26 appearances for the Rhinos that season but, along with Adamson, was left out of Leeds’ semi-final success against Wigan the week before as Smith opted for youth. They might have expected to feature the following week as Smith never played the same team two weeks running, that was up until the Grand Final as he field the same 17 who would deliver Leeds’ first Championship in 32 years. Adamson has been open in recent times about that omission, admitting he considered taking his own life in the aftermath.

Another notable Leeds-related omission came in 2015, and this one was unthinkable. Not only is Kevin Sinfield a Leeds legend, he’s a Super League legend. The year 2015 was set to be his grand finale, however, having announced he’d be leaving the sport at the end of the season, he soon found his form declared not good enough by coach Brian McDermott. McDermott elected to field young Liam Sutcliffe in the halves whilst naming Leeds’ talismanic skipper on the bench. He even did so as Sinfield got ready to make his 500th Leeds appearance against Warrington. Sinfield was only brought on after 45 minutes by which time the game was all but gone at 20-4. He did eventually return though and led the Rhinos towards a historic treble in his final game of rugby league.

The year 2012 looked like it would belong to the Wigan Warriors, who dominated the league season. It was a year that saw the Warriors dominate, particularly looking unstoppable in attack with Sam Tomkins pretty much unplayable for the most part. Now you might call me a cheat for this one and calling this an ‘omission’, especially seen as though Tomkins was injured when Wigan welcomed Leeds to the DW Stadium in the Super League semi-final, but it’s in due to how things played out after that. Many feel head coach Shaun Wane could have risked Tomkins that day, with reports it was a minor injury and the fullback ‘expected’ to play in the Grand Final the week after should Wigan beat Leeds as expected. So, Tomkins wasn’t risked and it was a decision that backfired. Wigan had dominated Leeds that season, including beating a resounding win at Headingley just weeks earlier, so maybe Wane was overconfident? He didn’t listen though and Wigan would suffer in the same way 2011 table-toppers Warrington Wolves did the season before in losing to the fifth-place Rhinos. The Warriors led 12-11 going into the final minutes before a towering Sinfield bomb was spilled by young full-back Jack Murphy (Tomkins replacement) leading to a Leeds penalty. Sinfield nailed the two-pointer taking Leeds to the Grand Final, but it could and maybe should been a different story had Wane risked Tomkins as many thought he would.

A year earlier in 2011 we saw another huge omission. Leon Pryce was left out of St Helens semi-final victory over Wigan Warriors, with the key playmaker watching on at home as he battled illness. Pryce was expected to return to the Saints team in the Grand Final a week later, adding vital experience to a youthful St Helens side taking on Grand Final veterans Leeds. However, he wasn’t even included in the 19-man squad with Gary Wheeler selected ahead of him. It was a decision that stunned many and would cost Saints as they were beaten by the Rhinos again at Old Trafford in a game where they lost out to a more clinical team. Despite having just as many attacking opportunities as Leeds that night, Saints lacked a spark in attack, surely a spark that Pryce would have provided?

In 2017 we saw another huge name miss out on the biggest stage, this time though it was all his own doing. Castleford Tigers were all-conquering that season. The Tigers had cruised to the top of the table with 50 points and then beat St Helens in the semi-final, booking their place in the Grand Final for the very first time. They were overwhelming favourites to win the decider and that was largely down to the quality combination of Luke Gale and Zak Hardaker, both of whom had been nominated for the Man of Steel. However, a few weeks earlier it was discovered that Hardaker had taken an illegal substance before a match, with the announcement coming just days before the biggest game of the season. Though Super League didn’t demand that he be left out of the decider, Castleford made the bold decision to play prolific winger Greg Eden at full-back in place of Hardaker, who missed out on the opportunity to play against his former club at Old Trafford, an opportunity he could have only dreamed of when he made the permanent transfer across West Yorkshire the previous season. Playing Eden at full-back didn’t work on the day as Danny McGuire kicked Leeds to the trophy in his final game for the Rhinos, leaving Castleford fans left wondering what might have been had Hardaker played that day.