91Èȱ¬

I always expected Brian McDermott to become Leeds Rhinos head coach but .

Few would have been surprised at the end of next season if Brian McClennan walked away as Leeds coach to be replaced by his assistant McDermott.

Indeed that appeared to be the plan, with , and McDermott agreeing in August to to be his number two.

Yet this week's timing was sudden, and took me by surprise when we broke the news shortly after 11am on the Victoria Derbyshire show on 5live. Handed a piece of paper by my producer simply saying "McClennan's quit Leeds!", I was still somewhat unsure of its authenticity when I read the story out.

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Eighteen months ago, I sat down to write a feature and the club's commitment to bringing through British rugby league talent.

This week, the Yorkshire club were celebrating having more players in than anyone else. Half a dozen players from the Giants will fly out to Australia and New Zealand to compete against the co-hosts and Papua New Guinea. A couple of years ago, such a scenario would have appeared ludicrous.

told 91Èȱ¬ Radio 5 live this week that he found it "quite difficult" to settle on his final 24 - and he certainly caused a stir with the number of Huddersfield players he picked.

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Whisper it quietly in Yorkshire but is probably the Super League Grand Final most people wanted.

When I say "most", I obviously exclude fans of and , who were beaten by the Warriors and Saints in their respective play-off games last weekend.

Saturday's Old Trafford contest is certainly one for the romantics. Wigan against Saints is arguably the . They are the top two teams, too, having finished first and second in the table over the regular season.

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