In their dressing-room after a wonderful final, the Leeds Rhinos players clustered around a mobile phone to sing “Brent Webb is Superman” to the full back who was in such pain after the recurrence of a back injury that he was unable to travel to Old Trafford for Leeds's repeat win against St Helens.

Lee Smith did everything but don a cape in taking Webb's place, swooping on anything that moved at the back of the defence, scoring the first try and conjuring a critical play. His 40/20 kick, after the second try for St Helens, by Matt Gidley, had levelled the score at 12-12, led to the scrum from which Kevin Sinfield's grubber kick was grabbed by Danny McGuire for the first of his two touchdowns.

It effectively broke the back of Saints. Despite their third try, by Ade Gardner, it was swiftly followed by Francis Meli making a meal of Sinfield's teasing kick that fell invitingly for the predatory McGuire.

“I told Webby I'd do him proud,” Smith, who pipped Sinfield to the Harry Sunderland Trophy man-of-the-match award, said. “Hopefully, I've done that. I don't mind playing on the wing when you've got someone like Webby, who is one of the best full backs in the world, but stepping in there doesn't faze me.”

Webb's injury meant a late call for Ryan Hall, 20, who was eighteenth man in the 33-6 defeat of St Helens in last year's final and whose season looked to have been ended by an ankle injury in July. The wing's try before the break gave Leeds the psychological edge, after he had dribbled past Willie Talau. “I was running down a dead end,” he said. “I thought I'd kick just to see what happens - it's the first time I ever have. I might now do it a bit more.”

Having finished top after the regular season the past four years, the fact is that St Helens have won only one Grand Final during that time, in 2006. Leeds are making a virtue of coming second and have beaten their closest rivals in successive Grand Finals, on both occasions after losing to St Helens in the qualifying semi-final.

Scorers: St Helens: Tries: Graham, Gidley, Gardner. Goals: Long 2. Leeds Rhinos: Tries: Smith, Hall, McGuire 2. Goals: Sinfield 4.

St Helens: P Wellens; A Gardner, M Gidley, WTalau, F Meli; L Pryce, S Long; J Graham, K Cunningham, B Hargreaves, L Gilmour, J Wilkin, CFlannery. Interchange: J Roby, N Fozzard, P Clough, M Fa'asavalu.

Leeds Rhinos: L Smith; R Hall, C Ablett, K Senior, S Donald; D McGuire, R Burrow; K Leuluai, M Diskin, J Peacock, J Jones-Buchanan, G Ellis, K Sinfield. Interchange: A Lauitiiti, R Bailey, N Scruton, I Kirke.

Referee: A Klein.