Leeds Rhinos wheelchair coach James Simpson

Coach James Simpson reflects on Leeds Rhinos' win over Halifax Panthers in the Wheelchair Super League Grand Final.

Transcript

00:00James, congratulations. Fantastic second half performance. Were you worried at any time?

00:07You went 12 points down a couple of times in the first half.

00:11Not at all, mate. This year we've made a point of winning games in the last minute.

00:15Some of them, two of the games we won in the last tackle.

00:18This Grand Final, we knew that there were going to be times where it was going to go against us.

00:22We might be in a bit of a hole, but that last 20, that's when we need to turn it on.

00:25That's when we need to dominate and that's exactly what we did.

00:28That last 20, the players really stood up. They understood what needed to be done and they did it.

00:32That last 20, the players were fantastic.

00:35You must be really pleased for Nathan Collins. A year ago, he had an off day with a boot.

00:40Today, eight out of nine after he missed the first one.

00:44Some of his assists for tries were just out of this world.

00:47Nathan is a very unique player. I think he's one of the most fantastic players in the world.

00:54I think he's definitely up there in the top three, if not one of the best.

00:57You've got to unleash him a bit. You've got to take the reins off him and try not to structure him or put him in a box.

01:04You've got to let him play in the box in front of him and he does that.

01:07When he does that well, it's fantastic and it's such a pleasure to watch.

01:10I'm buzzing for him. He sat a little portion of the season out with a broken hand as well.

01:15He missed two games, I think. I'm just buzzing that he's had a really good game and a really good final.

01:21All the players deserve it, mate. I absolutely love them all. I'm so proud of them all. They all deserve that win.

01:25It's capped a fantastic year, hasn't it? One defeat in all competitions all year. You won every league game.

01:32You've gone on and won the grand final after a couple of disappointments.

01:37It shows that the sport in Leeds is really healthy and you've got young players coming through, haven't you?

01:42A reserve team now.

01:43Yes. It's funny. We're expected to be successful.

01:47If you thought of the running game, if you said to a team, you haven't won the grand final in two years,

01:51people would be like, it's hard to get there. That's exactly it.

01:54That bar's there. We're expected to make those finals and be successful.

01:58I think that's such a testament to how we're perceived.

02:01Being part of the club, part of the Leeds Rhinos brand, that gives us that. We want that.

02:05We want to have to go out there and perform at the highest level for the club.

02:08Every time we get a trophy, we're happy. We've got two this year, so two out of three ain't bad. I think we'll take it.