2003 Super League Grand Final
British rugby league championship match
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The 2003 Super League Grand Final was the 6th official Grand Final conclusive and premiership-deciding match of Super League VIII. Held on Saturday 18 October 2003 at Old Trafford, Manchester, the game was played between Bradford Bulls and Wigan Warriors. The match was refereed Karl Kirkpatrick and watched by a crowd of 65,537, with Bradford winning 25 - 12.
| 2003 Super League Grand Final | |||||||||||||
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| Date | 18 October 2003 | ||||||||||||
| Stadium | Old Trafford | ||||||||||||
| Location |  Manchester | ||||||||||||
| Harry Sunderland Trophy | Stuart Reardon ( Bradford Bulls) | ||||||||||||
| Referee | Karl Kirkpatrick | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 65,537 | ||||||||||||
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Background
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bradford Bulls |
28 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 878 | 529 | +349 | 44 |
| 3 |  Wigan Warriors |
28 | 19 | 2 | 7 | 751 | 555 | +196 | 41 |
Route to the Final
Bradford Bulls
Bradford finished top of the table so qualified straight to the play-off semi-final. They were drawn at home to Leeds Rhinos and won 30–14 to qualify for the grand final.
Wigan Warriors
Wigan finished third in the table so had to play their way through three rounds of play-off matches. In the elimination play-off they beat Warrington 25–12, the semi-final saw them beat St Helens 40–24 and then in the elimination final they beat Leeds Rhinos 23–22 to set up the final against Bradford.
| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Elimination Play-off |  Warrington Wolves (H) |
25-12 |
| Elimination Semi-Final |  St Helens (H) |
40-24 |
| Elimination Final |  Leeds Rhinos (H) |
23-22 |
| Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue. | ||
Match details
18 October 2003 |
| Bradford Bulls |
25 - 12 | Wigan Warriors |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Stuart Reardon Shontayne Hape James Lowes Goals: Paul Deacon (6) Drop Goals: Paul Deacon |
Tries: Danny Tickle Kris Radlinski Goals: Andy Farrell (2) |
| Bradford Bulls | Position | Wigan Warriors | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stuart Reardon |
Fullback | 1 | Kris Radlinski | |
| 2 |  Tevita Vaikona |
Wing | 2 |  Brian Carney |
| Michael Withers |
Centre | 3 | Martin Aspinwall | |
 Shontayne Hape |
Centre | David Hodgson | ||
| 5 | Lesley Vainikolo |
Wing | 5 |  Brett Dallas |
| Karl Pratt |
Stad Off | Sean O'Loughlin | ||
| 7 | Paul Deacon |
Scrum half | 7 | Luke Robinson |
| Joe Vagana |
Prop | Quentin Pongia | ||
| 9 | James Lowes |
Fullback | 9 | Terry Newton |
| 10 | Stuart Fielden |
Prop | Craig Smith | |
| Daniel Gartner |
Second Row | Mick Cassidy | ||
| 11 | Jamie Peacock |
Second Row | Danny Tickle | |
| Mike Forshaw |
Loose forward | 13 | Andy Farrell | |
| Leon Pryce |
Interchange | Paul Johnson | ||
| 6 | Robbie Paul |
Mark Smith | ||
| Lee Radford |
Gareth Hock | |||
| Paul Anderson |
Terry O'Connor | |||
| Brian Noble |
Coaches | Mike Gregory | ||
World Club Challenge
Having won the championship, the Bradford Bulls were to play 2003 NRL season premiers, the Penrith Panthers in the following February's World Club Challenge.