It was held on Saturday 10 October 2009, at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was contested by defending champions and 2009 League Leaders Leeds Rhinos, and the team they had faced in the grand final for the past two years, St. Helens.

[6] Video referee Phil Bentham only gave the four points after checking that there was no knock-on in the regather and Grand Final débutante Eastmond converted his own try to give the Saints a 6 nil lead.

In the twenty-sixth minute, St. Helens were again down in Leeds' half when Sean Long put up a bomb and as the ball came down the Rhinos defence was ruled to have interfered with the attacking Saints players, drawing a penalty.

In the thirty-seventh minute the Rhinos were again in an attacking position when Danny McGuire got the ball out to the right and chipped it ahead in goal where the St. Helens defence failed to secure it and Lee Smith came through to touch it down.

This gave a scrum feed to the Rhinos in an attacking position and when Sinfield got the ball close to the uprights he kicked a drop goal, putting Leeds in front for the first time in the match at 9 - 8.

About seven minutes later Leeds were right down on St. Helens' goal line when Keiron Cunningham, in an attempt to slow things down, knocked the ball out of a Rhinos player's arms as he got up to play it, giving away a penalty.

Again the video referee was called on to check whether the St. Helens winger was taken into touch before scoring and he was, a desperate tackle by Sinfield pushing Eastmond's body into the corner post.

Back at the other end of the field, Saints' goal-line defence was forced to absorb mounting pressure as Leeds attacked repeatedly, eventually penetrating when a chip kick from McGuire on the last tackle was chased and picked up by Lee Smith who touched down in the seventy-third minute.