Warrington Wolves Reserves secured their place in the Grand Final with a 24-22 Golden Point victory over Leeds Rhinos Reserves in a playoff semi-final at Victoria Park Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Wolves mounted a remarkable comeback from a ten-point first-half deficit to claim the win in front of a large crowd.

First Half

Leeds dominated the opening stages, building a commanding lead. The Wolves opened the scoring in the sixth minute when scrum half Pat Irwin chipped the ball behind the Rhinos defence and centre James Duffy reacted quickest to score on the left.

Leeds replied six minutes later when hooker Elliott Fox powered over from dummy half, twisting in the tackle with three defenders on him to score at the side of the posts. Stand off Harley Thomas converted.

At the midway point, full back Fergus McCormack scored from five metres out on the left despite attention from two defenders, with Thomas converting again. Leeds extended their lead when centre Oscar Brown made a break down the middle and collected a long pass from McCormack to score in the left corner.

Four minutes before half time, the Wolves responded when prop forward Charlie McKler powered over on the left from dummy half with three defenders on him after substitute Leyton Haddrell had been held five metres short. Irwin converted to make the half-time score 16-10 to Leeds.

Second Half

Early in the second half, strong Wolves defence forced Leeds to kick from their own in-goal area on the last tackle. The Wolves capitalised when substitute Kian Stanton's tip pass found McKler, who powered over under the posts. Irwin's conversion levelled the score.

Leeds regained the lead on the hour when scrum half Harry Smith found prop forward Jeremiah Mata'uti, who crashed over at the side of the posts. Thomas converted.

With ten minutes remaining, the Wolves gained a repeat set deep in Rhinos territory. Hooker Ben Hartill found full back Lachlan Webster on the short side, and Webster wriggled out of a four-man tackle to score on the left. Irwin converted to level the match.

Grand Final Ahead

In Golden Point, Pat Irwin slotted a thirty-five metre penalty goal to secure the win. Warrington Wolves Reserves will travel to face Wigan Warriors in the Grand Final in a fortnight's time.