FOR the second year in a row, Warrington Wolves will contest both Grand Finals below first-team level.
After the Academy team booked their spot last weekend, the Reserves did the same in dramatic fashion on Sunday, edging past Leeds Rhinos in a semi-final that went to golden point.
Ryan O’Brien’s side had to do it the hard way, fighting back from 10 points down at Victoria Park and with the sides level at 22-22 after 80 minutes, a long-range Pat Irwin penalty in the extra period settled the contest 24-22 in The Wire's favour.
Irwin’s moment of glory came after Charlie McKler – a scorer of two tries in normal time – was caught high by Leeds prop Jeremiah Mata’utia, allowing the half-back to strike straight and true from distance.
Like their Academy counterparts, the Reserves will concede home advantage for the final against an unbeaten Wigan Warriors side – the firm date is yet to be confirmed, but it is likely to be at the Brick Community Stadium over the weekend of September 11-13.
“It was everything that you would expect from a Semi Final - nip and tuck right until the end with both sides having to overcome the challenge of losing players to injury throughout the contest,” Reserves head coach O’Brien said.
“There were only a few very short periods where we got into our rhythm in terms of the style we wanted to play, but the players’ character, desire and commitment to each other got us over the line.”
O’Brien’s side had a couple of extra bodies available to them, with the likes of Josh Smith, Lachlan Webster and Adam Holroyd featuring having not made the matchday squad for the Super League win at Hull FC the previous day.
They helped the hosts get off to a fine start as James Duffy won the race to Irwin’s chip into the in-goal to touch down, but the response from Leeds was a strong one.
Elliot Fox, Fergus McCormack and Oscar Brown all touched down to put them 16-6 ahead, but McKler came up with a crucial strike back just before half time by going it alone from dummy-half and forcing his way over from close range.
McKler was over again just after the break to level the scores after he was found by a tip-on pass from Kian Stanton, but Mata’utia handed Leeds the advantage back again by crashing over between the posts on the hour mark.
Inside the final 10 minutes, back came Warrington again as Webster somehow managed to twist his way out of a tackle and fall over the line and with neither side able to find a further decisive score, golden point was forced.
Three minutes into that period, McKler was sent through the line by Tom McKinney’s pass only to be halted illegally by Mata’utia, with Irwin dispatching the penalty to spark wild scenes of celebration.
Wolves: Lachlan Webster; Jack Fallon, Josh Smith, James Duffy, Jake Thewlis; Daniel Regan, Pat Irwin; Tom McKinney, Ben Hartill, Charlie McKler, Ewan Smith, Adam Holroyd, Daniel Coop. Subs: Leyton Haddrell, Isaac Holdsworth, Kian Stanton, Isaac Reid. 18th man: Tommy Rhodes
Can Warrington Wolves defend Academy title? Full Grand Final info
Attention now turns to the Academy team’s bid to retain the title they won last season, when the likes of Webster and Ewan Irwin were prominent team members.
They will face Wigan Warriors in this year’s Academy Grand Final at the Brick Community Stadium on Sunday, kick off 3pm.
The young Wire only lost three times during 2026, but two of those defeats were against a Wigan side that has remained unbeaten throughout the year to earn themselves home advantage in the final.
Tickets can be bought for £5 for adults and £3 for juniors either via the Wigan Warriors website or via the stadium ticket office on match day.
Matchday car parking will be available at Car Park 3 at the stadium at a cost of £4 on the day, with cash and card payment options available.
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