TRUE GRIT! How else could one describe a truly great Saints' defensive display.

It was the bedrock on which ultimate victory was built in a Grand Final which, given its intensity, sent a shiver down the spine?

Old Trafford's 'Theatre of Dreams,' and with it a record 50,717 crowd, was no place for the faint-hearted on Saturday as Bulls and Saints locked horns in an eyeball to eyeball clash which - although not a classic - guaranteed no one left before full-time.

Fully 65 minutes elapsed before Saints mounted a smash-and-grab raid to snatch the equalising try by blockbusting Kiwi centre Kevin Iro, which ice-cool Sean Long converted from near touch and Saints were in the driving seat.

Bradford's failure to turn pressure into points was crucial and much has been made of the disallowed try by Leon Pryce but, by the same token, I believe it pertinent to mention that Sean Hoppe, Iro and Keiron Cunningham also had touchdowns refused. Cliff-hanger though it was, the outcome underlined Saints' determination to honour their 'write us off at your peril' warning after the 40-4 reverse at Odsal a fortnight ago, while there could be no doubting character and fitness levels as they put Bradford to the sword after grabbing the lead.

No praise is too high for an incredible tackling stint of 'Rorke's Drift' proportions by captain courageous Chris Joynt and his men, which produced the result it undoubtedly deserved and has worked wonders for morale both Saints and in the town

Early indications were that Super League's leaders would have their hands full dealing with the awesom power of Apollo Perelini, Julian O'Neill, Freddie Tuilagi and Sonny Nickle up front, while the Chris Smith-Iro wing was obviously anxious to atone for their blunders at Odsal.

However, it was Bradford who posed the first real threat via a brilliant break by Stuart Spruce who fed Tevita Vaikona, but he was scythed down by Paul Atcheson before Tommy Martyn brought off a brilliant interception as unforced handling continued to thwart the Bull's game plan.

The war of attrition raged unabated and it needed something special to break the deadlock, and it came from Bradford on the 19th minute when, from a scrum, man-of-the-match Henry Paul sidestepped Atcheson and, although halted short by the outstanding Nickle, the stand-off slid beneath the posts and added the goal. Enter super-sub Sean Long to land a penalty after Bull's wandered offside and, although Paul Sculthorpe and Keiron Cunningham were ceaseless in their probings, Saints rarely looked liked finding a way through an equally watertight Bradford defensive screen in the first half

Trailing just 6-2, scoring first on the resumption was vital for Saints but it was Bull's who set out their scoring stall, first when Henry Paul broke brilliantly only to see Scott Naylor spill his pass, while Pryce had a try disallowed for a knock-on as did Jimmy Lowes, both decisions being via the video referee

And when Naylor was halted in full flight by Atcheson and Martyn there was a feeling abroad that, despite the fearful battering they had withstood, Saints were poised to move in for the kill and it was Perelini who laid the platform with a barnstorming break to the posts before Cunningham, Long and Atcheson sent in Iro.

Just 13 minutes remained as Long's conversion put Saints ahead, and they proved the longest in the nerve-shredded lives of everyone packed into the 'Theatre of Dreams, while teenager Paul Wellens tackled like a Trojan as David Boyle, Henry Paul and Bernard Dwyer strove to turn the tables for the enraged Bulls.

However the 'Final' straw came for Bradford when Spruce dropped Long's kick-through, and this enabled Saints to establish position for Cunningham to plunge over similtaneously with the hooter, and although referee Cummings was having none Saints were home and dry as worthy champions of Super League.

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