St Helens secured a place in the Super League Grand Final in emphatic fashion, thrashing Wigan Warriors 40-10 in a one-sided derby at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
Having finished the regular season as minor premiers, earning them an extra week off at the start of the play-offs, a well-rested Saints side ran in seven tries to book a trip to Old Trafford on Saturday, October 12.
Theo Fages finished Lachlan Coote's grubber kick to open the scoring inside three minutes, while Wigan gifted their hosts further points when a loose pass was picked off by Kevin Naiqama.
After falling 14-0 down in a hurry, the Warriors came to life in attack to score a try of their own, Zak Hardaker and Chris Hankinson combining to put Liam Marshall in the clear on their right wing.
However, Luke Thompson and Jonny Lomax responded by running in further scores before the break for Saints, who had finished 16 points clear of second-placed Wigan in the final table.
Full Time@Saints1890 win
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) September 27, 2019
Grand Finalists #OwnTheMoment pic.twitter.com/WyNW7fGqGz
Zeb Taia's try five minutes into the second half ended any ideas of a comeback by the visitors, with Mark Percival crossing for a late double to put the gloss on a hugely impressive performance from Justin Holbrook's side as they reached their first Grand Final since 2014.
Wigan – who rounded out the scoring with a try from Bevan French that was greeted with ironic cheers inside the ground – have now lost four times to their neighbours this season.
However, the reigning champions do have a second opportunity to set up a rematch in Manchester next month, as they will host Salford Red Devils in the second semi-final at the DW Stadium.
Those two teams met in the qualifier in the opening round of the play-offs, the Warriors coming out 18-12 winners on that occasion.