Rhinos are still celebrating winning back-to-back Grand Finals for the first time, but Sinfield said they can't afford to rest on their laurels following the shock 24-16 Old Trafford victory over St Helens four days ago.

"We have to try to get better and improve again," said Sinfield, who is among eight Rhinos players included in England's World Cup squad.

"Nothing beats the feeling we had on Saturday, but there are other things we want to achieve.

"We are all still hungry for success. Nights like Saturday make you greedy and you want more."

Sinfield joined Leeds in 1994 – when the team were second-best to all-conquering Wigan – and made his debut three years later, a season which saw them finish fifth in Super League.

The club's fortunes have been transformed during his time on the playing staff and he said: "I feel massively proud to have been part of that.

"I think (chief executive) Gary Hetherington and (chairman) Paul Caddick have got to take a lot of credit. They took over the club in 1996 and since then we've improved every year, certainly over the last five years.

"Tony Smith did a great job when he was coach here and Bluey (Brian McClennan) has continued that. A lot of hard work has gone in.
"There's no secret to success, it is down to hard work.

"We've had some great players who have come through the youth system and I think that's the way forward, it has to be.

"We have added some top line international players and when you've got players like that, it's getting the mix right.

"We have been very fortunate we've had two quality coaches who've been able to do that and to be a part of it is very, very special."

Sinfield's fourth goal in the Grand Final triumph took him to exactly 2,000 points for Leeds, only the second player in the club's history – after legend Lewis Jones – to achieve the feat.


He is also the only Leeds captain to lift a championship trophy more than once, but he shrugged off his individual role in the club's recent successes.

"It's stuff I will look back on," he said. "When I've got grandkids I'll be able to tell them, but it's about the team.

"I have always said that. I am the lucky guy that gets to pick the trophy up and lead the team out, but there's a lot of hard work gone in from a number of people.

"We have got some great leaders. For me, it is something really special and I have to pinch myself every day, but it is really about the fact we have got 17 warriors who go out there and do a job.

"It is about the coaching team, the backroom team, the medical team and a big thank you to the fans. Without them, would we have come home in that second half on Saturday? They never stopped singing and they were right behind us."

Meanwhile, Rhinos' Grand Final triumph is to be hailed in Parliament.

Elmet MP Colin Burgon has proposed an early day motion congratulating Rhinos on their victory, praising them for the number of locally-born and produced players in the Old Trafford team, wishing them luck for next year's World Club Challenge and calling for Sport England to re-classify rugby league as a Class A sport.

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Ireland have appointed a captaincy triumvirate for the World Cup, with Wakefield full-back Scott Grix named as squad leader and Bob Beswick and Stuart Littler helping to spread the workload.

SQUAD: Ross Barbour (Carlow Crus), Bob Beswick (Widnes), Damien Blanch (Wakefield), Mick Cassidy (Barrow), Ged Corcoran (Sheffield), Lee Doran (Leigh), Liam Finn (Dewsbury), Simon Finnigan, Michael Platt (Bradford), Karl Fitzpatrick, Stuart Littler (Salford), Steve Gibbons, Wayne Kerr (London Sk), Sean Gleeson, Scott Grix (Wakefield), Gareth Haggerty (Harlequins), Ben Harrison (Warrington), Graham Holroyd (Halifax), Shannon McDonnell, Ryan Tandy (Wests), Michael McIlorum, Eamon O'Carroll, Pat Richards (Wigan), Brett White (Melbourne St).