Croft summoned two solo tries of which Burrow – who died earlier this month following a four-and-a-half-year battle with motor neurone disease – would have been proud before the Rhinos held on after late responses from Matt Moylan and Edwin Ipape. The Australian, who blazed 80 metres for his second on the half-hour, said: “It honestly felt like an out-of-body experience. I’ve never even scored a try from that far out, and it felt like there was someone else with me on it.
” Croft struggled to contain his emotions as he described how Burrow’s legacy inspired an injury-ravaged team that parted company with head coach Rohan Smith after last week’s loss at Hull FC to summon arguably their best performance of the season. “This was a big one not just for the club, but Rob and his family and the MND community, and I think the boys showed that tonight, particularly some of our younger boys,” added Croft. “I followed Super League as a kid, Leeds were the big team and Rob was one of the key players.
There is a lot of connection there, on top of being a dad myself, and seeing his family there, I knew this was going to be a big occasion and we just wanted to do our absolute best.” Over 80 former players gathered to pay tribute to Burrow before the match and they included his former team-mate Chev Walker, who stepped up to joint interim charge of the Rhinos in the wake of Smith’s departure. Walker described a performance “in the spirit of Rob”, adding: “We spo.
