Rob Burrow: Fans left in tears after the rugby player took centre stage at Leeds Rhinos game

Club legend Burrow, and his wife, Lindsey, and three children, were guests of honour at his old stomping ground’s annual motor neurone disease awareness game on Friday, which the home side won 54-0.

Rob and his doting wife were given a standing ovation in an emotional return to the Rhinos’ grounds.

Rob, 40, from Pontefract, played for Leeds for 16 years and made more than 400 appearances for the team between 2001 and 2017.

In 2017 Rob announced his retirement from the sport after helping Leeds gain victory over the Castleford Tigers at Old Trafford for the Super League Grand Final.

Just two years later, in 2019 Burrow publicly revealed he had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease - a degenerative condition for which there is no cure.

At the Super League game between Leeds and Huddersfield, Rob’s four-year-old son Jackson delivered a specially-designed match ball to referee Ben Thaler before kick-off.

And his daughters Macy and Maya were among 777 youngsters from schools across Leeds who took part in a pre-match dance routine.

The schoolgirls also joined the production team for Sky Sports’ live coverage, interviewing both coaches, presenting the man of the match medal to a player chosen by Burrow and tormenting ex-Leeds hero Barrie McDermott with a Mastermind-style quiz.

The Rhinos and Giants donated 20 per cent of match ticket sales to the MND Association, who also had collectors at the stadium.

Rhinos wore their special Doddie Weir celebration kit, first worn at the Magic Weekend three weeks ago. £10 from the sale of every replica shirt will be donated to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.

At half-time England Rugby League and official kit partner Oxen - represented by Rhinos director Jamie Jones-Buchanan - were set to present a £25,000 donation to the MND Association, raised through sales of replica shirts from the men’s and women’s mid-season internationals against France.

To make a donation to the charity, MND Association, which Rob is a patron of, visit: https://www.mndassociation.org/get-involved/donations/rob-burrow