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Father of Rob Burrow to present iconic award at Super League Grand Final

Man of the Match in the Super League Grand Final will earn the inaugural Rob Burrow Award which will be presented by Burrow’s father Geoff.

Rob Burrow is one of just four players to be named Man of the Match in the Super League Grand Final on two separate occasions, with the Leeds Rhinos legend also the only man to ever win the award with unanimous voting.

The award has been renamed from the Harry Sunderland Trophy to the Rob Burrow Award in honour of his brilliance on the field and his inspiration post-playing it in his fight with Motor Neurone Disease.

At Saturday’s Grand Final between Wigan Warriors and Hull KR, Rob’s father, Geoff, will be present to hand out the award in the first Super League decider since his son’s passing.

The decision was taken to rename the award prior to the season but it will be even more poignant at Old Trafford following Rob’s sad passing in June.

First-ever Rob Burrow Award to be presented

Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield hold the Super League trophy in the corner of an empty Old Trafford stadium.

Credit: Imago Images

News that Geoff Burrow will attend and present the award has been confirmed by Rugby League Commercial and the RFL with the event set to be witnessed by plenty of previous Harry Sunderland Trophy winners.

Previous winners will attend Saturday’s game to witness the newly-named Rob Burrow Award be presented with the trophy also set to have all the previous Harry Sunderland Trophy winner’s names’ engraved upon it.

Among those previous winners will be Hull KR legend John Dorahy who helped the club win the premiership back in 1984 against Castleford Tigers. He would then win three trophies as Wigan coach a decade later. Dorahy has flown in from Australia to be present for the game.

The Rob Burrow Award will be determined by the votes from members of the Rugby League Writers and Broadcasters Association, as was the case previously.

Chair of the RLWBA, Trevor Hunt, said: “Our predecessors celebrated the contribution made by Harry Sunderland to Rugby League in this country when they introduced the Harry Sunderland Trophy for the 1965 Championship Final.

“It was then transferred to the end-of-season Premiership competition from 1974 to 1997, and since 1998 the Grand Final. We thought it was the right time to make a change, and to recognise a man who produced some of the most memorable Grand Final moments, with the Rob Burrow Award – but it was always important for us that the achievements and history of the Harry Sunderland Trophy winners would be recognised.

“That has been done with the design of the superb new trophy, and by the invitation by RL Commercial of as many Harry Sunderland Trophy winners, or their family members, as it has been possible to contact.”

Among the previous winners expected to be present are Matt Diskin (2004), Lee Smith (2008), Danny McGuire (2015 and 2017), Kris Radlinski (1995), Mike Stephenson (1973) and four of the current Wigan team in coach Thomas Leuluai (2010), captain Liam Farrell (2016), last year’s winner Jake Wardle and Luke Thompson (2019).

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