The NRL pays tribute to Kevin Sinfield and Jack Sinfield in surprising article

Jack Sinfield made his professional debut for the Leeds Rhinos yesterday in their Boxing Day friendly against Wakefield Trinity.

That wasn’t too surprising considering how highly everyone at Headingley rates the 17-year-old and neither was the end 34-6 result to the Rhinos with Trinity missing a number of key stars.

But, what probably was unusual following the result was the NRL’s decision to cover the game in a lengthy article.

The Australian site focused on Aidan Sezer’s first game in Leeds colours following a move from Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Giants as well Sinfield, who is being touted to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Kevin recently completed a 101-mile challenge for his friend and former teammate Rob Burrow in the hope of raising even more money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

That collection now stands in the millions, but the NRL decided to focus on Sezer’s return to start with.

“Former Raiders halves Aidan Sezer and Blake Austin helped Leeds to get their 2022 campaign off to a winning start with a 34-6 Boxing Day victory over Wakefield Trinity at Headingley Stadium,” the NRL reported.

“It was the first outing for Austin and Sezer in a Rhinos’ jersey, while Jack Sinfield – the 17-year-old son of former Leeds and England great Kevin Sinfield – came on as a replacement in the second half.”

It’s perhaps surprising considering the fact that the NRL normally doesn’t give coverage to events in Super League, let alone in a Boxing Day friendly.