Wakefield Trinity v Leeds Rhinos: Rob Burrow plans for final swansong

THE final countdown begins tonight for Leeds Rhinos legend Rob Burrow as he returns from injury to, hopefully, start one last surge for Old Trafford before his imminent retirement.
On way back: Leeds Rhino Rob Burrow.On way back: Leeds Rhino Rob Burrow.
On way back: Leeds Rhino Rob Burrow.

The former Great Britain international has recovered from shoulder surgery that has kept him out for the last nine matches

He is back in the squad for the Super 8s trip to Wakefield Trinity and is set to make his first appearance since announcing last month this will be the final season of his decorated career.

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Scrum-half/hooker Burrow has played an astonishing 486 times for Leeds but there is now a maximum of just seven remaining in the blue and amber if the club can reach what would be the ninth Grand Final of his time at Headingley.

Asked if it changes his mentality slightly, the 34 year-old admitted: “It does. When you get towards the end, you count how many games until the end of the season.

“But, obviously, now I’m counting games until my final ever game. It has given me some motivation and a bit of a goal to really finish on a high and if I can be remembered for these last few games then great.”

Leeds, keen to keep hold of second place and secure a home semi-final, enter their second Super 8s fixture in fine spirits after a brilliant 32-16 destruction of champions Wigan Warriors.

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Wakefield, meanwhile, were dismal when losing 36-6 at Huddersfield on Friday, having also squandered the chance of a top-four place with a poor showing against St Helens in the final regular round.

They could, albeit briefly, get back into the top four if they win tonight’s derby but they have lost both times to Leeds this season.

That said, it was only a couple of glaring individual mistakes that saw them lose 18-16 at Belle Vue in June, ending a seven-game winning sequence.

“They are a dangerous team anyway but, after getting beaten last week, they’ll see Leeds as a great way to come back,” added Burrow, Wakefield having dropped winger Mason Caton-Brown.

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“They will want to play well. I think they will be disappointed with the way they played last time we were there.

“I don’t think they were as good as they had been so I’m expecting a nine out of 10 performance from them on Thursday.

“But we need to kick on and keep building momentum.”

Leeds looked in good nick against Wigan, especially having suffered the disappointment of a Challenge Cup semi-final loss to Hull FC previously.

Pontefract-born Burrow admitted: “We’ll be honest and admit it was a bit of a flat week after that semi-final defeat and we’d gone in against a dangerous Wigan team who needed wins but can be great regardless.

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“But the performance we put in was probably the best performance of the season.

“A lot of the rugby on show was great and I think that beat Wigan – how we threw the ball about. It was off-the-cuff stuff which we’ve been renowned for and it was pretty tip-top there.

“It’s great for confidence going into the next stage of the season.”

Clearly, the addition of Burrow – who will be regarded as one of the greatest Super League players in history – to their ranks will only enhance them further.

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“Monday was the first time I’ve trained with the lads,” he said

“People were probably really stiff and sore from the Wigan game but, obviously, I felt fine.

“When you’ve done it for that long, you do get a bit bored with training sometimes but when you miss out for a while and then you come back into the team you feel like a little kid again.

“I have really enjoyed training and I’ve come through all right. I am really looking forward to the game.”