Ash Handley honoured to lead Rhinos out with Rob Burrow daughters

Leeds winger Ash Handley said it was a privilege to lead the Rhinos out at Magic Weekend alongside the daughters of Rob Burrow. 

Burrow’s daughters Macy and Maya led the Rhinos onto the field prior to their 34-20 win over Castleford at Magic Weekend.

The Rhinos and Tigers both played in Rob Burrow-inspired kits at St James’ Park on Saturday.

Prior to the game, Macy and Maya explained to the players the reasons behind why they designed their special shirt for the occasion – to raise awareness and funds for their father’s motor neurone disease campaign.

Speaking to the Leeds YouTube channel after the game, Handley said: “For me personally it was a massive honour. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to do that.

“It makes me admire to their positivity. It’s amazing what they are doing.

“I’m in awe of Rob’s strength. He’s a leader, he’s a hero to all of us and we all love him. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and it is a huge honour to be able to lead the team out with those two.

“They said that we need to win because they are from Cas. They wouldn’t like it if they went back to school and we had got beat so we had to do the job for them two!”

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Ash Handley: We are building something good

The win at Magic Weekend sees the Rhinos secure back-to-back wins as they make a late surge to make the Super League play-offs.

Handley said it is all coming together under new head coach Rohan Smith at Headingley.

He said: “The last couple of weeks have been good, I think we are building something good and that’s the big message. We are all together and we are playing together.”

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