Peter Smith's Leeds Rhinos player ratings v Leigh Leopards as team win it for hero Rob Burrow

Leeds Rhinos paid the best possible tribute to their fallen hero with a stirring performance against the odds as Leigh Leopards were stunned 18-10 at AMT Headingley tonight (Friday). Roared on by an emotional crowd, an understrength Leeds team dug deep and previously in-form opponents were swamped by the occasion.

Appropriately, Leeds’ crucial third try on global motor neurone disease awarness day was scored by their number seven - Matt Frawley. His fellow half-back Brodie Croft grabbed the first two, both superb efforts befitting a memorable evening. The celebration of Burrow’s life was hugely emotional and Leeds rose to the occasion to do him proud.

It was a scratch team, missing more than a dozen injured players and with two rookies as their right-side wing/centre pairing, but their defensive effort was magnificent, they were disciplined and relatively error-free. It was Leeds’ first home game since Burrow died three weeks ago and Chev Walker and Scott Grix were in charge after previous coach Rohan Smith’s midweek departure.

Leeds-born prop Sam Eseh made his debut on loan from Wigan Warriors off the bench. Local youngster Ben Littlewood was named among Rhinos’ substitutes for the first time, but didn’t get on. A clearly fired up Croft scored a sensational solo try to open the scoring after 10 minutes, stepping through, somehow managing to keep his feet and then touching down at full stretch.

His second try made it 10-0 after 27. Leigh had been getting on top, but Lachie Miller snapped up a loose ball near Rhinos’ line, beat a man and slipped the ball to Croft who raced 80 metres. Rhyse Martin couldn’t land his second conversion, but booted a penalty to make it 12-0 after Cameron Smith was tackled off the ball by Leigh debutant Aaron Pene a couple of minutes before the interval.

Leeds came up with three remarkable defensive efforts to keep Leigh out at 10-0. First Frankie Halton got over the line, but Croft, James McDonnell and McCormack prevented him touching down. Edwin Ipape was held up in similar fashion, with Justin Sangare and Miller in attendance and Eseh denied Pene after the former NRL forward tried to force his way through on the last.

It was a similar story after the break, when Miller and Paul Momirovski held up Ricky Leutele amid huge Leigh pressure. Somehow Rhinos survived and in a remarkable counter, Miller made ground and found Alfie Edgell who did really well to send Matt Frawley in for a converted try.

Leigh broke their duck on 58 minutes when Matt Moylan went over from Lachlan Lam’s pass off a scrum in front of Leeds’ posts. With the South Stand at his back, the try scorer couldn’t convert. Ipape grabbed a converted try 10 minutes later, but anything other than a Leeds win would have been an injustice.

Leeds Rhinos: Miller, Fusitu’a, Momirovski, McCormack, Edgell, Croft, Frawley, Oledzki, O’Connor, Sangare, McDonnell, Martin, C Smith. Subs Johnson, Goudemand, Eseh. Unused sub Littlewood,

Leigh Leopards: Moylan, Hanley, Hardaker, Leutele, Charnley, Chamberlain, Lam, Amone, Davis, Trout, O’Donnell, Halton, Hughes. Subs Norman, Ipape, Dwyer, Pene.

Referee: Chris Kendall (Huddersfield). Attendance: 17,535.