Fund for Leeds Rhinos legend Rob Burrow continues to rise as Bradford Bulls pledge their support

Burrow, who won eight Super League titles as a player and is now Rhinos’ reserves coach, revealed on Thursday he has motor neurone disease, a terminal illness which has no known cure.

An online donation page was opened at noon on Thursday and the tally at 1.25pm on Saturday was £135,736.37 - with gift aiding increasing that to £162,830.04.

That does not include fund-raising efforts being planned by groups and individuals or the proceeds from Rhinos’ pre-season game at home to Bradford Bulls on January 12, which is also a testimonial for former Leeds player Jamie Jones-Buchanan.

Bulls have announced they will donate their share of the gate to Burrow’s fund.

In a statement on the club’s website, Bradford coach John Kear said: “We hope the whole Bulls family choose to attend the game and that the club presents a great and unified presence with a sea of red, amber and black.

“We would like the Bulls to play a full part in showing our respect and support on such a poignant occasion.”

On behalf of the club board, Mark Kilgallon added: “Rugby league is one great family and on occasions such as this the Bulls would wish to demonstrate our full support to Rob and his family.

“While it is no secret that we have had a difficult few months, we believe given the circumstances that there is a much more appropriate use of the receipts.

”Great Rhinos and Bulls clashes have been a feature of the recent rugby league history and Rob Burrow has played more than a full part in building that rivalry. We are happy to salute that contribution at this time.”

Bulls have committed to take 10 tables in the Emerald Suite at the game

Rhinos have issued the following details of how the public can support Burrow and his family:

DONATE

You can simply donate any fee to a special Virgin Money Giving page with all the donations going to the fund. www.virginmoneygiving.com/fund/robburrow. If you are a UK tax payer you can also tick the option to gift aid your donation. Gift Aid is great because it means the fund will get extra money added to your donations at no extra cost to you. For every £1 donated, the fund will receive £1.25 when you add Gift Aid.

ATTEND

Jamie Jones-Buchanan’s testimonial game against Bradford Bulls on Sunday, January 12, 2020, kick off 3pm, will now be a joint fundraiser for Jamie and Rob. With a capacity of nearly 20,000 it would be fantastic to see a sell out crowd at Emerald Headingley to support Rob and give his fund an incredible kick start. Tickets are on sale now and start from just £15 for adults and £5 for children. You can book your ticket now at tickets.therhinos.co.uk or call 0371 423 1315.

ORGANISE

Think about what you could do in the New Year to raise money to support Rob’s fund. There are loads of great fundraising ideas out there and the New Year is a great time to set yourself a challenge. We will have more details in January how you can donate to the fund, but if you want to get in touch you can email [email protected] and the club will be back in touch in January.