Saturday 12 July 2014 09:40, UK
Leeds head coach Brian McDermott hailed the impact of Rob Burrow after the half-back returned from injury to inspire his side to a 30-6 victory over Hull KR.
The 31-year-old had been on the sidelines since April after breaking his collarbone against St Helens and on Friday came off the bench to help the Rhinos to a comfortable win.
The match was still tied at 0-0 in the second half when Burrow intervened, grabbing a try just before the hour mark to spark the hosts into life at Headingley.
"It was very good to have Rob back, we certainly missed him," McDermott said.
Sometimes you don't know what you'll miss until they are not there and we've definitely missed him. He had a huge impact and looked good.
"You try to fashion a way of attacking and being as good without your key personnel when they are missing through injury or suspension and you've got to continue and come up with a different way.
"But sometimes you don't know what you'll miss until they are not there and we've definitely missed him. He had a huge impact and looked good."
McDermott admitted it was a "crazy game", but always felt confident his side would get the two points they needed to keep pace with leaders St Helens.
He added: "I thought we were very good, the best we've been for a while. But we made a couple of silly decisions with the ball and a couple of soft errors. That doesn't detract from the fact that we were very good."
Hull KR caretaker coach Chris Chester, who began his reign with a thumping win over Saints, admitted Burrow was the difference between the teams.
"It was a good arm wrestle for 60 minutes and I thought we were getting over the top of them," Chester said.
"They just had a little bit too much speed for us in the end and Rob Burrow killed us."
The former Robins forward was pleased with his side's work-rate and desire, but was critical of their decision making.
He added: "The effort and commitment (they showed), that's all I want from them. I said to them after the game, I don't think the scoreline reflected the game.
"I don't think Leeds beat us, we beat ourselves with stupid dumb errors that we made in good ball. It comes down to concentration and I'm just scratching my head a little bit."
