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Rugby League

Burrow gets Rhinos award

18/09/2007

Leeds Rhinos have named Great Britain international Rob Burrow as their player of the season at last night's gala ceremony.

The scrum-half has enjoyed a stellar season, scoring 14 tries in his 27 appearances as he has been an ever-present in the Rhinos side that qualified for the end-of-season play-offs in second place.

In picking up the award, Burrow thanked coach Tony Smith who will leave the club at the end of the season to take charge of the England national side on a full-time basis.

"I am delighted to win this. I would like to thank Tony Smith for everything he has done for me in his time at the club," he said.

"The season isn't over yet and we want to send him off in the best possible way.

"I must also thank my wife Lindsay. It is great to follow in the footsteps of previous winners and hopefully the season can get even better yet."

Burrow is joined in the Super League dream team by promising young winger Kevin Penny of Warrington Wolves.

The 19-year-old has been compared to Wigan rugby league legend Martin Offiah for his explosive pace and finishing ability.

However Penny has sought to downplay such comparisons, saying he still has "a long, long way to go to get to where he was".

"Martin Offiah is a legend of the game and I've only played 13 first-team games," he said.

Penny will be hoping to force his way into the thinking of Tony Smith, who is set to announce his first international training squad later today.

Doing so may help to erase the painful memory of Warrington's narrow elimination from play-off contention in the last game of the regular season last week.