Betfred’s Magic try celebration pledge raises £10,000 for MND Association

Betfred has donated £10,000 to the MND Association following a stunning 48 hours of action at Betfred Super League’s Magic Weekend in Newcastle on Saturday and Sunday.

The competition’s title sponsors committed to a £180 donation for each try celebration at St James’ Park over the six matches played at the 18th annual Magic event.

And after 41 tries were scored, the resulting £7,380 pot has been rounded up by Betfred so that the MND Association now receives a full £10,000.

The battle against Motor Neurone Disease has become a key tenet of rugby league in recent years following the diagnosis of modern-day legend Rob Burrow in 2019.

The former Leeds Rhinos and England superstar half-back passed away last June after a hard-fought four-and-a-half-year battle, but the sport continues to rally round the MND community.

Rob’s former Leeds skipper and close friend Kevin Sinfield has raised millions of pounds for MND charities, while his widow Lindsey completed the London Marathon in April and will run the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon this Sunday (May 11) to raise further funds for the Rob Burrow Centre for MND and the Leeds Rhinos Foundation.

And Betfred’s initiative this weekend gave current players the opportunity to play a visible part in the continued fight, with a range of innovative celebrations helping to boost the coffers.

From the moment Matthieu Laguerre of the Catalans Dragons scored the first try of the weekend and marked the four-pointer with a hip wiggle in front of the crowd, and then Leigh Leopards' Ethan O'Neill performed a head stand later in the same game, the Super League superstars were fully bought in.

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Hull KR’s 54-0 win over the Salford Red Devils was particularly notable for not just the ‘Alan Shearer’ celebration of Newcastle United fan Sam Luckley at the home of his footballing heroes, but also the ‘bang the drum’ message exhibited by the scorers of their nine tries.

That was the brainchild of Rovers supporter and MND sufferer Craig Eskrett, with the Robins’ tryscorers each mimicking drum beats before making the shape of a love heart. Its message was an appeal to 'keep banging the drum' regarding the ongoing fight against MND.

On the pitch, Huddersfield Giants recorded a first league win of the season, while Leigh Leopards, Hull KR, Leeds, Wigan Warriors and Wakefield Trinity also picked up victories.

But it is the money raised as a result of those 41 tries which could help to make a long-term impact away from the field of play.