Jermaine McGillvary chalks up his 300th game for Huddersfield admitting: “It’s a dream come true.”
The ex-England winger, 34, has played his entire career for his hometown club. He’s been crocked since injuring a knee last July but returns for their Super League opener against Warrington on Friday. McGillvary, who debuted in 2010, told the Daily Mirror: “It’s a great milestone but my aim was just to try to make a living out of rugby league. If it’d have been Championship all my career, it’d have still been a success for me. But I’ve played for my hometown team, represented my country, gone on tour and played 300 games here so it’s a dream come true.
“It’s probably something I’ll appreciate more when I do retire and look back at how the journey went and what I achieved. It might not have been silverware - as of yet - but I’ve come from nowhere to do this and, firstly, we’ve a job to do against Warrington.”
Given their round one opponents St Helens were Down Under in World Club Challenge action, Huddersfield had last weekend with their feet up while the rest of Super League got underway. After all last year’s woe, Warrington started impressively with a 42-10 rout of Leeds. McGillvary conceded: “They have quality players throughout the team. George Williams looks outstanding again. You saw it last week the amount of points they put on Leeds and the performance was quality as well. It’s going to be a tough game for us but I'm looking forward to it.”
Huddersfield are rightly tipped as one of the challengers given how they fared last term, reaching the Challenge Cup final and finishing third. They have also brought in McGillvary’s ex-Great Britain team-mate Jake Connor as part of some high-profile recruiting including ex-Saints star Kevin Naiqama. But four-peat champions Saints’ stunning 13-12 success over NRL premiers Penrith in Sydney showed again just how much all the rest have to do to oust them as Super League kings.
McGillvary said: “What St Helens did for themselves and English rugby league on Saturday was outstanding. It was one of the best games I’ve watched in a long time. They really did themselves and the league proud. It goes to show what sort of level you will have to be at to knock them off their perch as they are coming again. They’re top quality and as a sport we should be proud of them. Everyone talks about how the game is going backwards over here but they’ve delivered over there and beat the best team in the NRL. It’s going to be a tough task again this season for everyone but we can’t wait to get cracking.”
