JAKE , RATTLE AND ROLL
Mamo owes Giants coach for standing by him
LYING in a hospital bed in Bali, Jake Mamo knew he owed a debt of gratitude to Huddersfield coach Rick Stone.
The Aussie full-back had broken his ankle in a motor-bike accident on the Indonesian island in September.
And with his Giants agreement remaining unsigned, he faced an uncertain future.
But Stone – who had coached the 22-year-old at Newcastle Knights – maintained he still wanted him at the club, despite the fact he would not be fit until April.
Now three games into his Huddersfield career – and having scored in each match – Mamo has started to repay Stone’s faith. He said: “I was on an off-season trip in Indonesia and had a little accident on a motorbike, I’ll just leave it at that.
“It’s behind me – I made a mistake, I’ve learnt from it and I won’t do it again.
“I don’t ride bikes generally, it was just a holiday thing.
“I was yet to sign here when that happened. Stoney was the first person that I called because I had been talking to him before then, and I let him know w hat happened.
“I guess it was his decision after that whether he wanted me or not, and he did. Then it was straight into recovery and rehab and doing my best to get back on the field. “For him to still get me here after being injured, I definitely owe Stoney a lot. “I’ll do my best out there during the games to pay him back. “I’ve been content with my first three games – it’ll take a while to get to my peak, but it’s a work in progress.” The Giants have suffered a frustrating campaign that includes being dumped out of the Challenge Cup by the parttimers of Swinton.
But last week’s impressive 31-12 win at Leeds – with Mamo among the try-scorers – has given the Giants renewed hope before tonight’s home clash with table-toppers Castleford.
Mamo added: “I don’t pay attention to where teams are on the ladder – we go into game with a plan for ourselves and a plan to win the game.
“It’s no secret that we haven’t shown much consistency this year.
“It’s a work in progress and we showed what we can do against Leeds on the weekend.
“The major thing we’ll take out of that is some confidence and knowing we can do it, and we’ll take that into Castleford.”