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ENGLAND World Cup star Jermaine McGillvary insists he is happy at hometown Huddersfield after reported interest from Australia didn’t materialise.
McGillvary (below) lit up last year’s tournament as England made the final, scoring seven tries in six games.
It led to the star, known as “Jerry”, being linked with top NRL clubs on a weekly basis Down Under, including national coach Wayne Bennett’s Brisbane Broncos.
But the 29-year-old – who is contracted to the Giants until the end of 2020 – says no approaches were made.
Now he is fully focused on helping Huddersfield become a Super League force again, ahead of next week’s kick-off.
McGillvary said: “I didn’t hear anything from the NRL, but I’m more than happy to be here. Huddersfield has made me the player I am. I didn’t just go out to the World Cup and start playing well, I’ve been at the Giants all my career.
“And this year is a big one for us – we’re trying to get back to that top-four status and challenging for stuff like we used to be.” Rick Stone’s side scraped into the top eight in 2017, but were never a realistic threat to the play-offs. There have been minimal changes to Stone’s squad, with only forwards Colton Roche and Adam Walne arriving in place of Sam Rapira and Nathan Mason.
McGillvary added: “I had a great time in Australia and the effort was outstanding.
“Being around that group of people was outstanding - I don’t think I’ll ever get that anywhere else.
“But now I’m concentrating on Huddersfield – we need a massive start.”