Jermaine looks ahead to special year with Giants
THE 2019 Super League season has concluded for Giants and although there were not many positives onfield, there is a lot to look forward to next season and for one man, 2020 will be a special year.
It was announced on Monday night that 2020 will be Jermaine McGillvary’s testimonial year with his testimonial match to be played on 12th January.
McGillvary, who has been at Huddersfield since 2007, made his debut in 2010 and next season will mark his tenth season in the first team.
Since his debut almost a decade ago, McGillvary has made his mark as the first name on any team sheet and has become an England regular, most notably starring in the 2017 World Cup.
Granting McGillvary a testimonial season follows Michael Lawrence’s 2019 testimonial and is just yet another example of the successes of the Giants academy.
This announcement was made at the Huddersfield Giants awards evening on Monday night.
This was a celebration of the season with awards given to both players and staff from the first-team right down to the academy.
The main winner of the evening was Lee Gaskell, who picked up four awards for his performances on the field this season.
Jordan Turner presented Gaskell with the Players’ Player of the Year award to conclude a night of celebration.
Gaskell also picked up the awards for Supporters Player of the Season, the Wagstaff Trophy as well as Giants on Tour Player of the Season.
The latter award is voted for by travelling away fans and with all four of these awards bagged by Gaskell, it highlights how invaluable he has become to the Giants team.
The other player to pick up one of the so-called “Big Three” awards was Ukuma Ta’ai who won Coaches Player of the Year.
Simon Woolford presented this award and because Ta’ai rarely gets the plaudits for his displays, it is clear his dogged work and determination is impressing Woolford.
Giants Commercial Manager Brian Blacker won the Outstanding Achievement award, given by the Board of Directors, for all his efforts throughout his time at the club.
Jack Flynn won Academy Player of the Year and hopes are high that Flynn can be yet another player off the academy conveyor-belt to make the jump to senior level.
Giants chairman Ken Davy was also a winner on Monday night, winning the Keith Burhouse Memorial Award that was collected in his absence by his grandson Barney.