Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Young duo sign new contracts with Giants

HEWITT AND KIRBY COMMIT TO CLUB UNTIL END OF 2022

- By CONOR MURPHY

SAM Hewitt and Jon-Luke Kirby have signed contract extensions with Huddersfie­ld Giants until the end of the 2022 season.

Second-rower Hewitt, 21, made his Claret and Gold debut for the club in 2018 and made 13 appearance­s in 2019.

Kirby, who is also 21, made his debut in one of three appearance­s last season while also featuring for Hunslet and Halifax in loanspells.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back and cracking on with it,” said prop Kirby.

“I just want to emerge as a regular in the first-team really.

“I want to be competing week in, week out to get in the team. I’m still only 21 so that’s my short-term goal at the minute.”

Despite the game being on hold due to the coronaviru­s outbreak, Kirby says the squad are keen to get back into action, especially considerin­g the impressive start the Giants made to the Super League campaign.

He said: “We’ve approached the year with an attitude that we want to compete with those teams at the top, it’s about getting out there and cracking on.

“It’s difficult to pinpoint one specific thing (that’s changed this season) but we all want to succeed.

“Generally, there’s a collective attitude among every individual, we’ve made sure we all share the same goals and attitude towards everything.

“We’re all profession­als who want to succeed at what we do. That shared attitude has brought that belief that we can compete.”

Hewitt, a graduate of the club’s academy system, says he didn’t have to think twice about extending his stay at the Giants.

We’re all profession­als who want to succeed, that shared attitude has brought a belief we

can compete

He said: “It wasn’t a difficult decision for me at all. I love being here and I am very excited with the squad we are building.

“You can’t beat the buzz of pulling on the Claret and Gold shirt on a Friday night.

“Just to be around the likes of Jermaine McGillvary and Aidan Sezer is a privilege in itself and I’m really looking forward to see what we can do this season whenever that may be starting again because we have bags of potential to do something great.

“The staff and personnel at the club are great and I have a good relationsh­ip with them so that is a key part into making me a better player and progressin­g my career.

“I’m itching to get back to being able to train and play if I’m honest.

“The lack of daily routine and structure is something I’m finding fairly strange. I’m hoping to work my way up to become a first-team regularly. There is plenty of good competitio­n for places in the team and that’s something I can strive on to make myself a better player.”

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