Monday 1 October 2018 09:19, UK
Jermaine McGillvary has ignored interest in his services from NRL clubs and signed a new deal with the Huddersfield Giants.
The England winger had two years remaining on his previous deal at the John Smith's Stadium, but has now committed to the Giants until 2022.
After announcing the deal, McGillvary said: "I'm over the moon to re-sign with the club. The club and supporters mean everything to me.
"It's my home-town club and I've never wanted to leave as long as everything is in the right place.
"They've always treated me well and that's why I play so hard. As long as I feel loved, I'll do anything for the club.
"It's the same with the fans, they've always shown a huge amount of support and love. It just makes my time here a lot more enjoyable and it makes me want to stay here for the remainder of my career and even after that if there's an opportunity."
Giants managing director Richard Thewlis admitted McGillvary's stellar performances for England in the World Cup in Australia last year had interested a number of NRL clubs.
He also revealed the Rugby Football League had turned down the Giants' request for financial assistance in keeping McGillvary in England.
Thewlis said: "Jermaine was without a doubt the star of the World Cup from an England perspective and came back to us with an enormous profile.
"We were aware that NRL clubs had been sniffing around and we all understand the salary cap differentials in play can make retaining players difficult.
"Our budgets and cap had been fixed by this point so we did approach the RFL to help Jermaine by making him one of their centrally-funded players which seemed to us an obvious fit as he was the face of England.
"The request for financial support was not forthcoming and so the burden fell solely upon us and we were able to both improve and extend Jermaine's contract with us, which is great news for all concerned."
