Eorl Crabtree will become the 22nd player to be inducted into the Huddersfield Rugby League Hall of Fame and will be presented with the accolade at Friday’s match against league leaders Castleford.
Crabtree spent his entire 17-year playing career at the Giants, playing 423 games and scoring 79 tries.
“It feels absolutely fantastic to be given a place in the Hall of Fame,” Crabtree said.
“It’s hard to explain because as you start on the journey to being a professional rugby league player all you want to do is play for your hometown club and I’m very fortunate that I got the opportunity to do that for about 18 years and play over 400 games.
“I’d have liked to have gone on for a bit longer but unfortunately it had to end at some point. The club is going in a good direction now and I have been given an opportunity to try and help the club off the field but to be recognised as a player that deserves to be in the Hall of Fame is unbelievable.
“I’ve always committed everything and put everything into making sure I did the right thing, not causing problems, trying to be a model professional and I wanted to inspire people. It might seem a bit strange but my uncle is a bit of an inspiration and was always seen as the ‘good guy’ which is what I wanted to be. I feel that I’m being recognised for the things I did and the way of life that I have lead, I’m absolutely over the moon to be in the Hall of Fame.”
The last Huddersfield Rugby League player to be inducted to the Hall of Fame was Ken Senior, who retired in 1979, and Crabtree will become to be the first Huddersfield player from the Super League era to be honoured.
He continued: “It’s something that doesn’t happen too often as the game has changed over the years. We’ve been waiting a while for another Hall of Fame entrant but I’m sure we won’t be waiting quite so long for the next Hall of Famer.
“In the future I’d love to see the likes of Jermaine McGillvary, Leroy Cudjoe and Michael Lawrence, these players are going to be around for a while and will hopefully stay with Huddersfield throughout their careers and will join me in the Hall of Fame. I look forward to being a part of the new Hall of Famers, the new breed of Super League Hall of Famers because I think the future is really bright at Huddersfield. I’m just glad I’ve been at the start of that. I’ve been here right from the beginning when we were relegated to promotion and now I can see us going from strength to strength.”
Giants Managing Director Richard Thewlis added: “Eorl Crabtree has been fantastic for the Giants on and off the field for many years and is fully deserving of the honour of being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Eorl is a popular and well-known figure in Huddersfield and I would like to congratulate him on being a part of this prestigious group. I would urge fans to attend Friday’s match against Castleford Tigers to witness a true great of the Huddersfield Club being presented with such a reward and witness what promises to be an entertaining game of rugby.”
