HUDDERSFIELD Giants coach Luke Robinson admitted he wouldn’t have been able to live with himself had he not managed to secure a victory for club legend Leroy Cudjoe on his final home outing.
The Giants came from behind to beat bottom side Salford Red Devils 22-8 in retiring Cudjoe’s last game at the Accu Stadium, after more than 400 appearances for his hometown club in a fine career.
“He is Mr Huddersfield,” enthused Robinson. “We made our Huddersfield debuts together in 2008, so I’ve gone through a journey with him and I’ve seen him become the player and the bloke he is today.
“If my three boys can become the man that Leroy is, I’d be very proud. He gives everything for Huddersfield.
“I don’t think I’d have been able to live with myself if I was the coach who lost Leroy’s last home game!”
Cudjoe landed a late conversion, and Robinson added: “With the amount of knee injuries he’s had, I didn’t know if he could swing his leg that high! There was no plan to give him a conversion. The plan was to get a win for him, however ugly or pretty.”
Salford continue to show incredible fight against the odds, best demonstrated by their efforts to lead 8-4 with 70 minutes gone.
“They play like a team, which is remarkable,” said coach Paul Rowley. “They care about the shirt and the supporters, and in terms of character, we never fail. Huddersfield were always going to come after us through the middle, and we probably couldn’t match that in terms of size and fresh legs coming off the bench, and ultimately we made too many unforced errors, which resulted in too much lost territory.”