HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS head coach Ian Watson has explained the decision behind the exit of Jermaine McGillvary from the Super League side.
McGillvary will arguably go down as the greatest winger ever for Huddersfield, but the 35-year-old will be moving to pastures new at the end of the 2023 Super League season.
Now Watson has revealed just why the veteran star has been allowed to leave, pointing to the example of Castleford Tigers of having an ageing squad.
“Everything unfortunately comes to an end and it’s not great when that happens because you have to have those discussions around players stepping back and doing other things and Jez has had to deal with that,” Watson said.
“There was a lot of talk throughout the year about retirement but there has been quite a lot of discussions around that with players coming to that stage of their career.
“At Huddersfield you have to watch and learn off other clubs, Castleford have had an ageing squad and the game is getting faster, it’s not getting any slower.
“We have spoken to Jermaine about continuing and retiring, I think he feels he has another year left in him in a full-time retirement and that fits with him and his family.”
Watson is also keen not to block the pathway of the likes of Sam Halsall.
“There was the option there to keep him and to move forward potentially but we have got some good players and good young players coming through, look at the development of Sam Halsall – it’s about not holding those players back.
“We have got in a good position with Sam Halsall coming through, we have got good young players coming through our system. It’s about developing them.”
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