Huddersfield Giants star recalls ‘soul-destroying’ injury and outlines trophy target

Tough times make tough people and one of Super League’s most deadly try scorers has vowed to come back stronger from a “soul-destroying” setback during his first season at Huddersfield Giants.

Adam Swift has revealed a positive update on his devastating groin injury, expressed his excitement about the 2025 Huddersfield Giants squad and insisted that they can end their long trophy drought.

The St Helens-born winger lived up to his surname during a blistering start to last season, scoring 11 Betfred Super League tries in 10 games following his off-season move from Hull FC on a three-year deal.

But disaster struck when he suffered a groin injury during an 18-16 home loss to Salford Red Devils in May.

What was expected to be a relatively short recovery period dragged on and at the end of July he underwent surgery which brought his season to a halt.

That deprived the Giants of their main strike threat, but the good news for Huddersfield is that he’s on the mend and aiming to make a sustained impact on the 2025 campaign.

Huddersfield Giants star set for bounceback 2025

“I am okay,” Swift told Serious About Rugby League at Giants’ pre-season media day today (Tuesday).

“I am towards the back end of my rehab now and I’ve started to integrate in with some of the squad-based training this last week. It has been good for me to blow off some cobwebs.

“It has been a while, it has been a long, painstaking injury, but there’s some light at the end of the tunnel now and I am looking forward to the season.”

Swift is determined not to dwell on the major setback. “It was a long time ago,” he said of when the injury occurred.

“I had a bit of a torrid time of it with some stuff not working which we banked on working; an eight-week rehab fell through six weeks in so I went back to the specialist and the only way to fix what was up was with an operation in the end.

“Eight weeks turned into another 16 weeks on top of that, so it was soul-destroying tough times, but it is what it is and all that’s behind me now.

“I am used to these longish injuries, it’s part and parcel of the game. It’s what you sign up for, these things happen and you’ve got to put it to bed and crack on, because that’s what everyone else does in this game. We are a tough set of lads, so that’s what we do.”

Swift admitted his form at the time of the injury made his layoff more frustrating. “That’s what I get paid to do,” he said of his try scoring record at the start of 2024.

“It was a bit gutting in that respect as well, because I was playing some good footy.

“Off the year I had before, I was carrying some form through and that always hits hard, when I am doing well for the boys and then I’m not out on the field, impacting what I can do. That made it a little bit more destroying, but it is what it is.”

Trophy ambition driving Adam Swift at Huddersfield

Now the focus is on 2025 and Swift believes he is returning to a refreshed Giants squad capable of climbing back into the play-offs after this year’s ninth-place finish.

“We’ve got a good mix of youth and experience,” he said. “We’ve got a good set of young lads coming through in the forwards and the outside-backs and with that, we’ve signed some good quality in the outside-backs.

“We’ve got some older players who have their heads screwed on and are going to get us around the park.

“It should be an interesting year. I am sure everyone will say the same in pre-season, but I am excited to see where we go this year.”

Now 31, Swift made his debut for Saints in 2012 and was a Grand Final winner two years later. He moved to Hull at the end of 2018 and is relishing – if a bit shocked by – his current status as a senior player.

“I think I am the third-oldest in the squad,” he said. “I close my eyes and I can remember my debut at Langtree Park when I was 18 or 19. Next thing, I’m here 12/13 years later.

“It’s frightening, we’re not in this game for long and it goes quick, so you have to enjoy it.”

Though he still has some good years left in him, that looming spectre of eventual retirement only strengthens Swift’s desire to win something with Giants over the next season or two.

“I want to do it for myself and this great club I am at now,” he said. “I’ve gone from not winning anything when I was at Hull for four years – a pretty torrid time – to then coming here and having the year we had last year.

“The club’s not won a trophy in many years and it’s a driving force for us as a squad to do this town justice.”