Jermaine McGillvary reveals Super League giant he turned down

Former Huddersfield Giants legend and current Wakefield Trinity man Jermaine McGillvary has revealed which Super League giant he turned down.

The ex-England international has announced that he will be retiring at the end of the year, bringing an end to a stellar career that has spanned over 17 seasons, the majority of which he spent with Huddersfield Giants.

During his time at the Giants, he made a whopping 312 appearances before leaving at the end of the 2023 campaign and taking on a new challenge with relegated Wakefield Trinity.

McGillvary has been key both on and off the field in helping Trinity to the League Leaders’ Shield and also setting the culture under the new regime, something that’s of no surprise given his immense talent.

He ranks sixth among the all-time list for top try scorers in Super League with 196 whilst also representing England on 17 occasions, during which he scored a dozen tries.

The Super League legend has now reflected on his career and revealed the huge club that he snubbed in order to remain with his boyhood side.

Super League great knocked back Wigan Warriors

Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, McGillvary was asked about any regrets from his career given that he was unfortunate to never win anything barring the 2013 League Leaders’ Shield.

He will go down as one of the best ever players not to lift the Grand Final or the Challenge Cup but he confirmed he doesn’t have ‘too many regrets’.

“Probably not,” the 36-year-old responded when asked if he had got everything out of the game, before adding: “but I don’t have too many regrets.

“There were probably a couple of moves I should have made when I was younger, but that’s all hindsight.

“Maybe with what happened to me at the back end (of my career), I should have done that.”

He would then reveal which clubs he could have moved to and certainly won silverware at, with current Super League champions Wigan Warriors one of the sides he ‘should have joined’.

Talking on those moves he knocked back, McGillvary said: “I definitely would have won something as it was one of the big clubs: Wigan. They were the club I should have joined when I was younger.

“But it’s all hindsight now. I’ve enjoyed my time and all my team-mates throughout different eras at Huddersfield, and this set of mad men at Wakefield. I’ve enjoyed it.”

Trinity still have two games remaining in the regular season before the play-offs in which they will aim to win the Grand Final to make it three trophies in 2024. So far, McGillvary has scored 12 in 14 this season.