Huddersfield centre Leroy Cudjoe feared not scoring all season - only to grab his first hat-trick in a decade.
The ex-England international, who takes on Castleford on Friday, had gone 17 games without crossing. But then he rattled off three tries inside just 23 minutes during Sunday’s 38-10 win at Hull KR. Cudjoe, whose first hat-trick came for Giants against Warrington 14 years ago, told Mirror Sport : “I’m not sure when the last time I scored three was.
“I remember scoring four against Widnes a long time back. That was in 2012. (Chris) McQueen and Jermaine (McGillvary) have been getting all the glory on the right edge for us this season. Neither of them want to pass to me! Each game that went by I was getting a little worried I hadn’t scored yet. So I won’t lie. It’s a relief I now have.”
Giants’ golden oldies on the right edge are ripping up Super League opponents. Aussie second-row McQueen, Cudjoe and former England winger McGillvary are all aged 34 but arguably playing better than ever. McQueen has 12 tries, McGillvary has nine and Cudjoe is now finally off the mark. His excellent all-round form has kept recent England debutant Jake Wardle, 23, out of the side.
Wardle has just switched to Warrington on a season-loan deal with fellow centre Toby King coming the other way. Ironically, King could debut on Friday Huddersfield star Ricky Leutele was injured in the KR romp. Cudjoe, who’s expected to sign on again at Giants in 2023, said: “I’m good mates with Jake. I hope he goes well at Warrington and shows what he can do because he’s a talented young player.
“I don’t really know Toby too well but I’ve watched his career due to him being a Huddersfield lad. It’ll be good to get to know him and work with him for the rest of the season. Toby’s a quality player and I’m sure he’ll slot in well. He works hard on and off the ball, is a dangerous ball carrier and someone who competes for everything.”
Third-placed Giants seek a seventh straight win when they visit Castleford. Having been narrowly pipped in the Challenge Cup final by Wigan, Cudjoe is confident his hometown side can push on to a maiden Grand Final. He said: “We certainly believe we can be in the big games come the end of the year.
“We know that to achieve that we’ve to be very good daily in training and weekly in games. Our focus is putting in a good performance Friday. Cas had a great win against a very good Catalans side on Sunday so they’ll be high on confidence especially at Wheldon Road which is always a tough place to go. Kenny (Edwards) is a threat with the ball and is one of their go-to players on that left edge with (Mahe) Fonua so I know defensively as a right edge we’ve to be very good.”
