Leroy Cudjoe will play for England in front of a capacity crowd in Huddersfield today, knowing how important Newsome Panthers have been in making that possible.

The 25-year-old learned his rugby league trade playing in the shadows of the John Smith’s Stadium at the flourishing amateur club.

At the time, the Giants centre never dreamed he’d be an England star and top Super League performer.

But when Cudjoe steps out onto his home pitch to make his seventh full England appearance against Ireland in this afternoon’s World Cup clash, the role the Panthers played will be at the back of his mind.

“I owe Newsome Panthers so much for getting me to this level,” said Cudjoe.

“The role our community clubs play in developing the professional players of today is vital – without them none of us would have got anywhere.

“That’s why all the England boys had their pictures taken wearing their junior RL club’s shirts earlier this week. It’s one of the ways we can say ‘thanks’ for the role they play.

“It was certainly with a great feeling of pride that I put on my Panthers shirt, because that is the club where I first had my taste of rugby league.

“During my time there, a lot of people gave me a tremendous amount of help.

“The likes of Steve Martin, Phil North and Adrian Brooke gave me massive support when I first started out in the game.

“It was a shame I had to leave to play in my own age group at Huddersfield Sharks under Steve Russell, who I also learned a lot from and I really appreciate what he did for me.

“But Newsome was where I spent most of my amateur days, and it’s a great club that’s improved massively and will continue to grow.”

Cudjoe began playing for the Panthers while he was at Newsome High School and Sports College and joined the Giants Academy as a 16-year-old. He signed his first full-time contract at the end of the 2006 season, making his Super League debut at home to Leeds Rhinos in Leeds.