It has to go down as the best month of his professional career so far.

On May 14, Nathan Mason scored his first Super League try in the narrow 16-14 defeat at Catalans Dragons and eight days later was involved in the biggest game of his career as the Giants stormed to an impressive 48-20 Magic Weekend triumph over St Helens in front of almost 30,000 fans at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park.

And then to cap it all, the 22-year-old prop was handed a two-year contract extension to keep him at the John Smith’s Stadium until the end of the 2018 campaign.

It was a deal to reward his outstanding efforts throughout the toughest of years for his club, with his Magic appearance his 15th for the Giants in 2016.

During that time, Mason has looked more and more comfortable competing on the Super League stage, and he looks set to hold onto his spot for tomorrow’s trip to Widnes.

But even though the Oldham-born front-row forward has been earning rave reviews for his rock-solid performances, the level-headed youngster knows the ball is now in his court to prove to the club the new deal was fully justified.

“This is a fantastic time for me, and I’m loving every minute of it,” said Mason.

“The last few weeks have been amazing – scoring my first Super League try and then being in the winning Magic Weekend side against St Helens – and getting the new contract is a massive bonus, and I’m buzzing from it.

“The club have put a lot of time into me, backed me and shown confidence in me, so now it’s time to really play hard for them and give them 100% and keep the big man (head coach Paul Anderson) happy to try and stay in the squad.

“So what I need to do now is crack on with the season, get my head down and hopefully help the club get some silverware, that’s the main thing now.

Huddersfield Giants' Nathan Mason (left) celebrates scoring his sides first try with Ryan Brierley and Michael Lawrence First Utility Super League XXI Catalans v Leeds 14/05/16 (Pic by John Rushworth)

“Getting this new contract has now given me a bit of security for the next couple of years – it is a bit worrying when you know you’re out of contract at the end of the season and haven’t got anything sorted for the future – and that means I can now focus 100% on improving my game.

“That’ll come by continuing to work hard and becoming a more regular member of the Super League side. They say that if you play alongside good players and against good players it’ll help bring the best out of your own performance, and I’d like to think that’s the case with me.

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“I know how lucky I am to be learning off someone like Paul Anderson, who’s been one of the best props in the business, as well as our senior props, Eorl Crabtree, Sam Rapira and Craig Huby, who have given me so much help and encouragement, especially this year when I’ve played far more first grade than before.

“Everything is definitely now in place for me to push-on. It’s up to me to make sure I don’t let anyone down.”