Head coach Rick Stone has ensured Jordan Rankin will remain a feature for the future at Huddersfield Giants.
The 25-year-old utility back joined the Giants on a short-term basis for the rest of the current season after becoming a free agent, following his release by NRL outfit West Tigers, and has now signed a three-year deal with the Super League club.
Rankin already has Super League experience having had two seasons at Hull FC, and has impressed Stone as he has operated at full-back in place of long-term injury casualty Jake Mamo.
“I’m very happy to have signed a new three-year deal with the Giants,” said Gold Coast-born Rankin.
“Rick, the coaches and all the playing staff have been fantastic from the day I arrived here and I want to be able to repay them for that.
“The club is heading in the right direction and I’m delighted to have signed this three-year contract. I feel I’ve joined at the right time with our team looking strong as we aim to finish the season well.
“I feel that I’ve settled in really well and have felt good playing at full-back, with such high quality players around me it’s made the job easier.
“There’s different styles to playing every position and I feel I’ve done my job pretty well so far this season with a few try assists, but I’m not fussed where I play so long as I’m playing well and helping the team get a win.
“I’ve felt at home here in Huddersfield with my partner Chloe making the move over to the UK with me, which has made the transition easy.
“We’ve both really enjoyed our time here and I’m delighted to have been rewarded with a new contract to remain with the Giants.
“The fans have been brilliant this season. With their support we’ve enjoyed a really good run and I’m hoping we can put in some big performances and finish the season strongly for them.”
Stone is pleased to see Rankin sign the deal and continue to be part of his long-term plans.
“Jordan’s made a really good impact on the pitch since he’s been here,” said Stone.
“He’s got the flexibility of playing in a few positions and has been playing full-back for us so far. Key ball-playing roles are really important in a footy team and he’s got the ability to play those roles.
“He’s fitted in well and has made a near seamless transition with some good form on the pitch as well as him being happy within himself and enjoying Huddersfield.
“If needed Jordan is more than capable of stepping up into the halves, he’s a good ball-runner, he’s got sharp feet, a good skill-set and a good kicking game.
“We’ve seen good combination play between Danny Brough, Lee Gaskell and Jordan and I’ve seen some good half-back traits coming out from him, so we may look to utilise him in that role in the future.
“Jordan is a valuable long-term acquisition and has made a good impact since he joined. I think in a half-back or in a ball-playing position, try assists are just as important as tries and he’s definitely laid on a number of try assists this season.
“That’s been really important, generally your full-back has got to come up with some big plays or money-balls and Jordan has managed to do that for us since he has been here.
“He’s only 25 and has got a lot of good rugby ahead of him and he’s a great acquisition for us.”
Stone is also believed to be on the verge of making a further addition for next season with the Giants linked with Bradford Bulls’ Colton Roche.
The versatile 24-year-old, who joined the Bulls from Featherstone Rovers, is out of contract with the Bulls at the end of the current campaign.
Stone has made four changes to his 19 man squad for tomorrow night’s home Super 8s clash with Castleford Tigers.
Club captain Leroy Cudjoe, Sam Rapira, Dale Ferguson and Oliver Roberts return to the squad after being absent for the 46-18 defeat of Hull FC in the last round of matches.
Centre Cudjoe is back after an ankle problem, former New Zealand international prop Rapira has recovered for a rib problem, while second rowers Roberts (leg) and Ferguson (shoulder) are also fit again after last weekend’s break for the Challenge Cup final.
The quartet replace Nathan Mason, Daniel Smith, Gene Ormsby and Tyler Dickinson.
Stone is not expecting the Tigers to ease off during the run-in despite having already secured a home semi-final in the Super 8s.
“They’ve been the stand-out team in the competition, the table reflects that,” Stone said.
“They’re 10 points ahead of the next team so they’re probably 15-20 per cent better than any other side in the competition at the moment.
“Now they’ve won the League Leaders Shield, they want to keep building, keep some momentum going towards the semi-finals, which is really important at this time of the year. I expect after a week off that they want to get straight back on the horse.”
However, Stone feels his side can give the table-toppers a real test at the John Smith’s Stadium – especially as the Giants ran the Tigers close at home in the regular season going down 21-16 in a tight contest in May.
“We had a decent run against them when we played against them at home, though they had a few players missing,” said Stone.
“But they have been consistent all year and I feel that we are in a good place at the moment to take them on.
“We have a healthier squad, and we have plenty of belief and confidence as we have gained some consistency in our execution.
“We are also much better defensively and much harder to score points against.”
And Stone retains the same attitude he has at the start of the Super 8s series.
“We just wanted to do our best in every game in the Super 8s and see where that gets us,” explained Stone.
“Aside from the Wigan game, where we got rolled over a bit, we have been pretty good in the two others games so we are probably in the right shape to meet Cas right now.”
All 12 Betfred Super League clubs have discussed the success of the current 2017 season and plans for the future of the competition.
The clubs were unanimous in their view that the 2017 Betfred Super League season has provided entertainment and excitement and, while the plan is still to review the current structure from 2019 onwards, it was decided to be in the best interests of the competition that there will be no changes made for the start of the 2018 season.
