DARREN TURNER has played his last game for the Giants.
The Huddersfield-born hooker will undergo surgery on his troublesome knee injury next week, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.
And that has dashed the Giants' vice captain's hopes of securing a new McAlpine deal for Super League X.
The 29-year-old, who was captain of the Huddersfield Schools side that played in the 1985 Challenge Cup curtain-raiser at Wembley, will spend the rest of the season assisting coach Lee St Hilaire with the club's Senior Academy Under 21s.
He will also continue to train alongside his Giants teammates following his surgery, with the hope of regaining full fitness and resuming his playing career next year.
But Giants head coach Jon Sharp has today confirmed that won't be at Turner's hometown club.
"This news is a devastating blow for the club and obviously a devastating blow for Rocky," said Sharp.
"It's a decision no-one has taken lightly, but unfortunately circumstances have dictated things.
"Rocky has been working desperately hard in recent weeks trying to overcome the knee problem and get back onto the field.
"But every time he gets somewhere near, the problem re-occurs.
"Surgery will solve the problem, but surgery takes time. In the end, however, he was left with no real choice.
"He was well aware that he needed a big season in order to gain a new contract with us for the next year, and until the injury struck he was playing as well as I have ever seen.
"Unfortunately, cirumstances have changed for the worse since then.
"And I know we'll miss his influence, both on and off the field, in the future.
"He was my vice captain, a man I trust and can talk to, and a man we all respect.
"Given the strength of Rocky's character, I know he'll work as hard as possible to regain full fitness, and I've also no doubt he will prove a very valuable addition to a club's playing squad next season."
Turner's final game for the Giants was in the Challenge Cup semi-final clash against St Helens on April 25 - his 88th in the claret and gold of Huddersfield.
Before joining the Giants in 2000, he played for Sheffield Eagles, winning a Challenge Cup winners medal in 1998.
