Huddersfield Giants full back Jake Mamo says he is undecided about his future.
The 23-year-old tryscorer is out of contract at the end of this Super League season, having signed a two-year deal when he joined from Newcastle Knights of the NRL.
Mamo was dogged by injury last season before making an eye-catching impact.
And he’s spent time on the sidelines this term, too, as the Giants have struggled to challenge for a place in the top eight.
He returned to the starting line-up in the 38-4 defeat at Warrington Wolves and is expected to take his place against Widnes Vikings at the John Smith’s Stadium on Friday night.
Asked about his future, Mamo said: “I am not sure, I’m weighing up all the options.
“There are a lot of factors, things like where I want to live, if I want to go back to my family and if I want to stay here – I really don’t know.
“I’ve definitely enjoyed it. I love the UK, I love living here, it’s a lot of fun.
“And I like playing here as well, although the start of this year hasn’t been great and the start of last year as well.
“But the second half of last year, when we were playing well, was definitely enjoyable, so hopefully we can get back there.”
Mamo is one of the Giants squad who has encountered new head coach Simon Woolford - and he feels the Australian’s toughness will be a boon to the current Claret and Gold players.
“I don’t know too much about him because my final three months at the Knights were when he arrived, and he was a forwards coach so I didn’t really have any direct interaction with him other than to say ‘hi’,” explained Mamo.
“But from the little bit I do know he is pretty intense and hard and will be tough, which is what we need to give us that little bit of conditioning – and I’m sure things will turn around when he gets here and we will be better for it.”
Mamo, who was brought in by previous head coach Rick Stone, says it’s good to have clarity over the new boss, who is hoping to arrive in time to prepare the side for the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup clash against Wakefield on Friday, May 11.
“As with any aggressive team sport you need a little bit of toughness,” he said of Woolford’s impending arrival.
“If you get a bloke who was really tough when he was a player, you can command that from your playing squad.”
So what does Mamo expect from himself, the Giants and Widnes Vikings on Friday?
“From my point of view it was good to finally get back and helping out a bit (against Warrington),” he said.
“It’s a working progress for myself and as a team and it’s definitely good to be back.
“We have implemented a few things over the last three weeks with different training under Mark Andrews and, hopefully, we will now start to reap the benefits of that.
“We got smashed by St Helens, improved last week but then let go in the last 20 minutes, so hopefully we can put 80 minutes together against Widnes.
“Personally, I want to string a run of games together and perform well.
“Having not performed too well this year, I’m focusing on trying to sort that out and getting better, and a few games on the spin will help that.”
Mamo recognises the Giants have an immediate chance to lift themselves off the bottom of Super League with a victory.
“We have been playing pretty terrible over the last 10 weeks – it seems a horribly long time ago since we beat Widnes – but the fact we are within one point of three teams gives us an opportunity this week which we are determined not to let slip by.
“We definitely don’t want to be in the bottom four and we don’t plan on being there, and the top eight is not out of reach. A win this weekend would obviously put us closer.
“But we have to be wary of Widnes, who can play an expansive game and are good of offence, with a bit of ad-lib play.
“Last time we played them we were leading pretty comfortably and then they scored three or four tries very quickly, so we have to be aware of that threat.
“The fact we know we have beaten them, however, gives us the confidence to know we are capable of doing it.”
