Matty English has thanked Ryan Hinchcliffe and a trio of home-based players for accelerating his progress towards a new four-year Huddersfield Giants contract.

The 20-year-old put pen to paper after the Magic Weekend victory over Wakefield Trinity and is hoping to make his sixth appearance of the season against Salford on Friday night.

Interim head coach Chris Thorman revealed the Giants beat off “significant interest” from other Super League clubs to secure the former Stanley Rangers player on a long-term deal.

And English says the loyalty he’s been shown by the Giants – both this season and in the past – was at the forefront of his decision to stay and battle for a place under new head coach Simon Woolford.

“I travel in every day with Daniel Smith, Aaron Murphy and Dale Ferguson and they’ve been really good role models for me,” said English, a former England Youth captain.

“They have helped me find my feet in this environment, and Ryan Hinchcliffe as well.

“He’s a true professional who I get on with really well.

“We go through my clips and he helps me develop every single day and every single week – so those lads in particular.”

On the contract, English added: “I’m really happy because I can now focus on my rugby and developing as a young player.

“I was always likely to stay with the Giants because I am happy here and they seem happy with me.

“They’ve shown me loyalty and I wanted to show the same for the next chapter of my journey.”

Matty English
Matty English

English says the club are buoyant after three wins on the trot and he’s keen to help them establish a top-eight place this season.

“I’m taking every single game as it comes and trying to use every opportunity to impress,” he explained.

“Hopefully I can keep knocking the games off. My goal at the start of the year was 10 appearances, so hopefully I will be getting nearer to that by the end of the season.

“There is certainly a buzz about the place at the minute and smiles on faces, which is always nice.

“We just want to keep on winning, because it’s a hell of a lot better than losing!

“Salford are in a similar sort of position to us, so this is like a four-point game. They will be coming out just as eager as we are to get the win and they’ve had one over on us for the past couple of years, so we know we need to stand up this time.”

As Leroy Cudjoe prepares to return and others are nearing fitness, English says competition for places can only be good for the Giants’ prospects.

“With three wins on the bounce there is confidence and, especially with players coming back into the squad, we feel like we are growing again,” he said.

“We are kind of getting out of the hole we were once in and we feel that we can get in the eight and then push towards the top four.

“We’ve also got a quarter-final of the Challenge Cup coming up as well, so we are all really excited about that.

“The strong competition gives the coaches a selection headache, but it’s great for us because it makes us train even harder and it gets the best out of the team and out of the club.”