LEE GILMOUR is desperate to sign off his time at St Helens on a high and arrive at the Giants as a Super League Grand Final winner.
The 31-year-old Great Britain back-rower ends a glittering six-year career at Saints tomorrow night against Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford (6.00).
The Dewsbury-based ace will then take up a two-year contract with the Giants, and is desperate to do everything within his power to make sure his final St Helens memory is a positive one and he can help his club win the trophy for the first time since 2006 and collect his third Super League winners’ ring.
“After losing to Leeds in the last two finals, we’re all desperate for this to be our year,” said Gilmour, who won a Grand Final with Wigan in 1998 but lost with Bradford Bulls in 2002.
“Although Leeds finished top at the end of the regular season, we’re a confident set of players and we’ve had some good battles with Leeds over the past few years.
“We knocked them out of the Challenge Cup earlier this season and we’ll take some confidence from that, even though we lost at Leeds in the play-offs the other week.
“And for me and Sean Long (who’s joining Hull next season) tomorrow is even more special because we know it’s going to be our last game for the club.
“We’ve obviously known we’ll be leaving for a quite a while, but there’ll still be some emotion involved when we get out there tomorrow night.
“But we know that comes with the territory and we’ll both be focused.
“I’ve had six brilliant years here and I’m going to be very sad to leave. If I had my way, I’d have probably stayed but, having said that, I’m excited about going to Huddersfield because they were my first-choice club if I was to leave Saints and I’m delighted to be going there.
“But that’s next season. I’ve still got one more game to go and I’ll be doing everything I can to help the team win the Grand Final.”
St Helens are expected to be unchanged from the side that beat Wigan 14-10 in the qualifying semi-final.
There could be one switch at Leeds, however, with Ali Lauitiiti fit to return after missing last week’s 27-20 triumph over Catalans Dragons through illness.
