Brierley glad transfer hell is over

Ryan Brierley says the past few weeks have been the toughest time of his career and he is glad to have his future finally sorted.

Brierley has left Leigh and signed a four and a half year deal with Huddersfield.

“To be honest the last few weeks have probably been the toughest time of my career, it has not been a nice time, just not knowing where you are going to be for the rest of the season is daunting, especially because I have a young family now,” he said.

“It was a stressful time and the duty of care that Huddersfield have shown was a big thing for me and how they appreciated my family was a big factor for me and was probably the swinging factor in coming to Huddersfield Giants.

“I have been close to Paul and Richard Thewlis and I met Ken Davy on Monday and every person I have met so far has welcomed me with open arms, which is amazing, I think you need to be treated well as a person before you are treated well as a player, it is all good for me and I feel like it is the right step in my career and I am looking forward to a new chapter in my life with the Huddersfield Giants and I just can’t wait to get started.

“It is great to finally have my future sorted after a difficult few weeks. My time at Leigh on the whole has been superb for me and I have to thank them for their part in my development as a player and in particular Paul Rowley, who has been a big influence on my career and of course the Chairman and board at Leigh for giving me a chance in the Championship.

“The fans there have been superb to me and I really hope that the club can go on and achieve Super League status. Obviously it is an amazing opportunity for me to play in a great team and in a great environment.

“I was really impressed with the facilities when I came down and I was impressed with Paul Anderson and the ideas he has got are great for me. My biggest job is to earn the respect from him and my teammates by getting into training and working hard.

“It is something that I am looking forward to and I can’t wait to get started it, it is going to be a massive test for me to be involved in a Super League environment and it is a pretty daunting task in itself but I am just looking forward to getting started.

“There is a world class playing roster here and a number of internationals and the chance to first train alongside these guys is special. I know there is no guarantee I am going to play, I have just got to work hard and earn a spot in the right way and that is by training hard and getting the respect of my peers and the management team.

“But to play alongside great players like Danny Brough and Jamie Ellis is going to be a great experience for me, it is a special place to be at the moment if you look at Huddersfield and you look at the stadium and the facilities.

“It just felt like home to me and hopefully I will have a long and successful time here. My first aim is to gain respect from the players, I am going to be the new kid at school so it is going to be a daunting task, so the first step is earning their respect and the coaching staff’s respect.

“They have got plans for me which I will keep close to my chest and I am sure they will keep close to theirs. The big task for me is just to train hard in a Super League environment, which is somewhere I have never been before.

“The end goal is to win trophies, when I started playing rugby as a little boy I wanted to win the Super League trophy and I feel like I am in a good position to do that here but that is further down the line and my focus at the moment is to train hard and get into the team and just performing well for Paul Anderson.”

Giants coach Paul Anderson said Brierley has great pace which will bring an extra dimension to his squad.

“He is a natural try scorer which is a great asset to have and his challenge immediately will be to get up to the week in week out fitness and intensity required at Super league level,” he said.

“He fits the Giants policy of buying young hungry English players and our task as coaches here is fit him into our systems so we can best use his talents.”

Giants managing director Richard Thewlis explained how the deal materialised.

“We have kept a watching brief on the situation surrounding Ryan which has been well publicised,” he said.

“We have kept the Leigh club fully in the loop regarding our intentions and I personally thank Derek Beaumont for his assistance in getting us both to a scenario we are happy with and one which allows Ryan now to begin life as a Super League player.

“For such a young man to have such a profile without even playing a game in the top flight is testamount to what he has already achieved in his career to date and my view is that he can now focus fully on his immediate challenge which is to gain a place in our side and establish himself as a Super League player.

“He is moving his family across to live in the area which is an immediate sign to me of his commitment to Huddersfield and I look forward to seeing him develop within our environment.”