Huddersfield promote Sam Hewitt to first-team

Huddersfield academy star Sam Hewitt has been promoted to the first-team and has signed a two-year contract.

The 19-year-old’s deal will see him stay at the John Smith’s Stadium until the end of the 2020 season.

Hewitt, who was Huddersfield’s academy player of the year in 2017, wants to follow in the footsteps of fellow Giants academy graduates Kruise Leeming, Darnell McIntosh and Tyler Dickinson in making the step up to Super League level.

He said: “I was really pleased to extend my contract and it wasn’t a difficult decision.

“It’s nice that Rick (Stone) and Andy (Kelly) has put a bit of faith into me by extending my contract and I’m grateful to them for that.

“There’s lots of players that I can look up to. I think me and Matty English are in a similar boat after he made the step up to first-team last season, he showed that he can mix it with the big boys in Super League when he played in the win away to Leeds and it’s something that I aspire to do.

“Hopefully there’ll be a chance for me to get some game time with a busy period coming up over Easter so there could be a chance for me there and if there is then I’ll make sure I take it.”

Giants head coach, Rick Stone, added: “Sam is a player that we’ve had earmarked for a while now.

“If the opportunity arises then he may get some game-time. He’s the type of player that could bob his head up and get a game at some stage this year.

“We’ve committed to him for a couple of years and really believe that with the introduction of a little bit more full-time training and the ability to build his body up a little bit then he could be a genuine first-team player.

“He’s got the respect of our senior players for the way he goes about his work, whether it’s in the gym or on the field, he’s a quiet achiever that doesn’t say a lot. He lets his actions do the talking.”