Huddersfield star Ryan Hinchcliffe to hang up boots

Huddersfield loose forward Ryan Hinchcliffe will retire at the end of the season and return to Australia.

The 33-year-old joined the Giants from Melbourne Storm in 2016 and has made 86 appearances for the club, scoring 12 tries.

Hinchcliffe played 21 games for Canberra Raiders in the NRL, before spending six years at Melbourne, where he made 177 appearances.

Huddersfield coach Simon Woolford thanked Hinchcliffe for his efforts at the club.

He said: “I’ve known him a long time since we played together back at the Canberra Raiders in the early 2000s and he’s worked hard his whole career, with that he got a lot of success at Melbourne, success he thoroughly deserved.

“He’s one of those guys that lead by example on and off the field and he’s certainly going to be a loss for us next year.

“His attitude towards his footy is second to none, but he’s also pretty switched on. He knows his footy well, being at Melbourne for seven years he brought a lot of knowledge with him, unfortunately in his first couple of years here he didn’t really get to taste success which is disappointing.

“We would have loved to have seen him stay but he’s got a fantastic opportunity on the horizon, so I understand his decision to go back to Australia. Hopefully we can send him out in the next four games with some wins.”

Hinchcliffe is a two-time World Club Challenge winner, an NRL Grand Final winner and NRL Premier winner.