Michael Lawrence excited about Huddersfield future after signing new deal
The 31-year-old forward has made over 300 appearances since making his debut for the Giants in 2007.
Huddersfield coach Ian Watson said: “It’s important that you get the nucleus of the club right and it’s important that we made Michael Lawrence club captain this season.
“He typifies what you want from a rugby league player, on and off the field, with his ability and work-rate and his wider mentality.
“We’re trying hard to get back to the Huddersfield way – belonging to the area, knowing what it means to be a part of this club – and Michael is a great example of that. We want to bring that togetherness to the club in Huddersfield.”
Lawrence said: “I want to win another piece of silverware with this club. That’s always been my driving motivation every year and I believe we can do that.
“Obviously this season it’s been a bit disappointing with the disruption through Covid-19, injuries and taking a bit of time to get use to the new way of doing things. It’s starting to click now, however and we’re getting there, the group that we’ve got and the players we’re adding to the team next year are only gonna add to that and off the back of another good pre-season, we’ll hit the ground running next year.
“Everything is different now – the way we train and play has changed, as you’d expect with a new coach, but Ian Watson had a lot of success with Salford so the players that are here and will be there next year have full faith in what he’s trying to do, what he’s trying to build and what we’re trying to do as a club going forward.
“Being the club captain now and I have a leadership role within the squad. I’ve been in the squad, the club and Huddersfield longer than anyone else other than Leroy and I’m happy to help bring players through and help build that winning mentality. A good, hard-working, close knit group is what we want and that starts at the top. When you have a really good culture in the club, that puts you in good stead for the long-term future.”
“It’s massive for me and it means as much to me now as when I started playing for Huddersfield. Everyone that knows me knows that I love the club and the town and knows I give my absolute all to make sure we’re successful every time I take the field. I’m excited about what we can do and what we can achieve. Being named club captain was massive for me and is a real honour something I’ll forever be proud of.”
Lawrence is the second forward to extend his stay with the Giants after Australian Luke Yates signed a new three-year deal.