Australian rookie Mamo's rapid rise at Huddersfield Giants leaves McGillvary stunned

HUDDERSFIELD Giants winger Jermaine McGillvary still cannot believe in-form club-mate Jake Mamo can be so influential given his tender years.
Jermaine McGillvary.Jermaine McGillvary.
Jermaine McGillvary.

The prolific Australian full-back scored another four tries during Saturday’s emphatic 56-12 win against Catalans Dragons in Perpignan.

Mamo, who only turned 23 last week, helped inspire the West Yorkshire club to a third win in four games and saw them break into Super League’s top eight.

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He now has a dozen tries in just eight matches since debuting in April and has clearly emerged as one of the best signings of the season following his arrival from Newcastle Knights last autumn.

A broken ankle meant Mamo missed the start of the campaign, but McGillvary told The Yorkshire Post: “Jake’s been class for us and was again in France.

People don’t realise how young he is either until they actually talk to him; you look at him on the field and think he’s some experienced NRL player, but he isn’t.

“It’s tough for a kid that young to come over to a new country like this, not knowing anyone and being injured, too, so not even being in the mix with the squad as he gets fit.

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“To come back and perform like he has – not just scoring tries, but creating them and stopping them as well – is remarkable.

“He’s delighted with it and so are we all. Let’s hope he continues doing what he’s doing as he has been great.”

Remarkably, however, Mamo’s feat was not the most eye-catching of the weekend given Greg Eden scored five for Castleford Tigers against Warrington Wolves on Sunday.

This was just one short of Lesley Vainikolo’s Super League record of six, scored by the Bradford Bulls winger against Hull FC in 2005.

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But it did take him to 30 league tries this term already so Eden does seem certain to break Super League’s season’s best of 40, set by Castleford’s Denny Solomona last season before he left for Sale Sharks.

McGillvary – who took his own tally to 12 this year with a brace in Perpignan – admitted: “Greg is really killing it at the moment and I really hope he does break that record. He’s worked hard for this. He was with us at Huddersfield for a while (in 2012) and had an up-and-down time.

“He went to Hull KR and had a similar sort of story there, then went to the NRL and I remember Wayne Bennett probably tried to force him out at Brisbane Broncos after his first year.

“But he stuck at it, made his NRL debut, scored some tries and now he’s come back to Cas where he’s smashing it. I hope he gets in the England squad at the end of the year as well.”

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Bennett has just picked the uncapped 26-year-old in his England elite performance squad where he is jostling with the likes of McGillvary, Ryan Hall and Tommy Makinson for a place on the plane for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

“I know he’s up against me, but I still want him to get picked in that squad – as long as I’m getting that shirt,” said McGillvary.

“Competition always brings the best out of me and it was great to see him on our get-together last week.

“He’s a breath of fresh air; Greg is one of the weirdest guys I know – he comes out with real strange phrases – but he knows that and I’m really happy for him.”

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Meanwhile, former England coach Steve McNamara is set to be confirmed as Catalans’ new chief and Leigh Centurions have signed Kiwi Bryson Goodwin, 31, from South Sydney on a two-year deal from 2018.

Danny Washbrook, 31, has signed a new one-year deal at Hull FC, whose game at Castleford has been switched to Friday, June 30 (8pm) for Sky Sports broadcast.

Leeds Rhinos’ Jamie Jones-Buchanan faces a two-game ban on a dangerous contact charge.