Video - Wigan v Huddersfield: McGillvary back out of his Giants shell as England coach calls

McGillvary’s strike threat, allied to his equally important hard carries from his own end, will be crucial if the West Yorkshire team are to win at Wigan Warriors tonight and reach the Super League Grand Final for the first time.

It would cap a memorable spell for the player who earned his first Dream Team representation on Monday and last week spent time with the England squad as they start preparations for their three-Test series with New Zealand in November.

Video - Big stage bow would reward Giants backer

McGillvary, Super League’s top try-scorer with 27, admitted: “It was amazing to be there at that meeting. Steve rung me the week before and said I’ve been giving him headaches and to just keep going and making his job hard.

“He asked me to be part of the meeting and the initial set-up and it was amazing – I haven’t spoken to him for ages so it was nice to hear from him.

“He said it’s no guarantee I’ll be in the final squad but he wants me to be around the boys and see what it’s all about.

“It was nice to see everyone in one room, but my focus is on Huddersfield; we’ll see what happens with England after the Grand Final.”

McGillvary, 27, added: “I know if the Giants are doing well it could help my case. England want players who can play in big games – not someone who can go to a lower league team and score five tries.

“Anyone can do that – not many people can go to a Super League semi-final and perform on the big stage. I’ll be wanting to prove I can do that at Wigan and I’ll be trying my best to do it.”

The Huddersfield-born player is a late-comer to Super League – his first full season with Giants was aged 23, scoring 17 tries in 30 games during 2011.

But what has changed this campaign to bring such rich dividends?

“I had a lot of time to assess after the disappointment of last season, and I knew I had to lift my game because it was holding me back,” said McGillvary, glossing over the fact he still scored 20 tries last term for the second season running.

“I thought to myself about when my best year was, and it was my first one.

“I was so carefree, I expressed myself on the field and it helped me loads. I wasn’t scared of making errors and if I did I just tried to shrug it off.

“But in my second year people found me out a bit more and I started thinking about things a lot, and went into my shell.

“It’s taken me a while to get back to that level, but I feel like I’ve got the love for the game back like I did in that debut year.”

After losing in the last second to Leeds Rhinos last Friday, McGillvary admitted: “I’ve never been as heartbroken with a match in my entire life.

“As soon as Ryan Hall picked the ball up and started fist pumping I just wanted the pitch to swallow me up whole.

“But we couldn’t dwell as we’d miss out on the big prize and the biggest game of most of our careers is Thursday: Wigan.”

Meanwhile, Leeds’ Stevie (Ward) has lost his battle to be fit for tomorrow’s other semi-final versus St Helens with Jimmy Keinhorst and Josh Walters both challenging to take his place.