Johnson and Dickinson sign full time Giants contracts
30th May 2014Promising young Academy duo to sign for the 2015 campaign
Huddersfield Giants Academy starlets Liam Johnson and Tyler Dickinson have signed their first Super League contracts during the half time interval at tonight’s fixture against Wigan Warriors.
Liam Johnson is a second rower and comes from Community Club Newsome Panthers, following in the footsteps of current first team stars Michael Lawrence and Leroy Cudjoe. Johnson is a former England Youth Captain and at just 17 years old is already spending time training with the first team.
Tyler Dickinson is front row forward and a former Siddal Bulldog who is currently in the England Academy squad and featured in the recent 34-30 test victory against France.
Both Liam and Tyler have a good Rugby League pedigree and the signings show the continued intention by the Club to encourage, support and retain our home grown Academy produced talent.
Huddersfield Giants Head Coach Paul Anderson commented on the signing of the Academy duo:
“The real simple analogy to use is that they are very, very good young players and we need to keep producing our own stars and give them pathways into the first grade squad. They aren’t coming just to make the numbers up, they’re coming because they are good quality players.
“Liam Johnson was Scholarship England Captain last year and Tyler has just played for his country as well. Both players did full time pre-season and we are excited about them coming through the production system we have in place.
“We are active in the production area now as we don’t want to have to keep bringing in players. We have got to make sure the Club as a whole, for years to come, is producing players in a tight market. In essence both Liam and Tyler are local juniors that have come all the way through our scholarships.”
Head of Youth Development Andy Kelly also expressed his delight at Liam Johnson and Tyler Dickinson securing their futures with the Club:
“It’s fantastic news for the Club. We have seen enough in the two players and developed them to the stage that we want to sign them up at this early stage. Both players have enough confidence in the Club to want to stay and further their careers along with wanting to establish their Super League careers in the very near future.
“We run a healthy Academy system. What we’ve got are some of the best young players available to us within our region. In that system we are hoping to put some faith in the youth for the long term and to do that we need to have the right players in place in the Academy.”