‘It has not sunk in’ - Retiring treble-winner and goal-kick extraordinaire Jermaine McGillvary praises ‘special’ Wakefield Trinity group
The 2024 season may have ended in superb style for Wakefield Trinity on Saturday, but someone might need to closely monitor the main entrance doors at the DIY Kitchens Stadium to keep out one of their retiring heroes.
Not that anyone at the club would want to keep the extremely affable Jermaine McGillvary on the outside looking in - especially after his extraordinary ten-point haul in the 36-0 Grand Final triumph over Toulouse helped Trin to a terrific treble.
More, perhaps, that this his time to finally, and deservedly, put his feet up after calling time on a glittering rugby league career which started at Huddersfield Giants in 2008.
“It’s not even sunk in for me yet,” the 36-year-old winger said after the sensational victory. “I’ll probably end up coming here on Monday!
“It will probably sink in for me when all the boys come in for pre-season. I’ve been doing this pretty much since I left school. I have been doing it longer than I have been in the school system.
“I think that it is going to hit me hard. It’s the changing room and being around the guys. That’s something I can’t replicate. That’s what I’m going to struggle with the most.”
McGillvary could have hung up his boots after his 16-year stint with his hometown club ended in 2023.
One year on, he is a treble winner with Wakefield having helped Daryl Powell’s side to the League Leaders’ Shield with 25 wins out of 26, as well as scoring two tries at Wembley in the 50-6 thrashing of Sheffield Eagles in the 1895 Cup Final - his first ever appearance at the national stadium.
He signed off with two more tries in the Grand Final - the second of which he mesmerisingly converted from the touchline - as Trin nilled their nearest challenges throughout 2024.
“It was outstanding,” he said. “It was something I was looking forward to at the start of the season. I am so glad I came. It has been an honour to have been a part of this group. It is a special group.
"I have played with a lot of top, top players and world class players, throughout my career and these are amongst the best people I’ve ever come across.
“I am so grateful for the opportunity to come here and end it like this with three trophies. I am really happy.”
He added: “It was our best performance. Toulouse are no mugs, they are a top team with some top players in there.
“To do that to them, in a Grand Final as well, is outstanding. It just goes to show what the group is like.”
On his kicking exploits, McGillvary laughed:
“I don’t think everyone had faith in me. They couldn’t believe it.
"I didn’t have faith in myself to be honest! I got lucky in the end. It wasn’t a bad way to sign off.
“When I went on loan to Batley I scored five tries against Whitehaven and they gave me the last kick. I got that as well!
“Two in two, 100 per cent! There's not many professionals that can say they’re 100 per cent in goal kicking - but I can! I must be up there!”
And the former England international, who represented his country 17 times, has one final message.
He revealed: “I have had a good time. Rugby league’s been good to me. It’s given me everything I’ve got in my life. I don’t know where I would be without it. I am really appreciative of that.