FAMILIAR FACES: LUKE ROBINSON

We look back at the Career of a Giants Great and current Assistant Coach of Huddersfield, Luke Robinson.

Robinson is now one of the assistant coaches at the Giants, working alongside head coach Simon Woolford and also fellow assistant, Willie Poching.

The ex-England international was forced to retire at the age of 31 back in 2016 due to a hip injury. Robinson’s professional Rugby League career lasted fourteen years, where the playmaker had spells at the Wigan Warriors, Salford City Reds (now known as Salford Red Devils) and also a loan spell at the Castleford Tigers before moving to the Giants in 2008.

On retiring, the Giants assistant said: “Life after retirement has been pretty good if I’m honest my wife probably thought that I would have suffered a little bit more than I did, it wasn’t a surprise to me really because I was injured for quite a long time, I kind of knew it was coming, so mentally I prepared myself a little bit for that” 

He has gone on to rise from his tutelage of the Academy side, which reached the Semi-Finals of the Academy Championship last year, and has move into the first team coaching staff: “My role has probably not changed. I’ve just taken more of it on and based a little bit more focused on the one team rather than two teams, I still try to go down and help Andy Kelly with the scholarship and still have an influence on the team, but my focus is now more on the first team than anyone.”

Robinson was part of the Giants side who won the League Leaders Shield back in 2013 when Giants finished top of the pile, one point ahead of the Warrington Wolves.

The Halifax born playmaker predominantly played at half-back during his career, but he did also have spells as a hooker towards the end of his career. His speed at the ruck allowed the Giants to make crucial metres up the field and his size allowed the playmaker to avoid tackles.

The half-back signed for the Wigan Warriors when he was 11 years old. He progressed through the Wigan academy before making his Warriors debut in 2002 at the age of 17 against the Warrington Wolves, in a 58-4 win at the DW Stadium. Robinson ended up playing 47 times for the Cherry and White outfit before moving to Castleford on loan. He didn’t play another game for the Warriors after his loan spell.

His loan spell at Cas came in the 2004 season, it was originally a one-month loan, but it was extended, where his performances earned him a move to Salford. Robinson was 19 at the time of his loan spell, where he played nine times for Cas. His final game for the club saw them defeat the Giants 24-20.

As noted earlier, the playmaker then moved to the Salford Red Devils, where he featured 86 times for Greater Manchester side. Robinson scored 34 tries during his spell at the Red Devils before joining the Giants, where he would end his playing career.

When Robinson arrived at the Giants in 2008, he became a very key part of the Giants side. He was a very quick and agile player that caused trouble for most defences in the Super League. Robinson played 228 games for the Giants, scoring 54 tries for the West Yorkshire side.

As noted too, Robinson also made multiple appearances for England too. He played six times for his country scoring three tries during those caps.