A former England international, aged 32, is set to play his final game for Huddersfield when they face his former club—and an old friend—on Thursday.
Huddersfield’s Adam Milner is eager to face off against his close friend and former teammate, Castleford’s Paul McShane, whom he humorously refers to as a “grub.”
The two big pals spent nine years together at Castleford, making nearly 200 appearances side by side. During their time together, they won the 2017 League Leaders’ Shield, reached a Grand Final, and played at Wembley. Now, the ex-England internationals will compete against each other as rival hookers on Friday in what promises to be an emotional evening for both.
Castleford’s 34-year-old co-captain McShane will play his final professional game before retiring, while Milner, 32, could be making his last Super League appearance, as he is set to join League 1 champions Oldham next year. Milner said, “I probably couldn’t have picked a better team to be playing for this, and facing Macca in his last game, too.”
“It’ll be interesting. He’s been a bit of a grub his whole career!” Milner joked. “We’ve had plenty of wrestling sessions where, in his mind, he’s won, even though he probably hasn’t—mostly by grabbing where he shouldn’t and putting fingers in places they shouldn’t be!”
Milner is expecting the same antics from Paul McShane when they face off for the first time in a proper game since he left Castleford. “Macca’s had a great career, and I’m still good friends with him and a few of the Castleford lads like Liam Watts, Joe Westerman, and George Lawler.”
Milner has been sidelined with a back injury since Huddersfield’s win over Castleford at Magic Weekend on August 18. He’s been close to returning for the last couple of weeks but didn’t make it through their Captain’s Run—until Wednesday. Now, he’s ready to return as the Giants look to end a tough season on a high note.
Huddersfield, severely depleted, suffered a heavy 66-0 defeat at home to Warrington on Saturday. However, they will welcome back key players like Adam Milner, Chris Hill, Leroy Cudjoe, Ashton Golding, Harry Rushton, and Sam Hewitt. Reflecting on the loss, Milner said, “It was an embarrassing performance really. We had a big video meeting about it, which isn’t ideal at this time of year, especially given where the club is.”
Milner shared that head coach Luke Robinson used the meeting to outline the club’s future direction and gave departing players a chance to express what motivates them in what could be their final game. Milner added, “One thing that stood out to me—and what I said—was that I want to be remembered for playing tough, doing all the little things right, and being the kind of player others want to be on the field with. Hopefully, the lads pull together, and we get the result.”