Nathan Brown column: We’re all so excited as the big day approaches

Aug 6 2009 by Chris Roberts, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

How is the mood among everyone as Sunday’s big day approaches?

The general feeling is one of excitement more than anything. Everyone seems pretty relaxed and the boys are looking confident.

There’s a good feel about the place.

Are you planning anything different because of the importance of the fixture?

No, we’re just treating it as a normal training week.

It was business as usual at the start of the week and there will be the usual sessions today and Saturday. It’s just going to be like any Sunday-to-Sunday turn-around.

It’s a process that has worked pretty well all year, so we don’t feel the need to change it now.

What sort of shape is the squad looking in?

It’s looking good, and apart from Andy Raleigh (Achilles) and the Cup-tied Danny Sculthorpe, everyone is available for selection.

Paul Whatuira will return after missing the last two games with a calf injury, and the three other players who were rested against Hull FC will also be back.

Eorl Crabtree, Darrell Griffin and Stephen Wild were all rested because they were carrying slight knocks.

And I stress ‘slight’, because if we’d been playing a Grand Final game last weekend they’d all have played.

All three of them have played a lot of footy over the last eight to 10 weeks and I know how much they’ll benefit from a week off. They should be nice and fresh this Sunday.

Even though you rested several senior players at Hull last Friday, you must have been delighted to come away with a 24-0 scoreline, especially as it helped you secure a play-off place with four games to spare?

Yes, we were very pleased with the result.

Although the result may not have suggested it, it was a good tough game against opponents who needed a win to keep their season alive. It was their last throw of the dice.

For the opening 20 minutes they seemed to be attacking our line all the time through a combination of their hard work and the number of errors we were making.

Fortunately, our defence was again pretty good, and that gave us the confidence to go on and win the game.

The fact the win also confirmed our place in the play-offs with games to spare was a bonus, and I’d now like to think we can stick up in the top four.

The guys have done a pretty consistent job this season and they deserve to be where they are in the table.

I still think it’s going to be pretty tough to catch St Helens at the top (they’re four points ahead), but we’re comfortable for them to run top if we can go well against them in the Cup this weekend.