Thousands turn out to welcome the Giants home

Sep 1 2009 By Neil Atkinson

THEY got a heroes’ welcome – and came back with a promise.

Huddersfield Giants were welcomed home by more than 2,000 fans in the St George’s Square sunshine yesterday.

And as players, coaches and officials thanked the fans for their support all season and at Wembley, they pledged: We’ll bring more glory to the town.

The Giants could have expected a muted response after their disappointing 25-16 defeat in Saturday’s Carnegie Challenge Cup Final to Warrington.

But the promised civic reception and open-top bus tour was greeted with cheers, banners and smiles despite the result.

Giants’ skipper Brett Hodgson said: "It’s disappointing we don’t have the cup with us but I want you to know we tried our best.

"The support we have had all year has been fantastic and after Saturday’s disappointment, we are going to set off on a massive push for the rest of the season and the play-offs".

And there were huge cheers as coach Nathan Brown, in his first season, said: "The club is going forward. We didn’t play well at Wembley but we will take our lessons and take it forward in the play-offs."

There were chants of "There’s Only One Ken Davy" as the Giants’ owner took the microphone to thank the fans.

Davy said: "We are celebrating the fact that we beat St Helens, that we got to Wembley and that the Giants are going forward.

"We will build on our Wembley appearance and continue turning this club into a force to be reckoned with in Super League.