Giants coach Nathan Brown: Challenge Cup Final questions

Aug 27 2009 by Chris Roberts, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

When you beat St Helens in the semi-final the other week, you went into it on the back of a six-game winning run. But since then you’ve lost your last two games, so are you concerned at losing some momentum?

If you notice, all four sides that played in the semi-finals played poorly the following week and (former St Helens’ Challenge Cup winning coach) Daniel Anderson had warned me about that.

And, I have to admit, in our game against Bradford Bulls some of the players might as well have been sitting next to me in the stands rather than being out there on the field. It was obvious to me they didn’t want to get hurt with the final just around the corner.

Then, of course, the following week we took the opportunity to leave out a lot of injured players in the game against St Helens, and I know how much of a benefit that will be to them all.

At this stage of the season, every player will be carrying knocks, and to give them the opportunity to have a weekend off can prove highly significant.

All those players who didn’t play have said how much they have benefited from it and how fresh they feel. That could be crucial come Saturday.

On top of that, I think the performance the youngsters produced last Friday has given everyone within the club a massive lift.

The way such an inexperienced side played away against a very strong Saints side helped add to the very positive feel there is right now.

Having said that, I also came away from the ground feeling disappointed the players weren’t celebrating a deserved victory.

I do genuinely believe we were a bit harshly treated by the officials. Some tough, and very crucial calls, went against us, and for the young blokes to be punished 15-5 in the penalty count was pretty cruel.

How impressed were you with the first-team debuts of Elliott Hodgson and Alex Brown?

I thought they both did really, really well. I was delighted for them.

For Elliott to be named the man-of-the-match on debut and in the losing side takes a very special effort indeed.

They were a real credit to the junior system we have in place at the club and they were also a real credit to the work Paul Cook is doing as our Reserve Team coach.

He’s clearly doing an excellent job, and that was reflected with the way not only Elliott and Alex played, but in the way the likes of Keal Carlile, Josh Griffin and Larne Patrick also rose to the challenge.

And I was also delighted by the way things went for Baloo (assistant coach Paul Anderson).

He was the one in charge on the night and was also the one who prepared this team.

It was clear from the outset that he had instilled a real sense of belief in the side and that was something that shone through throughout the game.

A down-side of last Friday night was the injury to Danny Kirmond. How’s he coping with missing out on a place at Wembley and the news he’s going to be sidelined for six months with cruciate ligament damage to his left knee?

He’s obviously still fairly down about it all, just like we all are on his behalf.

He’s still coming down to Wembley with us and, hopefully, he’ll be able to enjoy the occasion as best he can, because he’s played an important part in helping us get to the final.

All being well, he’ll have his operation on September 17 once the swelling around the knee has gone down. Then it’s down to the rehab.

But Danny being ruled out means someone else will be playing down at Wembley in his place. That will either be Martin Aspinwall, Simon Finnigan or Andy Raleigh.

Aspy and Finny have both produced some solid performances over the past few weeks, and they impressed me against St Helens, while Andy also came back strongly after injury.

He contributed significantly off the bench, and has made team selection even more difficult.

However, at this stage of the season and just ahead of a Challenge Cup final at Wembley, I think we’ll all settle for that.