ST HELENS have confirmed Huddersfield Giants coach Nathan Brown will be their new head coach on a three-year contract from next season.

The 38-year-old Australian will take up the position at the end of this season after his current contract with the Giants expires.

Brown announced ahead of this season that this would be his final year at the Galpharm and that current Giants assistant coach Paul Anderson would be in charge for the next three years from 2013.

Huddersfield go into this weekend's Easter programme top of the Super League XVII table, and Brown has made it clear his priorities are 100% with the Giants this year as he looks to finish his four years at the club on a high.

"It's an honour to be appointed the head coach of St.Helens," said Brown.

"That said, this season is all about Huddersfield Giants for me and it's good to get this announcement out of the way so that I can concentrate totally on the job at hand."

Saints chairman Eamonn McManus added: "We are extremely pleased that Nathan will be joining us next season. I believe he is ideally suited for the Saints both with regard to the way we want to play and as to what we aim to achieve in terms of success.

"He is still a relatively young coach but already has pedigree and experience gained over many years as a Head Coach at the highest levels both in the NRL and in Super League."

Assistant Coach, Kieron Cunningham, stated: "I'm excited about Nathan's arrival and really look forward to working with him. The strength of our squad and of our coaching team in the years ahead will put us in a very strong position to continue to improve and to succeed at the highest level."

Nathan was appointed coach of the Dragons on 2003 after making 172 appearances for the side in the NRL. He was a hooker and scored 32 tries.

He coached St George to a second-placed position in 2005, but lost the preliminary final to the eventual Champions Wests Tigers.

In his first season at Huddersfield he took them to the 2009 Carnegie Cup Final and has since progressed the Giants to be a real force in the game.