HUDDERSFIELD Giants’ route to the Challenge Cup final started in London and will finish in London.

Coach Nathan Brown’s side opened their 2009 challenge with a potentially tough fourth-round tie against fellow Super League side Harlequins at the Stoop.

The Quins had won four of their opening six top-flight fixtures and warmed up for the visit of the Giants with a 22-12 home triumph over Hull FC the week before.

But they proved no match for Huddersfield.

An early Keith Mason try put the Giants in immediate control and by the end of a somewhat one-sided contest in front of a 2,500 crowd the men from West Yorkshire were celebrating a 46-16 victory. Huddersfield were on their way!

With David Hodgson and Carnegie man-of-the-match Luke Robinson scoring two tries each and Brett Hodgson, Paul Whatuira and Stephen Wild also crossing and Brett Hodgson landing four goals, the Giants had made their intentions clear from the start.

And their reward for winning such a potentially tough tie was a home date against struggling Rochdale Hornets.

With the Hornets bottom of the Co-operative Championship I table, the Super League Giants were up against the side who were at the very bottom of the professional rugby league ladder.

As a result, Brown handed the coaching reins for the day to assistant Paul Anderson, who took the opportunity to hand senior debuts to Josh Griffin and Keal Carlile.

Both teenagers performed admirably in front of a crowd of 2,859, but the star of the show was another new arrival for 2009 in former Workington Town hooker Shaun Lunt.

The 22-year-old was in blistering form, grabbing a hat trick of tries in a man-of-the-match performance as the Giants eased through 38-12.

Robinson set the ball rolling with the opening try before Lunt took control, while Carlile, Jamahl Lolesi and Larne Patrick also crossed for tries and Leroy Cudjoe added six goals.

That booked Huddersfield a place in the quarter-final and a testing home tie with fellow West Yorkshire Super League side Castleford Tigers.

It always had the potential to be a classic, hence the BBC’s decision to screen it live – and the sides delivered!

In a real see-saw battle in front of 6,359 fans, a gripping contest was finally settled with just four minutes remaining when Danny Kirmond dived over to seal a memorable 16-14 victory.

Inspired by man-of-the-match Stephen Wild, the Giants had to dig incredibly deep to gain their reward, having to come back from 14-6 down after 70 minutes to secure their semi-final spot.

The sides were locked at 6-6 at half-time, with a Kevin Brown try and Brett Hodgson goal cancelling out an early try from Castleford centre Michael Shenton and Kirk Dixon penalty.

But at the start of the second half, it looked as if the Tigers were taking control.

Brett Ferres grabbed a try and Dixon added the conversion before landing a 49th-minute penalty to put the Tigers eight points ahead.

Fortunately, the Giants still had enough in reserve to mount a stunning match-wining fightback, with Wild crossing for a converted try and Kirmond quickly following up to set up a last-four clash with Cup kings St Helens at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium.

It looked a daunting prospect.

On the second week of the Super League XIV season, St Helens had underlined their undoubted class by securing a 23-6 victory over the Giants at the Galpharm Stadium in what was Huddersfield’s first home game of the season.

That proved to be one of 18 wins from 23 fixtures for Saints as they headed to Warrington top of the Super League table.

On top of that, the men from Knowsley Road were looking to win the Challenge Cup for the fourth time on the trot, with their first success in the current run coming against the Giants in the 2006 final at Twickenham.

On current form, however, the Giants had the edge, particularly with Saints going into the contest with injuries to several key players.

And the men in claret and gold made their intentions clear from the start with a blistering opening assault which culminated in a try for captain and man-of-the-match Brett Hodgson after just five minutes.

Francis Meli struck back to level the scores at 4-4 at the break after 13 minutes, but three minutes before the break Brown’s break set up a try for Wild and Brett Hodgson converted to give the Giants a 10-4 interval advantage.

Within a minute of the restart, it got even better for Huddersfield as Cudjoe touched down in the corner and by the 51st minute the lead was up to 18-4 as Brown pounced on a loose ball to score.

St Helens hit back with his second try, converted by Kyle Eastmond, and with 25 minutes remaining the lead was down to eight.

But thanks to an incredible defensive effort, the usually free-scoring Saints were unable to break down the Giants, and with five minutes remaining a dream Wembley ticket was collected when Brett Hodgson broke clear from inside his own half and kicked ahead for Wild to gather and score.

The inspirational Huddersfield captain then added the conversion and it was 24-10.

Meli completed his hat trick moments later as the Giants defence clocked off, safe in the knowledge the game had been won, but that score failed to take the gloss off what was a glorious day in the sunshine.