Livewire scrum half Joel Hinchliffe has given Huddersfield RU a massive lift by agreeing another season at Lockwood Park.

The experienced 29-year-old believes coach Gareth Lewis can guide the club into the National II North top five next term and wants to be part of the mix.

Based in Paddock, the club is on the doorstep for the talented No9, who is assistant principal at Manor Croft Academy in Dewsbury, and he believes exciting times are ahead if current progress can be maintained.

“We talked at the start of this season about making sure we stayed solidly at this level, which is where we think we belong, but we have also proved we can compete with the best and that’s really encouraging,” said Hinchliffe, who played schools rugby in Mirfield before joining Huddersfield’s age-group sides.

“You could argue that quite a few games have got away from us this year, when a bit more experience or the rub of the green might have meant we were in the top five or six already.

“Moving forward, the aim next year is to build on what we have created, attract a few more players to include alongside lads coming through the Academy and really give it a good shot in 2015-16.

“When you look at some of the fixtures and results which we could have turned over this season – where lapses in concentration have meant we’ve lost to some of the lesser teams – then you are looking at top half and higher – so that’s got to be the aim next season.”

After three defeats in the last four followed by a blank weekend, Hinchliffe is focused on finishing the season well – starting at Birmingham & Solihull on Saturday.

“I’ve enjoyed this season because the pace and standard of rugby is much better than in the lower league,” explained the man who helped Huddersfield lift the National III North title a year ago.

“It’s nice to be back at this level and testing ourselves against better teams and I’ve enjoyed it, especially because, as a senior player, I’ve been getting involved in coaching a lot more and in the style of play we want.

“We are all singing from the same hymn sheet, and Gaz (Lewis) and the coaching team are really good at letting the work we do be player-led.

“Everything we do is coming from within and, because of that, we are learning quicker, rather than having a dictatorship telling us ‘you do this and you do that’.

“They are setting the guidelines but, within that, we are creating how we want to play and what we want to do.”

Hinchliffe says the emergence of Chris Bell and Dan Jeffrey is pushing him to produce his best – he can play at 9 and at 10 – and he believes the likes of Lewis and Joah Bradley can make an impact at senior level having broken through with impressive displays for the Academy and Falcons.

“I think it says a lot about the club that when we went down, we bounced straight back up again and have pushed on,” added Hinchliffe, who is to marry former club physio Natalie Ronksley in May.

“You often see teams who drop go on to drop again, but we’ve come back and the beauty of it is we’ve done it with local lads who happen to be good at rugby and have pulled together, giving a good account of ourselves this season.

“We don’t just want to let the season peter out, though, and these final four matches are key and important to what we want to do next year.

“We set high expectations of ourselves and we are aiming to win three out of four against some of the top sides we’ve played against (after Birmingham, the club play Preston Grasshoppers, league leaders Hull Ionians and fifth-placed Chester).

“It’s important to us to finish strongly because that rolls into next year and shows intent.”

So what of the young players coming through?

“Chris Bell has been flying and doing really well at county level, and Dan Jeffrey has proved he’s a talent as well,” he explained.

“The great thing about Dan is that he’s so keen to learn – he’s like a giant sponge soaking things up, asking questions and doing extras.

“That puts pressure on me when I’m playing at No9, and I know I have to be on form.

“Dan is knocking on the door and giving me that push, and we can use a ‘horses for courses’ policy, where Dan can start if we need that little bit more physicality and tempo.

“Joah Bradley is a very intelligent footballer, while Lewis is a 17-year-old playing like a 25-year-old in his prime, so they’ve been impressing in the second team and it has to be good times ahead.”