Four minutes was all it took to get the party started.

And what a party it turned out to be on a momentous night for Huddersfield Giants.

Only four minutes were needed for Jason Chan to crash over for the first try on a night which brought a 40-0 whitewash of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats and a table-topping triumph for the club for the first time in 81 years.

No wonder club chairman Ken Davy milked every minute of the applause at the end of a game in which the Giants of 2013 wrote their own bit of history.

And at last there was a good crowd – 8,757 – inside the John Smith’s Stadium to see the success.

The significance of last night’s match was intensified after Warrington Wolves’ win at St Helens on Friday night.

Had they lost, the Giants would have been crowned minor champions even before they took to the field last night.

But it was not to be. Instead round 26 of Super League 17 presented Paul Anderson’s Claret and Gold heroes with the chance to get their hands on silverware in front of their own fans and on their own merits.

Five weeks earlier, Anderson had demanded five wins from five games and everything was on schedule.

Anderson himself left nothing to chance, selecting his strongest squad for the match.

That included the mercurial Danny Brough, fans’ favourite and surely destined to be this year’s Man of Steel, and Shaun Lunt, the brilliant playmaker anxious to add to the silverware he won last year on loan to the Leeds Rhinos.

Add to them the home-grown heroes like Leroy Cudjoe, explosive winger Jermaine McGillvary and, of course, Eorl Crabtree, a colossus among Giants.

They were hailed as heroes as they took to the field, as were Anderson and club owner Ken Davy, for the all-important 80 minutes.

Never was the result in doubt and the fans lapped it up on the final hooter.

Ella Stott, nine, of Golcar, said: “It’s been brilliant to be here tonight. It’s been a great season and I have loved every minute.”

Her dad Craig, a season ticket holder for the past few years, said: “I’m 40 today so it’s a great way to start the celebrations.”

Malcolm Heeley, of Newsome, who has followed the Giants for many years, said: “They have played well all season and I can see us going onto better things.”

Neil Hardcastle, of Salendine Nook, first watched Huddersfield in 1959.

He too had not seen anything like it and said: “Paul Anderson is a brilliant coach who has got them playing really well and working hard for each other.

“He has instilled discipline and belief in the team and I can see us going on to even better things.

“I can see us going all the way to Old Trafford.”

Examiner news editor NEIL ATKINSON has followed the Giants to glory all season, watching every game

It has taken 81 years and 2,700 miles but at last I can celebrate.

The Giants last night won the League Leaders’ Shield for the first time in the Super League era.

And it was a catalyst for joyous celebrations which for us Giants fans have been in fairly short supply in recent years.

But the 2013 team have written their own history, as coach Paul Anderson fully intended when he took on the job.

There have been far more highs than lows over the past six months and some wonderful memories for us faithful few who have watched every minute of every game in the campaign which ended so triumphantly a little before 8pm.

Who can forget that bitter night in Warrington, when a raging blizzard blew freezing snow in our faces as Anderson’s boys lost dismally to the arch enemy?

And how about that Good Friday Turned Bad, when expectations of another two points disappeared in the Salford sun?

But those were the exceptions. We fans travelled in hope and more often than not, our expectations were met – and in style.

That stunning opening night taking on St Helens under new coach Nathan Brown.

Another great victory under the Friday night floodlights against Leeds Rhinos at Headingley.

An against-all-odds victory in an unseasonally-cold South of France, taking on the ferocious Catalan Dragons.

And that memorable, magical victory at Wigan Warriors which saw Danny Brough get one hand on the League Leaders’ Shield.

My memories of the Giants stretch back to the not-so-glorious Fartown days of the 1970s when the highlights were the excellent pies and pints in the old Supporters’ Club.

The sport has changed, for the better in my belief, and now the super athletes of the Super League have brought back some real glory days to the town that gave birth to the sport 100 years ago.

It would be even better if more would join us in the seats at the John Smith’s Stadium.

But for the moment let’s enjoy those tumultuous Claret & Gold celebrations – and hope for more to come.

Jubilant Giants fans paid tribute to club owner and chairman Ken Davy by holding thousands of posters aloft bearing his face.

Three thousand special cards were printed and distributed to supporters before the game began.

Towards the end of the historic match fans raised the cards bearing a picture of his face in unison, as they sang a special song to mark their minor champions win.

And Mr Davy, who has been at the helm since 1996, was given his own special version of the card signed by fans.

The idea to thank the club’s owner was hatched by a group of 20 supporters on Facebook.

Rob Thewlis, who is no relation of Giants’ managing director Richard Thewlis, said: “Someone said they wanted to thank Ken Davy for delivering us our first trophy for 81 years and we all thought it was a good idea.

“Initially we were going to do a banner but we thought it wasn’t very personal so we came up with the idea of these cards.”

It is 81 years since Huddersfield topped the rugby league table.

The side, however, then lost the 1932 play-off to second-placed St Helens, going down 9-5.

They made amends by winning the championship again in 1948-49 and 1961-62, both times from fourth place.

So what was life like back in 1932 Britain?

The country was still in the grip of the Great Depression, with 3m unemployed

70,000 people joined the National Hunger March to London

King George V was on the throne and Ramsay MacDonald in No 10 Downing St

Yorkshire bowler Hedley Verity took 10 for 10 in a game against Notts

The first Mars bars was produced

Notable films of the year included A Farewell to Arms, with Gary Cooper, and, fittingly, The Champ starring Wallace Beery.