HALF way through the season and the Giants are already planning for Super League X.
The clearest sign of that has obviously been the signing of top Australian hooker Brad Drew from Canberra Raiders.
The 28-year-old will arrive on a two-year contract for the start of 2005 as the Giants continue to build for an even brighter future.
Drew's announcement comes on top of the recent re-signings of Eorl Crabtree, Paul March, Paul Reilly, Marcus St Hilaire and Mick Slicker.
And they will form a squad that also includes the likes of Stanley Gene, Brandon Costin, Ben Roarty, Chris Nero and James Evans, whose current contracts run until the end of next season.
Clearly then, head coach Jon Sharp knows he will be operating with a fairly settled squad, although several more new signings certainly can't be ruled out between now and the end of the year.
But Sharp has now revealed there is plenty of activity behind the scenes which make it 100% clear how firmly and positively the club are planning for 2005.
"Plans are already afoot for our training camps for next pre-season," reported Sharp.
"I know we're not yet at the half-way stage of this season, but I feel we need to start thinking about it now without losing any of our real focus for the rest of this campaign.
"I don't want anything left to chance next season, and that obviously includes making sure our pre-season preparation is spot-on.
"I don't know whether we'll be staying in England, like we did this year, or going abroad.
"But thinking about it now gives us a lot of time to give it careful consideration and, hopefully, come up with the right option.
"We've done extremely well so far this season, but we intend to do even better next year.
"And that process starts now.
"We obviously want to finish as high up the table and with as many wins as possible in order to give us a springboard into 2005.
"We are a very ambitious club, and we don't intend to sit back now.
"Everyone at the Giants has worked hard to put a very solid Super League foundation in place, and we now aim to build on it."
Such forward thinking is uncharted territory for the Giants, whose primary concern at this stage of the season in other years has been one of securing Super League survival.
Avoiding relegation is already an issue that is being comfortably dismissed by the club.
The gap between Huddersfield and the bottom three in the competition is looking very healthy.
They are a massive 14 points ahead of bottom-of-the-table Castleford Tigers and 10 clear of London Broncos and Salford City Reds.
And looking at the fixtures remaining for the three respective teams, it's not looking too good for the Broncos.
Their end-of-season run-in is by far the most demanding, a legacy of finishing in the top six last season.
Securing a play-off place means fixtures the following year include extra games against Super League's stronger clubs.
Therefore, the Broncos' final six matches this season include trips to St Helens, Bradford and Leeds. They also have a home game against Wigan.
In contrast, Huddersfield's extra fixtures include games against the likes of Castleford, Salford and Widnes.
Next year, of course, it could be a totally different kettle of fish if the Giants keep hold of their top-six spot.
It would then be Huddersfield who would be handed a far more demanding fixture schedule.
And with two clubs being relegated in 2005 to leave the way clear for French club UTC to join Super League the following year, there's even more pressure on clubs to perform.
It's something of which McAlpine officials are well aware.
But clearly steps are already being taken to make sure the Giants are as strongly prepared as possible to cover every eventuality.
