THE future of Huddersfield Giants is looking bright at all levels.
The club’s senior squad is now one of the most respected in Super League, with Nathan Brown’s men major contenders on both the League and Cup front.
And that success is currently being achieved with the least number of overseas players in any top-flight side.
In the Giants’ last Super League success against St Helens, former New Zealand Test ace David Faiumu was the only non-British player in the side, and it was a similar story in last weekend’s Challenge Cup fifth-round triumph over Catalan Dragons.
There’s no doubt Faiumu and fellow overseas stars David Fa’alogo, Luke O’Donnell and Jamie Simpson – who have all been absent in recent weeks through injury – are significant players in the Giants set-up, both on and off the field.
But for how much longer?
They’ll clearly have massive roles to play in the next few years, but is it possible that five years down the track Huddersfield could have a squad that’s 100% British?
Having a fully homegrown squad is something the rugby league authorities are striving to achieve, with a club’s Super League franchise bid enhanced if it’s packed with young British talent.
And in this regard Huddersfield look to be making giant strides.
The club’s Under 15s and Under 16s Scholarship sides are so far unbeaten in this season’s competitions, with the Giants having made a conscious effort to plough a great deal of time, money and effort into the next generation.
It’s something that fills Giants Player Performance Manager Pete Riding with pride, although he’s the first to admit he can’t take all of the credit.
“When I first came to the club less than four years ago, we had 14 players on our Scholarship Scheme,” reflected Riding, who arrived from Wakefield.
“Now we’ve got 23 players in the 16s and 21 in the 15s, and every single one of them is a genuinely talented kid.
“We’ve been determined to build up our numbers over the past few years, although not just for the sake of it.
“You’re allowed 24 in each age group, and it would have been so easy to have filled them up.
“But the reason we haven’t is that our policy has been quality not quantity, and at the moment we don’t feel there are 24 players in each age group who are good enough out there.
“So what we’ve got here on our Scholarship is the real cream of the crop throughout Kirklees and just over the hill from Oldham, which is on our doorstep.
“It’s obviously taken a lot of hard work to get the players here and then spend time with them to help them reach their full potential.
“That process is already paying off, and I really can’t speak more highly of all the staff here who have been involved.
“Without their incredible amount of work we wouldn’t have such a great Scholarship set-up and our future wouldn’t be looking quite so bright.
“These are such exciting times at all levels at the Giants.”
