Jordan Rankin believes this blistering run of form from Huddersfield Giants is only the precursor to much more exciting times ahead.
Head coach Simon Woolford and his staff have inspired the players to chalk 11 wins out of 12 , leaving them just four points outside the top four with five more matches left.
With this being Challenge Cup final week, the next of those is at home to Wakefield Trinity on Friday, August 31, but 26-year-old Aussie full-back Rankin says that whatever happens this season, he’s encouraged by the whole revival at the club.
“I think with some of the coaching staff we’ve had brought in and the fact Simon has put his own spin on things it’s all helped,” said Rankin, who again shone in the 26-6 win over Hull FC.
“Simon is a pretty tough coach and expects a lot out of his players, and I think that, in itself, will bring a lot out of the group.
“ Mark Andrews is another Aussie we’ve brought on board , who does a lot of our defensive stuff and works closely with the conditioning staff on getting us fit and ready to go.
“So from all notes I’ve heard, we are going to have a pretty big pre-season and I think that’s the best thing for us.
“I think we need something big like that just to get us in the frame of mind to continue what we are doing now.”
Rankin believes the quality has always been there in the Claret and Gold squad, but they were hampered by injuries and late returns to pre-season last time following the World Cup.
“This is no fluke what we have accomplished this year,” he said.
“We had a slow start and we’ve had to do a lot of hard work to catch up to where we are now.
“We’ve done a lot of hard training, a lot of hard days when we didn’t have to be in but we were in and a lot of boys doing extra stuff on their days off.
“So it’s a culmination of a lot of things which have got us in this position.
“It’s a buy-in from everyone in the squad who wants to be a better and wants to be a better player every week.
“ We’ve got competition for spots now , so I think everyone has to make sure they are on their toes every week and playing well, otherwise there is a chance you could miss out.
“It is a collective from the coaching staff and the players to make sure we are the best we can be every week and, hopefully we can take that forward into next year as well.”
So how much does the former Wests Tigers player believe the Giants can achieve going forward?
“I look at the squad and we’ve got Suaia Matagi who has come in, Seb (Ikahihifo) to come back next year, Oli Roberts doing a full pre-season and Dale Ferguson doing a full pre-season,” he said.
“We’ve also got some signings who are on the way potentially, with some spots there for the coaching staff to sort out who they want – so if those guys come in it’s only adding to what we’ve got now.
“If you think about the squad we have now and the squad we may have next year, then we will be up with the very best squads in the competition.
“In saying that, a squad is built up of a lot of people – the young guys coming through as well, who are doing really well and pushing for first-team spots.
“Matty English has been outstanding this year and he is going to continue to grow as a player, and the young guys who’ve been given a chance this year are going to be better for their opportunities.”
