IT WAS the day after April Fool’s Day – so there was no doubting it wasn’t a joke.

St Helens unveiled Nathan Brown as their new coach for the 2013 Super League season and followers of the Giants, who had assumed the 38-year-old Australian was heading for home when he ended his three-year stay with the club, were stunned he was staying on in England – but not with Huddersfield.

The move has led to just over three months of confusion as the man who created hope among the followers of the club from the birthplace of rugby league that they could once again be champions, now leaves the Giants earlier than expected.

And the final days of Brown’s reign – brought to an end as the club had agreed to an early release from his contract – were in stark contrast to what had gone before.

After pronouncing ‘sadness at the worst day in my coaching career’ after the Giants 52-6 Super League drubbing at Castleford Tigers, he followed that by admitting he had given the players their wish and changed tactics in the run up to last Sunday’s Challenge Cup semi-final against Warrington Wolves.

The upshot was a 33-6 defeat and the Giants’ Wembley dream was shot to shreds as Brown revealed: “It certainly wasn’t my idea to freshen things up – basically, the players weren’t happy with how we were attacking, they were desperate to change.”

Turning the clock back to the day Brown committed to Saints, the Giants were top of Super League having just won 22-12 at Leeds Rhinos and, at that stage, would have been much fancied for a successful shot at the Challenge Cup – whoever stood in their way.

The Giants standing at the start of April this year was the logical progression of what Brown had been building since his arrival from NRL outfit St George Illawarra in July 2008, having signed a three-year contract.

In his first year Brown took the Giants to Wembley with a side boasting homegrown talent inspired by experience from down under – not least the mercurial presence of full-back Brett Hodgson.

The signing of Hodgson seemed to set the tone as the club skipper imbued the squad with a feeling that anything was possible.

Certainly Huddersfield went to Wembley in 2009 to face Warrington far more confident of winning than they had been three years earlier when they had faced St Helens at Twickenham under Jon Sharp.

Despite defeat to the Wolves, the only way seemed to be up and, sure enough, 2010 produced the Giants best Super League season and a play-off semi-final that resulted in a defeat to St Helens.

The decision to let Hodgson, who won the Man of Steel award in his two-year stay at the Galpharm Stadium, leave for Warrington for the 2011 campaign looked to have upset the apple cart, but they started the current season in style.

The Giants were in the top three for the first four months of the season and for a while Brown’s insistence that he was focused on Huddersfield despite leaving held true as the side secured their place in the Challenge Cup’s last four with a 50-14 win over London Broncos.

At that stage they were still riding high in second in Super League, but since that quarter-final win on May 13 the Giants record is six defeats from seven Super League outings prior to Sunday’s knockout defeat, which also proved the knockout blow for Brown’s otherwise hugely successful tenure at the Giants.

Nathan Brown factfile

Born: Maclean, NSW, Australia July 31, 1973

Playing career: Hooker for 1993-98 St George Dragons (played 120, points 92 – 23 tries), St George Illawarra (played 52, points 36 – 9 tries)

Highlights: Played in Grand final defeats against Brisbane Broncos (1993), Manly Sea Eagles (1996) and Melbourne Storm (1990). Retired from playing due to a neck injury in 2001.

NRL coaching career: St George Illawarra 2003-2008 – 142 games (75 wins, 67 defeats)

Highlights: Finished second in the 2005 NRL but beaten in the play-offs by eventual winners Wests Tigers

Super League coaching career Huddersfield Giants 2009-2012 – 92 games (53 wins 1 draw 38 defeats)

Highlights: Challenge Cup finalists and Coach of the Year 2009, Super League play-off semi-finalists 2010