NATHAN BROWN believes the signing of former Australia Test back-rower Luke O’Donnell has given the Giants a timely boost ahead of the vital end-of-season Super League play-off push.
Huddersfield confirmed earlier in the week the 29-year-old North Queensland Cowboys star had completed a four-year deal for the start of next season.
Brown and the Giants are obviously focusing as much of their attention as possible on this season’s competition, with victory at home to Harlequins on Sunday vital if they are to guarantee a top-eight play-off finish.
But the Galpharm chief knows the prospect of bringing in someone of the calibre of O’Donnell for next year has created an extra buzz around the club, which Brown hopes will be taken onto the pitch this weekend.
“The signing of Luke shows how much this club is continuing to move forward,” said Brown.
“It’s something the players recognise and has already added to the sense of excitement for next season.
“But while it’s excellent to announce something like this, it’s important not to forget we’ve still got some very important games ahead of us this year first. So, in the short term, I hope the excitement about the news on Luke will be reflected in this season’s performances, starting against Harlequins on Sunday.
“It’s another very important game for us, because we know how crucial a win will be in terms of making the play-offs, so we can’t afford to lose our focus.
“The League table doesn’t make good reading for them (Quins are second bottom), but we can’t take too much notice of that.
“They had a horrible start to the year because of injuries, and that really does hit a club like them hard.
“A lot of sides complain about the depth in their squads, but down in London they’ve got less depth than other teams, which means a bad run of injuries can make it twice as hard for them.
“But in the past month they’ve been getting their players back and have claimed a couple of big scalps, which will obviously have boosted their confidence.
“What I like about Harlequins is that they do play some good footy and do things a little different.
“They’re not boring, playing one-out and kick it, they like to attack and challenge you more than some other sides. If their game’s on, they’re as hard to beat as anyone, and we’ve got to make sure we’re prepared for that.
“We know we need to be at our best.”
The sixth-placed Giants head into Sunday’s home clash against the Londoners after last Friday’s heartbreaking last-play 21-20 defeat at Super League champions Leeds Rhinos.
Brown has admitted the defeat hit his players hard, but he feels they have responded positively in training this week.
“Everyone was understandably disappointed with that finish at Leeds. We tried hard, but let ourselves down by not being smarter,” added Brown.
“But, as a whole, all 17 blokes did a good job. We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact we scored more tries than the champions on their ground, which is something that doesn’t happen very often.
“Hopefully, the next time we find ourselves in a position like this we can come up with the correct play and end up winning the game, which I’m sure we will.
“Last Friday proved to be a tough lesson.
“Fortunately, the players all recognise there were far more positives than negatives to come out of the game, and everyone remains confident.
“Apart from the game at Castleford, our game has definitely been looking up, with a number of our blokes improving all the time.
“Graeme Horne and Larne Patrick started the year at 19 or 20 (in terms of their positions in the squad pecking order), but are now doing a really god job and making a big difference when they’re on the field.
“And Leroy Cudjoe has now developed from a solid player into a good player and one we can look to in the centres to do an excellent job for us, successful taking over from Paul Whatuira.
“We do feel things are looking very positive, both in the short term and in the longer term.”
Sunday’s Galpharm action will get under way at 2pm when Under 8s teams from across Kirklees take part in mini-league curtain-raiser.
Newsome Panthers, Moldgreen, Slaithwaite Saracens, Underbank, Thornhill Trojans and Meltham All Blacks will all be in a action.
Giants fans are encouraged to arrive early and show their support for the youngsters who will compete ahead of the first-team warm-up and parade at half time.
Commenting on the event, Giants marketing manager James Brammer said: “It’s always a great occasion when a mini-league pre-match festival takes place on the pitch and we encourage as many supporters as possible to get down to the Stadium from 2pm and support the youngsters.”
One of the aims of staging the games is to encourage more youngsters to take up rugby league in the Huddersfield area, and those who are interested should contact Giants Amateur Club Development Officer Darren Turner on rocky.thezone@btconnect.com or call 01484 484178 for any further information.
