I AM sure you are all well aware of just how deeply disappointed we were with our performance against St Helens in the Challenge Cup semi-final.

It was our big day on the big stage and we came up short, there's no other way to describe it.

What we have to do now is draw a line under it and move on.

We can't afford to dwell on the past, we have to look forward and continue to concentrate on our main priority, Super League.

As a squad, we've obviously had to analyse our performance against Saints and pinpoint exactly where we went wrong.

But that process is now out of the way, and we've already turned our attentions fully to visiting Warrington in Super League this weekend.

However, there is one final message I would like to put across in the wake of our semi-final before I move on.

In my opinion, there were a lot of positives we could take out of that day.

Obviously, the negatives were there for everyone to see.

But looking at it from my perspective, the players have now experienced one of the biggest occasions the rugby league calendar can throw up.

That in itself has provided a massive learning curve for the players, and I'm sure that further down the line they will all benefit from it.

But, apart from the players, this was the first real big game my coaching staff have been involved in.

The efforts and impact of assistant coaches Lee St Hilaire and Jason Davidson over the season so far have been absolutely fantastic.

Being part of last Sunday's big day was a reward for all their hard work, and I'm pleased they have been able to sample an occasion such as this.

I know the result wasn't good, but I'm sure they enjoyed every other aspect of what was Huddersfield's first semi-final appearance and biggest day for 33 years.

Just like the players, they can take pride in that fact, knowing their contributions have been vital to the success we have enjoyed in the season so far.

From day one, they have bought into what I am trying to teach and their work ethic and enthusiasm has blown me away.

Jason has done a tremendous job in making this team one of the fittest in Super League.

And Lee has been a great confidant and support to me in just a very short space of time.

Both have grown in stature as coaches since I first arrived in October last year, and I'm delighted to say that they have responded to our semi-final defeat in the way I expected them to.

Rather than retiring into their shells, they've rolled their sleeves up even further and taken immediate steps to get everything back on track.

With their help and the positive attitiude of the players, we'll soon be right back on course.

WASN'T the midweek Super League clash between Warrington Wolves and Bradford Bulls another superb advert for our sport?

I obviously had a very keen eye on this match because of the fact we're playing Warrington on Sunday.

But I also enjoyed the game as a spectacle and the final scoreline of 22-22 summed up what was another gripping game of rugby league.

And it was also a result that can't do the health of our sport any harm whatsoever.

The more teams that compete effectively with the so-called `big four' of Leeds, Bradford, St Helens and Wigan the better.

Everyone wants to see Super League as competitive as possible, and Warrington clearly did their bit the other night.

But I would also like to think we're contributing positively to that as well.

Challenge Cup semi-final apart, we've been highly competitive in every game we've played and we have, of course, already beaten Wigan at the McAlpine.

We go into this Sunday's game having won five of our seven League games, although we know we'll need to be at our best to make it six.

I've been impressed with what I've seen from Warrington, so we know this will be a massive test.