MARK SOWERBY surveyed Huddersfield’s play-off triumph and insisted: “This is just a stepping stone.”
The club’s director of rugby insisted: “If this squad sticks together, then who is to say we can’t make a push in National III North.
“I am absolutely delighted for the club and for every single one of my players, who produced a top effort, both in the play-off match and throughout the season.
“I told the lads before the game that regardless of what level you are playing at, you don’t get many of these games which really do mean something.
“In the 20-odd years I’ve been playing, there have only been three or four, and this means just as much to me as any of the others.
“All the boys were looking forward to this game all week, and although we perhaps gave Luctonians a bit too much respect early on, I never felt they really threatened to turn us over.
“Chris Johnson kept pushing us further ahead with his penalties, and when Nick Sharpe went over just before half-time, I knew that was it. We could only lose the game ourselves.
“We knew we could defend – we have done it brilliantly all season – and I thought we were superb in the second half, when we didn’t have a lot of the ball for long spells.
“I think the lads fully deserved the win.”
The former Wakefield man added: “That’s it for me as far as playing is concerned.
“Obviously I will never see the team short. If I’m needed in an emergency, I’ll turn out, but to all intents and purposes, I’m a coach.
“We are now going to start building for next year with one or two players here and there and consolidate our position with the big boys.
“I’ve certainly no intention in seeing us go the same way as teams like Beverley and West Park St Helens, who went up and came straight back down.”
