Giant strides will continue insists coach Brown after semi agony

Nathan Brown's side could not prevent the colossal St Helens marching to Old Trafford once more but the over-riding feeling after their first-ever semi-final outing was the ambitious West Yorkshire club are destined to soon compete on the biggest stage.

Impressive centre Michael Lawrence, one of the exciting local talents to have emerged through Huddersfield's prosperous academy, underlined his growing class with a two-try contribution as they briefly threatened to cause a huge upset on Friday night.

They led 22-18 before Saints' greater experience turned the contest but he insisted: "We'll take a lot of confidence from that.

"We belong with the big clubs. We'll be doing our best next season to go one further and we'll learn from this.

"The future's looking bright at Huddersfield."

A year after reaching Wembley, the Giants have proved they can consistently mix it with traditional giants such as Leeds, Saints and Wigan.

Their 48-year wait for a Championship goes on but Lawrence, 20, feels the seeds have been sewn and further exposure to high-profile contests will serve them well next season.

"I played at St Helens last year and we got spanked but it's clear to see we've improved a lot since then," he added.

"We've a lot of young kids who are all a little older now – like Leroy (Cudjoe), Jermaine McGillvary and Larne Patrick – and there's plenty of talent coming through.

"We've got a good mix of more experienced players with some overseas too while there's new signings for next season. It bodes well."

England Academy product Lawrence, who had managed just three touchdowns all year before striking against Saints, added: "We were really confident we could do the job.

"It was a great experience to play in that sort of match and to score two tries in such a crucial game but to then lose was gutting.

"I don't want to feel that again next year. I want to be in the semis as part of a winning side and we can achieve that."

Huddersfield have suffered a major loss with inspirational captain Brett Hodgson – outstanding on his farewell appearance – now heading to Warrington but ex-Australian Test second-row Luke O'Donnell's arrival from North Queensland Cowboys will bolster their already forceful pack. Brown admitted: "We've got to improve a little bit more next year and it might be our turn to go to Old Trafford."