England discard ready to tackle home-town heroes

At no point did he ever expect to be leading Huddersfield towards success and not just because they failed to wear the Cherrry and White.

The slumbering West Yorkshire club were simply not on the radar of many ambitious young footballers given, despite their rich history, they were relatively far down the rugby league scale.

However, when the gifted stand-off walks the Giants out tonight, it will be in the knowledge that his side are indeed Engage Super League leaders. Opponents Wigan may be the current champions but they are the ones doing the chasing.

It is only the sixth round of the competition, and the Warriors have a game in hand after their involvement in the World Club Challenge, but that remains immaterial.

Maturing Huddersfield have shown enough signs in the early part of the season to suggest they can merit their place at the summit and, crucially, maintain it.

“It has been a good start with four wins from five,” Brown told the Yorkshire Post.

“We’ve been improving every week. That’s what’s best about it; every time we play we get a little bit better apart from the Castleford blip.

“Hopefully, we can improve again on Friday and put in a shot against Wigan.”

Brown fulfilled that dream of playing for his home-town club without lifting any trophies but it has not been until he joined Huddersfield, a result of Wigan’s then regime discarding some of their finest local talent, that he begun to really fulfil his potential.

Arriving in 2006, his progression under Nathan Brown over the last two years has been marked, last season seeing him emerge as arguably the finest stand-off in Super League.

At the age of 25, no-one deserved the subsequent England call-up against France quite as much but there is a mounting belief that there is plenty more talent still to be tapped into.

The manner in which he destroyed Bradford Bulls on Sunday, with his precision passing, gliding runs and improving kicking game was a master-class in half-back creativity.

It was the perfect response to bizarrely being overlooked for both the England Elite Squad and England Knights programme.

Few players enhanced their reputations during the Four Nations last autumn – Brown’s Huddersfield team-mate Luke Robinson, who returns to action tonight after being injured in that tournament, being one – but most of them have been given a second chance.

Brown played two of the three Tests and, while not setting the world alight, did not appear to do anything warranting such a major exclusion.

He will have opportunity to remind England coach Steve McNamara of his skills this evening in the televised game at Galpharm Stadium but insists the setback is not playing on his mind.

“I got a brief phone call just saying I wasn’t in the squad,” said Brown.

“That was basically it. I was disappointed but it’s really early in the season and the squad announcement was made more on last year than this although I did feel I’d performed then, too.

“I’ve put it to bed now and I’m not going to get worked up about it or worried. I’m just going to concentrate on performing well for Huddersfield.”

Come the end of the season it would be unrealistic to think Brown would not be high in McNamara’s plans; English rugby league simply does not have that many outstanding players.

Someone else who may be back in there, too, is Gareth Hock, the Wigan second-row who is about to reach the end of his two-year ban for taking cocaine.

Brown is his brother-in-law, having married the hard-running forward’s sister Kirsty.

They came through the ranks together at Wigan and he believes the enforced period of rehabilitation could see Hock return as an even more devastating player.

“Some people say two years out of the game is too long and he won’t be the same,” said Brown.

“But Gaz has always been a bit of a freak ever since he was young in the sense that whenever he was injured he’d always come back and play really well straight away.”

Brown added: “I spoke to him a lot when it initially happened.

“That was a shock and they were worrying times for him.

“But he’s done a lot of good stuff since, really got into working his way back and he has actually probably benefited from having that time out.

“It’s given him chance to get his life back together and really focus.

“I’d expect him to get back in that England team. He’ll be 27 and at his peak when he gets back.

“Kirsty saw him the other day and says he’s looking real good going hard in training and can’t wait to get back out there to do what he does best. Playing rugby.”

Ironically, Hock’s first game, or possibly second, could be against Huddersfield at the DW Stadium on Friday, June 24.

The Giants hope to be in a position of strength themselves by that point and see no reason why they cannot be still sitting at the top.

They won a brutal game at Wigan last August to prove they no longer fear the so-called elite, a fact augmented when they prospered at much-fancied Warrington to get within 80 minutes of Old Trafford.

Their opponents tonight are without banned England duo Sam and Joel Tomkins and are also missing scrum-half Paul Deacon.

A young Wiganer called Joe Mellor may debut at stand-off, a feeling Brown knows only too well.

“That was a long time ago,” he said.

“I’ve still got fond memories of Wigan but am fully focused now on Huddersfield and not really concentrating on what team they’ll be putting out.

“They are missing some good players but those they are bringing in are just as good.

“Wigan is a breeding ground for rugby players and the club has always brought a lot through over the years.

“If you look around the other Super League clubs, so many have players who started at Wigan.

“We know we’ll have to give them as much respect as everyone else.”

Just as Wigan, and everyone else in Super League, now respects Brown himself.