Kopczak focuses on making big strides at Giants

IT may have been an ugly passage to reach there, but now all the controversy has died down Craig Kopczak is intent on proving he is worth all the fuss to new club Huddersfield Giants.

The highly-rated prop caused quite a stir when he terminated his Bradford Bulls contract ahead of their final game last season, surprising team-mates and coaches alike after they had all stood together during administration turmoil.

Given the Bulls had, by then, been taken over by a new company, Kopczak was well within his rights to sever the deal a year early, although Huddersfield have since had to pay a compensation fee to their West Yorkshire rivals.

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The episode left a bitter taste, however, as the Wales captain had not mentioned his intentions to any colleagues at Odsal who had, up to that point, shown such solidarity in testing circumstances.

Kopczak remains reticent on the subject – “my manager sorted all that out for me. I’m at Giants now and that’s all behind me” – but, perhaps, he knows the situation could have been handled better.

No one can begrudge him wanting to progress his career, something he feels more capable of at a club that continually threatens to disrupt Super League’s order without quite succeeding.

But Huddersfield are promising to be a new beast in 2013, head coach Paul ‘Baloo’ Anderson having put some clear emphasis on “beefing” up his front-row for his first full season in charge.

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Aside from the hulking Kopczak, he has recruited Wigan Warriors’ ex-England star Stuart Fielden, New Zealand Warriors’ Ukuma Ta’ai – although an administrative error means he is yet to enter the UK – and the talented Widnes Vikings youngster Anthony Mullally, who stands at 6ft 5ins.

There is certainly little chance of Huddersfield being a soft touch in the year ahead as Anderson looks to recreate some of the power that he was renowned for himself as a player at Bradford and St Helens.

“It’s good to see,” Kopczak told the Yorkshire Post during yesterday’s club media day ahead of the February 2 opener at Saints.

“Everyone’s massive. Hopefully we can take that physicality out on to the field and put some frighteners in to some teams.

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“I think the packs around all of Super League are getting a lot bigger and more athletic, and players are doing bigger stints too.

“Hopefully, we’ll put teams on the back foot and score some points.”

Kopczak, meanwhile, can feel quite at home at Huddersfield given the sizeable Bradford presence congregating just down the M62.

Anderson, a formidable international prop himself, was coming towards the end of his Odsal career when Kopczak was negotiating his way through the Academy ranks of his hometown club.

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He eventually made his debut in 2006 – ironically against the Giants – in a Bulls side that was reigning Super League and World Club champions and included Fielden and another Giants recruit Brett Ferres.

“I was 16 and Stu was still there in his peak time,” he said, of a player who just two months later commanded a world record £450,000 transfer to Wigan.

“Those were the glory days at Bradford and I’ve come through all that.

“Stu’s a great guy. When I was young he always used to help us lads out and nothing’s really changed.

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“I’m still learning and he’s still giving me some tips which is great to take on board.

“Baloo was there as well for quite a bit while Brett came through near the same time as me so it’s good to see them all back here.”

Yet there was a time when coaches at Bradford, and the player himself, wondered if he would ever make the grade. The likes of Joe Vagana and Andy Lynch were mainstays of that side while a certain rookie called Sam Burgess was also making waves below him. Competition was fierce.

Kopczak, 26, conceded: “There was definitely times like that.

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“You just had to grind it out. We had a really good team and a 21s side that won the Grand Final as well so there was a lot of good talent there at the time.

“It was really tough and I had to work hard, dig deep and get my rewards.”

As with so many front-rows, Kopczak is finding his best football as he grows older.

A seminal year proved to be 2011 when he not only showed increasing command and maturity at Bradford but clearly stood out for Wales with his bullocking runs and big hits in the Four Nations.

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“That was what really got me kick-started,” he admitted. “A great opportunity for me to show what I can do against the best in the world.

“But I just want to take my game now to another level at Huddersfield where I can be that consistent week-in, week-out.

“I’ll need to be as there’s so much competition here at the moment.

“Wales is at the back of my mind for the end of the year with the World Cup, which is a massive thing, but I’m relishing the opportunity I’ve got with Giants first.”