The birthplace of rugby league in 1895, the city of Huddersfield looks to have moulded a side to be proud of in 2009. The Giants are absolutely flying.
On that momentous August day 114 years ago, 21 northern clubs voted to split from the Rugby Football Union, heralding the dawn of a new era for rugby. And that new-era feeling is strong in Huddersfield today.
Nathan Brown, a 35-year-old former St George Illawara hooker, has taken an underachieving side by the scruff of its neck and has the Giants standing tall. He is a young, enthusiastic, hands-on coach who the players are very excited to be working with.
There was a definite air of change when I visited The Galpharm for Huddersfield's pre-season media day a few months back.
Prior to the press scrum with the players, Richard Thewlis, the club's managing director, sat down all the journalists in the boardroom for a bizarre headteacher-esque briefing.
The overhead projector came out and we were shown a flow chart by youth boss Damian McGrath - brother of cricketer Anthony - that mapped the club's strategy for success.
The aim, Thewlis said, was to ensure the press stopped getting things wrong about Huddersfield's perceived preference for investing in overseas players rather than developing their own talent. It was a pretty odd half-hour, but nonetheless impressive.
"You can tell Nathan Brown is a winner - the enthusiasm here is awesome"Thewlis admitted the club had made errors in the past, spending huge sums on big-name Aussies.
Michael de Vere was probably the best example. Now retired, his signing in 2004 was a massive coup for Huddersfield, but injuries prevented him ever justifying his mega-bucks move.
He was the first Aussie to sign for the club since the Second World War, but, although others have followed, the Giants clearly now regard their youth policy as the way to safeguard their future.
"The best way to predict the future is to create it ourselves," Thewlis told me, before outlining the finer points of a £250,000 cash injection into their youth development structure.
Although that sounded like something David Brent might say, it is spot on.
The 19-year-old England academy international Michael Lawrence is on fire this year, while 21-year-old Leroy Cudjoe, a local boy like Lawrence, is also blossoming.
"We've signed a lot of young blokes and promoted a lot so the youth development here is fantastic," said prop Michael Korkidas, one of the older heads.
The man known as 'Korky' forms part of a monster front row that has been bashing up some of the best forwards in the competition.
"We've got an amazing front row with Eorl (Crabtree), Jacko (Paul Jackson), big Griff (Darrell Griffin) and Keith Mason. That's a great platform for our success," said Korkidas, who joined the Giants after an awful year at Castleford.
"Big Eorl and Griff tell me this team really underachieved last year so this year we're trying to put it right. We can be a great club and I'm glad it's coming together."
Hudersfield have made a blistering start to Super League XIV, in stark contrast to a frustrating 2008 season, which yielded only 10 victories. Only Hull FC and Castleford won fewer.
Seven wins from the first nine games and still unbeaten away from home, Brown's side have propelled themselves to the lofty heights of second place, with only St Helens having a meaner defence. You sense their new-found tenacity has been instilled directly by Brown.
"From an attacking point of view, the game's a lot more open over here than in Australia," their coach told me. "In the 80s and 90s in Australia, it was open but recently it's been dominated by wrestle and defence so it is more attractive over here."
Brown himself is an attractive coach to work with, if you ask his players. Last year's departure of Jon Sharp, now at Hull FC, was a tough one to take for a team who pretty much all saw him as a friend.
"We were sad to see Sharpey go, but this was a chance for everyone to impress a new coach and we've all risen to the challenge," said Crabtree, a real giant of a man and nephew of wrestling legend Big Daddy.
"You can tell Browny is a winner and he's a very skilful coach. The enthusiasm here is awesome."
606: DEBATEKorkidas agrees, adding: "Brown played with some of the best players in the world so it's great to have him as a coach."
Perhaps the highest praise comes from captain Brett Hodgson, a diminutive Aussie full-back and one of the nicest guys you could meet. "Browny's got some wonderful ideas," he said.
"He's technically smart, and he's got our fitness spot on. The guys here have a very high skill level, and a lot of that is down to Browny."
If Brown has brought in tough defence and bags of skill, the players themselves have added another great ingredient for success to the party - camaraderie.
"I've not had as much fun playing and training in any other squad I've ever played in," said Hodgson. "We're having laughs, the club is in a great spirit and Browny and Paul Anderson have put a great camaraderie in place. "
Just being around The Galpharm you can tell how well the players get on. Hodgson was tempted over by his best mate John Skandalis, who left Huddersfield last year to return to Australia with a knee injury.
In fact, Hodgson is so pally with Skandalis he even moved into the house he vacated in West Yorkshire. He was, however, in for a shock if he was expecting it to be fully furnished.
"He stole everything and took it back to Australia, but he did leave a couple of dirty dishes," laughed Hodgson.
Fellow new recruit Liam Fulton also moved in with Jamahl "Jammer the Hammer" Lolesi on arrival in the country.
"I knew next to nothing about Huddersfield before I came over"In turns out Lolesi is not too easy to live with, however. His obsessive cleaning, guitar playing and singing antics accelerated Fulton's desire to find his own place. I understand that Jammer serenading Fulton on his guitar before bedtime proved to be the final straw.
So, in the most compelling season of Super League to date, can the Giants continue to look down on their rivals from such lofty heights?
I don't see any reason why not. They, like Castleford, look like the real darkhorses to threaten the supremacy of Leeds and St Helens at the top, although neither are quite ready to do that just yet.
"I knew next to nothing about Huddersfield before I came over," Brown admits. "All I really knew was the game was invented here. I'd never followed the Giants and it was a big step into the unknown.
"I'd no idea what the fans were expecting when I took over, but to me what the players and coaching staff expect of themselves is the most important."
I understand Brown hadn't even heard of one of his new signings, Simon Finnigan, before they met at the club for the first time.
'Finn' himself told me at the start of the year that if the Giants didn't make the play-offs it would be a massive failure.
Given the platform they have already laid, the Giants should be looking at the top four if they can continue to walk tall.
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