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Last Updated: Friday, 2 February 2007, 13:34 GMT
Hard act to follow
By Julian Shea
BBC Sport

St Helens coach Daniel Anderson
The Grand Final was the high point of a great year for Saints

What do you give the man who has won everything? How about the chance to win it all over again?

That is the situation in which St Helens coach Daniel Anderson finds himself as his side begin the defence of their 2006 Super League title at Huddersfield on Sunday.

Last year, Saints won the League Leaders' shield, Grand Final, Challenge Cup and team and coach of the year at the BBC Sports Personality awards.

Now, follow that.

"There are two ways to look at what we did last season," he told BBC Sport.

"You can think, 'How do we follow that?' but on the other hand, what coach wouldn't want to be in my position?

"We know the competition will be tough but we've got great support, the playing roster is fairly similar to last season, there's a great team spirit and a lot of hunger to defend our title."

That defence begins a week before the Super League season proper starts on the weekend of 11 February to allow for Saints' World Club Challenge match against Brisbane Broncos.

Of last year's side, former Man of Steel Jamie Lyon, Vinnie Anderson and Paul Anderson have all gone, but the coach says he is confident the team can absorb their loss.

"We'd be a better team with them here, but I've got four new internationals - Ade Gardner, James Roby, Jon Wilkin and James Graham - and they can't sit around just getting 20 minutes here and there.

After the final, I saw a different group of people in the dressing room

Huddersfield's Jon Sharp

"What they want is more minutes and more of the ball, so you have to let players blossom and hopefully, with the right environment, they will."

Lyon's return to Australia leaves a big hole, but in Matt Gidley, Anderson says they have the ideal replacement.

"Matt wasn't off-contract, he was targeted, chased and recruited as we felt he was the best player to try and fill that gap," he said.

"He's not quite as out and out fast as Jamie, but he's a complete professional and seasoned international who's very keen to show the northern hemisphere he's a quality player."

Saints may have ended the season with all the prizes but for the first 30 or so minutes of the Challenge Cup final Jon Sharp's Huddersfield gave them a run for their money.

In contrast to Saints' season ticket for the big games over the years, that was the Giants' first Cup final in 40 years.

And despite losing, Sharp said he could see the way his players benefited from the experience, and he is keen to carry that over into the new season.

"That experience was invaluable," he told BBC Sport.

Huddersfield's Chris Thorman and St Helens' Matt Gidley
Huddersfield will try and wrest the trophy from Saints this season

"After the final, I saw a different group of people in the dressing room.

"There wasn't a swagger about them, but there was certainly a confidence and a new belief.

"We'd been at the top and acquitted ourselves well against the top side, so we need to take that into this season.

"You can't see what the players have learnt from that game until you see them adapting it and using it, but it certainly helps me with the opener against Saints."

Slowly but surely Sharp has accumulated an impressive squad at the Galpharm Stadium, and this could be the year things start to happen for Huddersfield.

But at the moment, he is keeping his feet on the ground.

"We're happy with our recruitment and how the boys have gelled," he said.

"Training has gone well and in the friendly against Wigan we came up against a decent side and acquitted ourselves well.

"Then, in the next game against Leeds, we did terribly and looked like a team with five new players in it.

"They've got to learn the traits of the players alongside them but that's what coaching is about, especially early in the year."



SEE ALSO
Huddersfield v St Helens (Sun)
02 Feb 07 |  Super League
Anderson signs Saints extension
18 Jan 07 |  St Helens
Sports Personality: The winners
10 Dec 06 |  Sport Homepage
The History Boys
15 Oct 06 |  Super League
Anderson salutes historic Saints
14 Oct 06 |  Super League
Huddersfield 12-42 St Helens
26 Aug 06 |  Challenge Cup


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