IF Huddersfield can match the confidence of their form forward Keith Mason, they can book the bus for Wembley now. It is 47 years since the club from rugby league’s birthplace last played at Wembley and 56 years since they last lifted the game’s most famous silverware. But they go into Sunday’s Carnegie Challenge Cup semi-final against holders St Helens on the back of a rich vein of form and with confidence oozing from every pore. That self-belief is epitomised by the 27-year-old Mason, who was a member of Saints’ Cup-winning team at the Millennium Stadium in 2004 and is currently playing the best rugby of his life. Mason, who will make his 90th appearance for Huddersfield at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium, has not looked back since being rescued from a nightmare spell at Castleford in 2006 and has been especially instrumental in the Giants’ impressive form this season. Along with the towering Eorl Crabtree, Mason is the pick of an outstanding pack which has proved to be the match for any side in Super League. “I’ve got my career back on track,” says Mason, who joined St Helens in 2004 from Melbourne Storm. “I’ve played nearly 100 games for Huddersfield and this year has been my most enjoyable. “I’ve got rid of my problems off the field and this is probably the best rugby league I’ve played. Everything about my game has stepped up 40% from last year. “We’ve got five or six good front rowers at the club and that has helped us win games because we’ve such a strong bench.” Crabtree’s form earned him a call-up for England’s mid-season international against France and Mason, who previously represented Wales, has high hopes of playing in the Gillette Four Nations series in October and November. “I’ve had it at the back of my mind,” he says. “A lot of the guys said I was unlucky not to play in the one-off Test but there are still a lot of games left and hopefully I can make the squad. “If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I’ll probably be a bit disappointed because (Jamie) Peacock and (Adrian) Morley been good servants for Great Britain and England but they’re knocking on now and I think they should maybe be looking at guys a bit younger and a little bit more hungry.” Mason, whose clash with St Helens’ England forward James Graham could be crucial to the outcome of Sunday’s semi-final, acknowledges the holders’ Challenge Cup pedigree but believes the Yorkshire club, one of rugby league’s true sleeping giants, are about to emerge from their slumbers. Saints, argues Mason, are a club in transition, with players like Chris Joynt, Paul Sculthorpe, Sean Long and Keiron Cunningham either having retired or gone past their best, and could soon be overtaken by a club on the rise. “Huddersfield haven’t won anything for a long time but, as you can see, things are changing,” he says. “We’ve got a great coach and some great players and the transformation over the last 12 months has been unbelievable. We’ve gone from near the bottom of the league to the top. “I think St Helens are vulnerable. A lot of players left and a lot of good players are getting old and moving on. “New guys are coming through and you might see a transition. St Helens might not be as good as they have been.” Mason, who missed Huddersfield’s 42-12 defeat by Saints in the 2006 Twickenham final through injury, was in the St Helens side that hammered the Giants 46-6 at Warrington in the 2004 semi-final but he insists Sunday’s repeat clash will be a different affair altogether. “It’s going to be a close game,” he says. “To beat St Helens you’ve got to get in their faces and take their main guys out of the game. “We don’t have to fear St Helens. We’ve just got to go out there and have a crack.”
WIGAN expect to have skipper Sean O’Loughlin back to lead their bid to reach Wembley.
The tough-tackling loose forward has missed the Warriors’ last four Super League matches with a knee injury but is on course to make a timely return in Saturday’s Carnegie Challenge Cup semi-final against Warrington at Widnes’s Stobart Stadium. “His chances are pretty good,” Wigan coach Brian Noble said. | 
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