Nathan Brown was somewhat alarmed when his Huddersfield side first met St Helens this season. “They ran out to warm up and half our team stopped to watch them. We were beaten before we’d even kicked off,” the Giants’ Australian coach said.

That incident helped to influence some changes at Huddersfield, whose belief is such that, in addition to tomorrow’s second Carnegie Challenge Cup semi-final, against St Helens, they are close to guaranteeing a top-three finish in the engage Super League.

Had the prospect of a cup and league double been raised when Brown took over at Huddersfield after a distinguished playing and six-year coaching career at St George Illawarra Dragons, he would have deemed it improbable, at best.

He inherited a hard-working, if hardly star-laden squad, yet one significantly bolstered by the arrival of a much-admired full back from Australia in Brett Hodgson, who also helped to address a mental weakness when it came to meeting the leading teams.

“It was the way it’d been for a long time here, that you’d be beaten by the likes of St Helens and Leeds before you’d got out there,” Brown said. “It’s a thought process that the players have worked hard to eradicate.

“It comes from good football and consistent results, and it means that when we go out to play St Helens on Sunday, there’s that belief that we can win. That gives you a good chance.”

St Helens have retained their grip on rugby league’s oldest trophy since they swept Huddersfield aside in the 2006 final at Twickenham, but with the holders looking at gambling on the fitness of Sean Long and Keiron Cunningham to get them back to Wembley for a third consecutive year, they could be seen as vulnerable.

Long was not expected back from a broken jaw until the final on August 29, but whether he or Kyle Eastmond plays at scrum half, Brown has confidence in Luke Robinson, his No 7.

“Robbo’s really developed nicely and the team have learnt his strengths, which he’s only come to realise this year. He’s as tough as any player I’ve seen,” Kevin Brown, who has forged an outstanding half-back partnership with Robinson, said.

Today’s first semi-final features two hugely improved sides in Wigan Warriors, record 28-times finalists, and Warrington Wolves, who last reached Wembley in 1990 during Wigan’s eight-year cup reign.

“It’s been that long. I think the spectators have given up hoping we’ll get there,” Adrian Morley, the Warrington captain, said.

Wigan were last at Wembley in 1998, the year of Sheffield Eagles’ famous upset, having lost out 37-24 to Catalans Dragons in the semi-final two years ago, and the result could go a long way to determining Brian Noble’s future as their coach beyond this season.