Former Huddersfield Giants and Ireland International captain Mick Slicker has been appointed as Head Coach of the Under-18's Academy side for the forthcoming season.

Slicker made his name at the Galpharm Stadium as a crowd favourite in the prop forward position; however he has been rewarded for his work with the clubs scholarship players by being handed the chance to lead the Giants Under-18's into the 2011 Academy season.

Having lead the talented scholarship youngsters on the historic tour down under in 2010, Slicker is delighted to get the chance to help them further develop as part of the Academy set up;

"It's a great progression for me to take on the job as coach of the Under-18's and I was delighted to accept. I have been involved with the group since they were Under-15's and I've worked closely with them for quite a long time. I am pleased with how much we have managed to achieve as a group so far and it's great that the club have offered me the opportunity to have a shot with them at the Under-18's competition.

"The experience that the players gained from the tour of Australia will prove outstanding for their development and the club will see the benefits on the back of that. There are potentially a handful of players from that group who could quite easily become Super League players in the next few years if they continue to work hard."

Head of Youth Performance Damian McGrath is delighted that Slicker has agreed to the role; "Mick is the best man for the job and we are all really pleased that he will be Head Coach of the Under-18's for the forthcoming season. He has got a proven track record of working with young players and if the job he did last year with the Under-16's is anything to go by, then he's definitely going to go a long way in the game.

"He has got all the attributes needed to go far in the game and I'm sure that he has got the potential to be a Super League coach of the future if he desires."