Nathan Brown will end a 15-year association with his Australian club when he succeeds Jon Sharp at Huddersfield next season.

The 34-year-old Brown, who has been with St George Illawarra as player and coach since he was 19, will be the sixth overseas coach in the 12-club Super League when he takes up a three-year contract in November.

He applied for the Giants vacancy after being told in mid-season that he would be replaced at the Dragons in 2009 by former Australia Test coach Wayne Bennett and he beat fellow Australians Steve Folkes and Royce Simmons to the job at the Galpharm Stadium.

"I wanted to coach somewhere and decided I wanted to be a career coach," Brown told PA Sport.

"The opportunity came up and thankfully Huddersfield were kind enough to give me that opportunity. I feel very, very privileged.

"I'm a bit nervous about bringing my family over to a new country but I'm excited by the challenge and the prospect of experiencing a different environment and a different style of football."

Sharp was sacked on June 2 in the wake of the Giants' 48-0 defeat by Catalans Dragons which left them next to bottom of Super League.

Assistant coaches Paul Anderson and Keiron Purtill have been in charge for the last five matches and will remain in position to the end of the season.

"I have spoken to Paul and Keiron and I am sure, with their help, they can get me up to speed," added Brown.

"Before taking the decision, I obviously had a look at the squad closely and there's a pretty good blend of youth and experience.

"I've played against John Skandalis and coached against most of the Sydney-based players.

"What really sold the club to me was the ambition and enthusiasm of (chairman) Ken Davy and (managing director) Richard Thewlis.

"They made it clear to me how determined they are to see the club progress and I'm excited about the challenge of being a part of that process.

"At this stage, I'm not prepared to make any bold predictions about what we can achieve over the next three years.

"My big goal initially will be to help improve each player individually. That will improve the team collectively and we'll just take it from there.

"There's no doubt this club has incredible potential and the chance to help fulfil it is one that already excites me tremendously."

Huddersfield will be hoping that Brown can emulate fellow Australian Tony Smith, who was 33 when he was appointed as John Kear's successor eight years ago and turned around the fortunes of the West Yorkshire club.

"Nathan comes with the highest possible recommendations from across the rugby league world and throughout our process of appointment came out on top of a very impressive list of candidates," said Davy.

"We had the highest possible calibre of applicant both from the UK and overseas so for Nathan to be our preferred choice speaks volumes for him and his achievements in the game.

"This is the start of a new and exciting chapter for Nathan and the Huddersfield Giants."

Brown played in the 1993 and 1996 Grand Finals for St George and in the 1999 Grand Final for the merged St George Illawarra Dragons, although he was never on the winning side.

He was forced to retire following a neck injury in a trial game in 2001 and was just 29 when he was appointed as head coach of the club.

More news from SportingLife.com