Fylde RFC's last-day loss was no downer for coaching team

That inconsistency was summed up in the final two games, when Fylde became the only team other than champions Rotherham to defeat Leeds Tykes all season – but then rounded off their campaign with a 21-15 defeat at Sheffield Tigers last Saturday.

It meant Fylde finished fifth in National Two North, having lost 12 matches – four times as many as in 2022/23 – and four of their final five away from the Woodlands.

Joint-head coach Loney told The Gazette: “I don’t do too much analysis on wins and defeats. If you look at the stats, we shouldn’t have beaten Leeds but we did.

“We should have done better in some of the away games we lost, but we won at Huddersfield with 18 players unavailable and gave a great performance at Leeds.

“We wanted to back up the Leeds result and finish on a high, but it was good to finish with what felt like a proper league game.

“Fair play to Sheffield, they capitalised on things that were in our control and they scored from our errors, but I’m proud of our lads’ effort.”

Fylde’s 18-15 win over the Tykes proved decisive as it enabled Rotherham to pip them to the title by two points with victory at Billingham last weekend.

Loney said: “Rotherham are worthy champions because they only lost one game.

“In fairness to Leeds, I think they were outstanding and in terms of threats and style, I’d have leaned towards them.

“Congratulations to Rotherham and their new coaching group, but both clubs are the benchmark as we build for next season.

“I still feel there were some real highlights to our season and new players have shown they have quality and will get better.

“We had to use a lot of players and those who played more than they expected will be better for the experience – and they will have a hell of a lot of motivation for next season.”

Loney now switches hats for his Lancashire head coaching role in preparation for the County Championship opener against Somerset at Fylde on May 18.