Billingham 25 Fylde 38: Fifth straight win for Woodlands squad

On a chilly but dry day, with little wind, and a 4G pitch providing a true surface, both teams threw the ball around, sometimes with flair and aplomb but less so on other occasions.

Periods of superb play were interspersed with a few stop-start interludes, meaning it was a case of whoever stayed accurate for long enough and in the right areas would come out on top.

With Ethan Hall-Lyon injured and Dave Fairbrother not yet ready to return, Fylde welcomed back Tom Burrow and Tom Carleton with Jordan Dorrington moving into the centre where he scored twice.

Toby Harrison fielded the first kick-off as Fylde set about stretching the hosts, keeping possession for multiple phases, and setting a challenging tempo.

This paid immediate dividends as space was created out wide for Tom Carleton to feed brother Sam, who jinked inside the last man to touch down with Greg Smith converting.

Having gained a penalty at the restart, Fylde lost lineout ball on their own throw which gave Billingham their first meaningful possession.

After five phases, a deft kick to the left wing found Michael Whinn, who gathered before dealing with the defender and offloading to Jonathan Horner who scored.

Ryan Foreman missed the conversion but then kicked a penalty to give Billingham an 8-7 lead.

Fylde put Billingham on the back foot from the restart, culminating in Harrison cantering over from 20 yards to make it 12-8 after only 12 minutes.

Foreman knocked over another penalty three minutes later but Fylde crossed again with Tom Carleton scoring wide out and Smith’s conversion seeing them 19-11 in front.

A dislocated knee – and subsequent lengthy stoppage – to Billingham’s Jordan Foulds on 27 minutes seemed to disrupt the flow of both teams as the rest of the half remained scoreless.

Three minutes into the second half, Tom Carleton was hauled down as he surged for the line but Burrow collected a pass off the deck and crossed for Fylde’s bonus point try and a 24-11 lead.

They extended that advantage seven minutes later as Dorrington intercepted an attempted miss pass and raced 70 yards to score under the posts.

Smith’s conversion made it 31-11 for Fylde, who then lost their shape just long enough to give Billingham a way back in.

Oli Parkinson was yellow-carded after holding on too long in the tackle, followed seconds later by a converted try for Billingham’s Sam Heron.

Scott Rawlings came on to settle things down for Fylde and, after a couple of strong carries, they were knocking on the door again.

Smith chipped over the top and Dorrington touched down for a converted try and a 38-18 lead.

Billingham weren’t done though, prop Kieran Clark with the last try of the day and Foreman converting.

Billingham: Foreman, Groark, Youll (Armstrong 25), J Evans, Horner, P Evans, Foley (Heron 52), Dixon (Spoors 46), Foulds (Graham 27), Clark (Dixon 65), Walton, Whinn (Campbell 52, Clark 77), Burns, Myers, Walton (Whinn 70).

Fylde: T Carleton, S Carleton (Forster 44), Dorrington, Stott (Rawlings 74), Lanigan, Smith, Gould, Brooks (Bowker 40), Gregory (Brooks 58), Raymont (Altham 54), Garrod, Burrow, Parkinson, Harrison, Bentley (Ashcroft 40).