Fylde RFC boss believes players will improve further next season

The Woodlands club ended the National Two North campaign in second position, having won 21 of 25 games before their final match of the season at Huddersfield was cancelled.

They were unbeaten at home throughout the course of 2022/23, which enabled them to finish 11 points clear of third-placed Hull Ionians and a dozen behind champions Sedgley Park.

While it might be understandable if there was some lingering disappointment at missing out on the title, Loney believes Fylde’s squad will be better for their experiences this season.

“The group is really in the prime age of mid-20s,” the joint-head coach told The Gazette.

“They are only going to keep getting better and the vast majority of the team are committed for next year, so there’s a lot to look forward to.

“We have high standards and we were confident the squad was better than last year’s: not just in terms of the starting 15.

“I think we had 16 contracted players unavailable and were still getting wins so, squad-wise, I think we’ve been really, really good.

“We’re well into the 30s for those who have played this year and it’s all experience in the bank because next year is going to be another tough league.”

In most other seasons, Fylde’s tally of 106 points would have taken them closer to the title – if not won the trophy.

Instead, they played second fiddle to a Sedgley team which picked up wins in relentless fashion.

Their league title was set up with victories in the first 19 matches of the season, a run that ended with a draw at Fylde followed by defeat against Tynedale.

Any thoughts of a late wobble were emphatically put to one side as Sedgley then closed out the season with five consecutive victories.

There was no disappointment on Loney’s part at missing out on silverware this season, instead opting to take the positives.

While congratulating Sedgley for their campaign, he reiterated that Fylde had done well to push them as hard as they did.

Loney said: “Sedgley fully deserve the league. They have only slipped up a couple of times and have been a really good team.

“I think us and Sedgley have been the two best teams there, right from the outset.

“We had an unbeaten record at home and we lost a tight one away to them (30-20) in a game we could have won, but they managed to get a win out of it.

“Then we had a bit of work to do in that we picked up a few injuries and had to manage those, like every team does during a season.

“However, Sedgley deserved to get back in National One next year: we would have liked to have finished top and I think the group was certainly capable of doing so.

“We’ve just come up short though but we’ve finished second and had a good season.”