Fylde RFC boss targets three wins after Easter break

The Woodlands club resume after this weekend’s break with their final home game against Otley a week tomorrow, followed by trips to Chester and Huddersfield.

Joint-head coach Alex Loney says he will be ‘disappointed’ if Fylde don’t end a most encouraging season with three more victories.

Fylde have beaten both Sheffield clubs, edging a 33-30 thriller away to the Tigers last Saturday, since the last break, effectively sealing runners-up spot and putting Sedgley Park’s title celebrations on hold for at least another week.

It may be only three weeks since the previous break but Fylde have again eased up on training this week as Loney told The Gazette: “We are giving the players time off. The previous breaks were helpful when we were down to the bare bones with injuries.

“We’re all right with injuries at the moment but our policy is still to keep everyone fresh.

“We want them all to keep performing until the end of the season and we want three wins. That isn’t a given with the quality of the opposition and the final two matches being away, but we will be disappointed if we don’t get those wins.”

Fylde will be missing their captain when they face fourth-placed Otley, Ben Gregory having been withdrawn early in the Tigers game with a head injury.

“Ben took an impact to the head and there is no grey area there,” said Loney. “He will miss the Otley game but hopefully will be back before the end of the season.

“Sam Parker came on and is a player we massively rate. He really showed why we have him in the group but Sam has to be patient because Ben is one of the top hookers in the league and is our captain.”

The most eye-catching performance last weekend was probably that of three-try winger Tom Grimes, though Loney singled out unsung heroes too.

“Tom was phenomenal, at times unplayable, and was really good in the previous game too,” the team boss said. “His class has never been in doubt but he is in form at a good time of the season.

“The two other standouts were Toby Harrison, who does so much work around the field and carries the ball in hard, and Dave Fairbrother, who took the captaincy when Ben went off and certainly led from the front to energise the boys.”