Fylde RFC coaching staff target two more wins to end the season

Fylde complete the National Two North campaign with back-to-back away games, travelling to Chester tomorrow and then Huddersfield on April 29.

They do so, having secured second spot in the table behind champions Sedgley Park with victory over Otley last weekend.

That made it 12 wins and a draw from 13 home matches this season, with victory also taking the Woodlands club past the 100-point mark.

With only pride left to play for now, Loney and joint-head coach Chris Briers want their squad on the front foot in the remaining matches.

“We want to finish the season well,” Loney warned.

“We want to keep up our run of results and perform well after last season, when we petered out in the last few games.

“There are two really tough tests ahead of us, Chester first of all: a team we played in the first game of the season and only just defeated (34-29).

“They have had some fantastic results but we’re going to go there feeling confident.

“The players are hungry to play well and finish strongly: we could end the season with 111 points, which would be a pretty big success for us.

“If we fail to hit that mark, then it won’t be for the want of trying.”

Fylde skipper Ben Gregory looks set to return tomorrow after he missed the Otley game.

The hooker was unavailable after sustaining a head injury early on in Fylde’s win over Sheffield Tigers at the start of the month.

That opened the door for Sam Parker to impress, having shown patience in waiting for his opportunity.

Loney added: “Ben should be back, he’s doing his return to play protocols but the indications are he will be back.

“He was gutted to miss Saturday’s game but understood he had to do what he had to do.

“We’re very happy with Sam. He’s a really good young player but, although it’s tough being behind Ben, he’s a quality player and we want him to keep developing.

“As he becomes part of the squad, we can get him more development time within the group and we will be a better team with him around.”