"We know Hoppers will be up for it": Fylde RFC prepare for home derby with Preston Grasshoppers
Fylde RFC go into Saturday’s home derby with Preston Grasshoppers (3pm), boosted by two of their best displays this season in National Two North.
Having followed the 36-12 win over Sheffield Tigers with a thumping 57-10 victory at Rossendale last weekend, Fylde head into their final game before the three-week winter break with some welcome selection problems as players return after injury.
The fifth-placed home side go into the Woodlands derby unbeaten in five games, winning four, whereas Hoppers have won only one of their last five and lost heavily at Hull Ionians last Saturday, though Fylde boss Chris Briers admits that players approach these local skirmishes differently regardless of form..
Fylde have won all seven derbies since Hoppers regained National League status in 2022 but joint-head coach Briers told The Gazette: “We know that if we do it right, we should be able to do well on Saturday but that’s easier said than done.
“If we were playing another of the teams around Hoppers in the table, then we’d probably go in feeling confident and thinking we shouldn’t slip up, but when it’s a local derby, players have a different mindset. We know Hoppers will be up for it and will try to play at the top of their game.
“We came into these final three games of the year looking to go on a good winning run. We’ve won the first two and gave two of our strongest performances of the season, so we want to keep that up.”
What did Briers make of fellow Lancastrians Rossendale, whom Fylde had never faced in a competitive fixture before Saturday?
“They do have some good players but they struggled to put long periods of play together and they found us tough to handle, but we were really good,” he added.
“We started well and, although they had a couple of moments in the first half, it always felt like it was only a matter of time before we pulled away. We always felt confident we had enough to finish it off.
“We’d heard a lot about the slope on their pitch and it is big – but nothing too dramatic. It isn’t in the same ballpark as pitches I played on at Bedford or Kirkham Grammar.”