The Blackpool Gazette’s Sports Editor Andy Moore spoke to Joint Head Coach Alex Loney in mid-week. [Reproduced courtesy of the Gazette]
Fylde RFC boss Alex Loney praised his side’s best win of the season so far and admits team selection is a welcome headache.
The Woodlands club passed their toughest test yet with Saturday’s 34-31 win away to previously unbeaten Hull Ionians and are the only team with maximum points four games into the National Two North campaign.
Joint head coach Loney told The Gazette: “I think it’s our best win based on the first four games because it’s a ground where we’ve lost in the past. They have had good wins over Rotherham and Wharfedale, who look like they will be up there, so we’re very pleased to have beaten a strong team.”
The victory wasn’t without its ups and downs, Fylde’s 17-7 half-time lead becoming a 24-17 deficit before the visitors regained the initiative. Loney added: “The first-half performance was really good and we felt we had missed some chances. We joked at the end that everything we’d discussed at half-time didn’t happen and a crazy five or 10 minutes had left us on the ropes. “We regrouped, got the momentum back, scored some good tries and held out for the victory.”
An injury in training to packman Toby Harrison had forced a change but Fylde have overcome the absence of key players this season.
Tries are being scored right through the side as captain and hooker Ben Gregory added two more in his free-scoring start. Loney said: “Ben has been scoring tries all over the pitch and is top-quality, but the main thing is that we’re scoring them as a team.
“We do feel the squad is stronger than last year. The competition is big and we’re having to make tough calls every week. The season is attritional and you want players who can deliver consistently, and we’re really confident in all 20 players in the squad. We have good players throughout and if someone has a niggle, like Toby had last week, we don’t need to risk them.”
Fylde aren’t the last unbeaten side as Sedgley Park have also won all four – and that doesn’t surprise Loney. “Sedgley finished second last season and are a very good team,” he said. “It’s going to be tough to overcome them. When we do play them (away in early November), then if they are the standard-setters so be it.”
Next up for Fylde is tomorrow’s Woodlands clash with Blaydon (3pm), one of three sides without a win. It’s early season and teams are still finding their feet,” says Loney. Blaydon have had a difficult start and we’ve had tough games against them. For us it’s definitely a case of full steam ahead and trying to get better. Blaydon is the next test and, hopefully, we’ll get the job done.”