The Blackpool Gazette’s Andy Moore talked to Fylde Joint Head Coach Chris Briers ahead of this weekend’s N2(North) game. Reproduced courtesy of the Gazette.
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Fylde hope to take the lessons from their pre-Christmas draw against Preston Grasshoppers into the second half of the season, which resumes with a trip to Billingham on Saturday (2.15pm).
Hoppers avoided defeat against Fylde for the first time in four seasons of National Two North derbies last month, drawing 22-22 after trailing 19-0 at half-time.
Fylde’s joint-head coach Chris Briers told The Gazette: “The lesson from the derby is that games can change and so you always have to be ready. We were strong in the first half against Preston and then they came into it second half, when we made too many mistakes and gave away unnecessary penalties.
“Billingham are lower down the table, as they were when we went there last season, but they were clearly up for it both times.”
The synthetic surface at Billingham means there’s a good chance of the game beating the wintry weather, though Fylde were braced for disruption to training this week. Briers added: “The conditions would have to be extremely severe for their pitch to be unplayable, though there could be implications for travel.
“We will get some training done this week and we got a good session in last week, as we always try to between Christmas and New Year.”
Three of Fylde’s four games in the first fixture block of 2026 are away from home, which will cause no concern to a club who have won all six on the road so far. Having better results away than at home is not the only change to the usual pattern for Fylde. Indeed, a team renowned for its attacking prowess has arguably been stronger on the defensive side.
Although they have lost just two of this season’s 14 games, Fylde had to settle for sixth place at the turn of year – and a key reason is that the five clubs above them have twice as many four-try bonus points.
Briers added: “It’s hard to put your finger on why this season is panning out differently, but we scored good tries in the first half against Hoppers and in the two previous games, so we have been attacking well. Our defence has kept us in certain games this season and we’ve scored off the back of it. The Macclesfield game springs to mind, when we defended really well and got over for a try to win it. If we can put a few things right, we can turn draws into wins and then we can have an even stronger second half to the season. There are definitely places to play for above us.”
Whether top spot is one of them is doubtful, with Sheffield winning every game and dropping only one point to date.
“I think the rest of us need snookers because Sheffield have put themselves in a great position and it would take quite a turnaround,” admitted Briers. “Things can change. We were blighted by injuries and unavailability in the first half of the season but we only lost twice. Now we have some tough selection decisions to make for the weekend and it will be interesting to see how we go for the rest of the season if we can keep a full squad.”