Fylde excited by the prospect of close encounters

Team boss Alex Loney says Fylde RFC are confident and excited for the National Two North season which begins this Saturday - though he's expecting another tight competition that could be too close to call.

- by Andy Moore

Tomorrow's Woodlands clash with Hull Ionians (3pm) is the first of three home games on the first four weekends.

Time will tell whether that works to Fylde's advantage as they look to improve upon last season's fourth-placed finish.

Joint-head coach Loney told The Gazette: “We've done blocks of good work over the summer.

“We were happy with the two preseason performances (the victories against Lymm and Blackburn), we used a lot of players and have pretty much a clean bill of health.