Fylde at risk of being left behind in tough group
FYLDE have failed to live up to last season’s secondplace finish, with the Lancashire outfit languishing in fifth and hooker Ben Gregory says the club need to work out what’s needed to bridge the gap to the top sides.
Gregory, 26, has profited from the club’s formidable driving maul with 20 tries in 24 appearances this term. But he’d trade his place near the top of the National Two North scoring charts for more victories as his side came into this weekend 31 points off leaders Leeds Tykes.
Gregory told The Rugby Paper: “We’re not pleased. The ambition was to back up the last campaign and due to injuries and unavailabilities we’ve not performed as well as we wanted. You can’t argue with where we are in the league, it’s disappointing we haven’t kicked on.
“Someone asked me about my tries the other day and I said I’m lucky that the lineout maul has got a bit better this year, so I’ve managed to go over a few more times. The individual stuff is great, but ultimately the team wins are what we want. It’s nice to go over for a try or two but I’d much rather have a couple more wins.”
Fylde fell short last time out against strugglers Hull in a 39-36 defeat, losing late on in a match that sums up their season according to Gregory.
He added: “It was a nip and tuck game where we didn’t start well, but went in at half time leading. Second half it was back and forth, and we didn’t manage the game as well as we should have. It’s another game that’s got away from us and one that we should have won.
“We’ve been in contests and let them slip or there’s been a few games, like Wharfedale, in which we’ve given them easy outs, which they’ve benefitted from.”
Fly-half Greg Smith has been a standout for Fylde, accumulating 205 points heading into this weekend, but Gregory is proud of how numerous players have performed in the campaign.
He said: “Given the fact we lost David Fairbrother against Rotherham the second game in, Toby Harrison has continued from where he was last season and has been dominant in the loose and in defence. He’s turned into one of the leaders within the group.
“In the backline, we’ve had a couple of changes, but Greg has been so consistent for us with kicking the majority of goals and broke the points record this year for Fylde which is great. Freddie Reader has come to the club and is an exciting prospect shown by how electric he’s been in the few games he has played.”
Leeds and Rotherham have been the league’s two standout sides and Gregory feels his side must act fast as the division becomes increasingly tough.
“There’s a clear gap in terms of the top two,” said Gregory. “Both Sheffield sides have taken a step forward and at Fylde we want to be competing at the top as well. We need to work out what we need to do to compete because it’s not getting any easier.”