Fylde RFC hope preparations pay off as captain targets a milestone match

The experienced prop has not played since sustaining a knee injury in the victory over Leicester Lions eight weeks ago and his return is a massive boost for head coach Warren Spragg.

He told The Gazette: “Adam has worked extremely hard on his rehabilitation.

“Provided he comes through Thursday’s session with no problems he will play his 200th game for the club on Saturday, so he will be pumped up to lead the side out.

“There is a question mark over Ben Vernon but otherwise we are at full strength.”

A two-week break since their last match has helped Spragg’s squad to get over bumps and bruises and they blew away any cobwebs with an intense training session on Tuesday.

Former Fylde coach Mark Nelson brought his Rossendale squad to the Woodlands for a competitive session, which Spragg considered most beneficial.

He added: “It was a very good session and we were able to do a lot of work on set-pieces.

“It was very controlled and Ben Davies, who referees in our league, was there too, so it was very useful.”

Eighth-placed Fylde will be confident of backing up a fine win at Stourbridge last time out with victory over struggling South Leicester before a crucial four-game run against teams above Fylde in the table.

However, Spragg insists there will be no underestimating a third-bottom South Leicester side who are on a five-game losing run, having lost only one of their first five.

“They are a good team who score good tries,” the coach warned. “They have won three matches and have some dangerous players.”

They are one of the four Two North teams Fylde had never played league rugby against before this season – their previous competitive meeting having been in a cup-tie in 2002-03.

However, Spragg is determined not to make a big issue of facing an unknown quantity.

“You have to prevent that from being a factor,” he added.

“It’s 15 guys trying to get over your tryline, whether you’ve played them before or not.

“It doesn’t make any difference to how you prepare or approach the game.”