Shillingford out to go one step further at DK

The Heathbrook outfit are once again expected to be battling out at the top of the table this term, having come within a whisker of promotion in each of the past two campaigns.

On both occasions DK qualified for the promotion play-off only to come second best in a winner-takes-all encounter.

Shillingford said: “We certainly can’t set our sights any lower this time around.

“We feel we are stronger across the squad and all in all it has been a decent summer.

“Of course we want to win promotion but to do that there are a lot of things which need to happen over the course of the season.

“There are opportunities that crop up which you have to take advantage of. That is perhaps where we have come unstuck in the past.”

DK paid the price last season for a pre-Christmas dip which cost them any chance of top spot. Despite a barnstorming run over the second half of the season to claim second spot, they were eventually edged out 33-30 by Paviors in the play-off.

The summer has seen the arrival of Matt Williams as player-coach from Old Halesonians, while Shillingford has been boosted by the return of Rich Kelly after the front row missed all of last term through injury.

DK open the season at home to Whitchurch, fourth last season, tomorrow.

“It will be a good barometer of where we are,” said Shillingford. “Whitchurch are a team you would expect to be in mid-table most seasons and last year they obviously kicked on.

“The most pleasing thing during pre-season has been the players who have stepped up from the Colts.

“Perhaps the one concern is we did not get the chance to have the first-choice backline playing together.

“This is always going to be a competitive division. There are a lot of of derbies and it is a fun league to be involved in.”