FYLDE Rugby Club get their new season under way this weekend with renewed hope for the future.

The club start the season with a home fixture against Macclesfield at the Woodlands on Saturday (kick off 3pm) and fans will be able to get in for free.

The game will be a chance to see new Fylde recruits including 6ft 2in New Zealander, Quentin King, signed from Silverdale United, for whom a number of Fylde players have featured.

Coach Stuart Connell said: "We've had very good reports about Quentin, including at first hand from our players currently with Silverdale.

"He's a mobile, hard tackling flanker who has senior experience in the very competitive Kiwi rugby league structure. We are delighted to be welcoming him to the Club".

King said : "I'm just really keen on getting over to the UK and joining a famous club like Fylde. And I'm excited about the prospect of being in a new place, meeting new people and enjoying the good times and sport."

Connell hopes to strengthen the pack even further and another overseas forward could arrive at the Woodlands within the next 10 days.

Fellow newcomers

Karl Long and Craig McIntyre are Fylde's only definite absentees through injury.

Off the field, developments will include a redevelopment of the clubhouse, car park and the installation of an all-weather pitch.

With the land sale finally stabilising the club's finances, officials are now looking forward to pushing the club forward on and off the field.

"The Club is determined to stay wedded to its local community, making a major input to the sporting scene in this part of Lancashire" said chairman, Malcolm Jones: "With the tribulations of fellow Northern clubs Wakefield and Rotherham, we can all see the consequences of concentrating only on an ambition to get to the top of the RFU league structure and forgetting the grass roots of the club and the necessity of balancing income and expenditure!"