NEIL Shillingford is pleased with the progress Dudley Kingswinford have made this season.

DK ended their campaign with a 45-35 victory at Stoke-on-Trent last Saturday and the director of rugby at Heathbrook praised the way his side have improved.

“The game with Stoke was bizarre. There were eight yellow cards, all for technical fouls, and we were 30-10 behind at one stage,” he said.

“Earlier in the season we may have lost that game, but the big thing for me is the way we have learned.

“We started to play the referee a little better and made sure we came out on top. It showed how we have matured as a side.

“I’ve got to be happy overall with the season.

“We wanted a top-half finish and have met all our targets we set ourselves.

“There were a few shaky months that cost us when it looked like we could be up their challenging at the top, but besides that it has been an encouraging season.”

The Stoke win will be DK’s last action this term after their proposed home game with Silhillians on April 9 was called off on compassionate grounds due to a serious injury to a Silhillian player.The clash had been rescheduled for this Saturday but has now been scrapped.

Shillingford is now keen to begin planning for a title tilt next term.

“It is a shame we can’t end the season in front of our own fans, but we understand the situation,” he added. “We know where we need to strengthen and will be working on that in the summer.

“There are a few areas that need strengthening because an injury or two could have it us hard.

"We will be looking to involve some young players already at the club as well as seeing if we can bring in others from outside.

“We want to be in the mix at the top next season, but it won’t be easy because there will be a lot of strong sides.”