Newmarket looking for consistent Counties 1 Eastern Counties form after defeat to Stowmarket

It has not been the start that he had hoped for, but head coach Martyn Wall is confident that his Newmarket side can still achieve their targets this season.

Before a try had been scored this term, Wall had set his squad the challenge of winning the Counties 1 Eastern Counties title.

And given that Newmarket had just recorded back-to-back runners-up finishes alongside lifting a county cup, that looked to be a reasonable goal.

But they have left themselves with a little bit of work to do after Saturday’s 42-29 home defeat at the hands of Stowmarket left Newmarket with two wins and two losses from their opening four fixtures.

However, Wall believes that there is more than enough time remaining for Newmarket to work their way up the table.

He said: “We’ve got to believe that we can still challenge and I’m sure we can.

“ The league can be won with four or five defeats but obviously we don’t want to be losing too many more.

“West Norfolk and Bury St Edmunds’ seconds have maybe caused a little bit of a surprise so far and there’s other teams we haven’t played before, but it’s not a league anyone is going to runaway with this season.

“Everyone can beat everyone this season, but there’s still plenty of time for us to right the wrongs so far.”

One thing that will help Newmarket’s cause is an upturn in player availability.

Injuries and other commitments have prevented Wall from selecting a settled team so far, but with key players set to return – including the experienced Max Bell – the hope is that it will help to deliver more consistent results.

He added: “In all four games we’ve named a different team, especially in the backline.

“We’ve had plenty of forwards available but we’ve not been able to field the same backline, which has been our super strength in recent seasons.

“It means we’ve not been able to get any fluid attacking going some weeks, but we’re only going to get stronger in that aspect with players now starting to return.

“We should have a better balance about us going forward now.”

Seventh-placed Newmarket will head to Colchester II on Saturday before signing off for a three-week break.