DUDLEY Kingswinford RFC coach Neil Shillingford says his side still have huge room for improvement despite a winning start to the season.

The joint head coach watched his side grind out a 23-11 victory at Midland One West newcomers Worcester Wanderers last Saturday.

But DK failed to pick up a bonus point after running in only three tries and while pleased with the result, Shillingford believes there is still plenty more to come.

He said: “We weren’t at our destructive best.

“It is a pleasing start and the win is all important but we didn’t score as many points as we should have done.

“It was a good performance but there is still massive room for improvement.

“We only played one game in pre-season and there was a certain amount of rustiness which I think showed.

“But we still have a lot of players to come back in and I think we will get better and better as the weeks go by.”

Centre Stefan Shillingford and skipper Ben Connett were among the absentees on Saturday, though DK welcomed back Richard Kelley after nearly 12 months out, the loose head prop marking his return with a try.

New coach John Higgins also impressed at centre, while Ben Coles and Jak Davis grabbed the other tries.

But they fell just short of getting a fourth score, which would have given them an extra point under the new rules, where a bonus point awarded to teams who score more than four tries in victory or sides beaten by less than seven points.

Shillingford believes the new dynamic could benefit his side’s attacking style.

He said: “If you look at our scores from the end of last season we would have been picking up three points on most occasions.

“That could make the difference over a long season, it adds a bit more flexibility and should keep things exciting.”

DK open their home account when they take on Stratford this Saturday (3pm).