BROMSGROVE RFC coach Ross Baxter believes his side’s success in Midlands Two West this season could be defined by the first five games.

The Boars kick off the new campaign by welcoming Sutton Coldfield to Finstall Park this Saturday, and Baxter is eager for his team to capitalise on a string of early home fixtures.

After Saturday’s game, they host Burton, Camphill and Walsall by the end of October.

And Baxter has set his team a target of being in the top three by the half-way point in the season.

He said: “Our target is to try and make sure we are in the shake-up at Christmas.

“The team work better with short-term targets.

“We have got a five-game stretch to start with, with four home games and one away game, so we need points on the board to start with.

“So we have got an opportunity to be in the top three by Christmas.”

The Boars have added depth to their squad with front row forward Alex Fellows, second row Sam Stiley, fly-half Mark Coulson and former Worcester Warriors duo Sam Bastock and Phil Shaw joining.

However, Baxter insists holding on to prospects such as Nigel Burrows and Drew Harper was the main priority over the summer.

He added: “We knew our priority was holding on to the players we already have, as we have got some good young players like Nigel Burrows and Drew Harper.

“It is a case of building on what we did for last season.

“We’ve got greater depth than we have had for the last five years which is good.

“We have had a lot of players throw their hat into the ring in terms of competition for places.”