BAILDON skipper JJ O'Connell, who picked up three awards at their annual dinner, reckons they can 'do a Leicester City' next season and win silverware in the campaign following an escape from relegation.

The Yorkshire Division Three season just ended was generally one to forget for the Jenny Laners and they changed their coach late on, with Andy Pollard replacing Adam Falkner, but, although they won at Rotherham Phoenix in their last match, they still needed Aireborough to defeat Bramley Phoenix the following weekend at Nunroyd Park to survive.

And even then it needed a 35-point deduction for Bramley Phoenix to send them down alongside Rotherham Phoenix, Baildon staying up by one point.

Aireborough kicked a last-ditch penalty to send Phoenix down and save Baildon, and O'Connell said at the club's annual dinner in the clubhouse: "It came down to the last minute of the last match of the season, but we have stayed up.

"But as a club we haven't been good enough and we stayed up because Bramley were what they were."

However, O'Connell, who played football for Baildon Trinity Athletic for a season and a half from 2013-14 to midway through the 2014-15 campaign while a shoulder injury kept him off the rugby field, added: "We can 'do a 'Leicester City' next season. Why not?

"We have previously won at Twickenham and we have lost at Twickenham (RFU Junior Vase finals 2012 and 2013). We have won the Yorkshire Silver Trophy (2012) and gained promotion (from Yorkshire Division Three in 2012-13)."

O'Connell, who made no secret of how proud he was to be Baildon's first-team captain, was named players' player of the year, and also took the Johnny Bell Trophy for the club's leading points scorer and the top try-scorers' prize.

Second-row Sam Simons was newcomer of the year, back-rower Luke Strauss young player of the year and hooker Matty Dixon most improved player, while Luke's brother Harrison was the coaches' player of the year.

Phil Wilson won club president Dr Mark Purvis' award, while Nick Murphy was clubman of the year.

Purvis said: "Four years ago Phil handed me his knee strap and said that he had played his last game for Baildon but this season, when we needed him, he played for us again, and when he came on, our scrum didn't go backwards."

Murphy called for members at the club to "put a little bit more effort in".

Meanwhile, Bradford & Bingley RUFC president Roger Carrington, who was a guest at the dinner, thanked members of both Baildon and Bradford Salem for helping the Wagon Laners out after their club was flooded on Boxing Day.