NEW Bridport rugby captain Daragh McLoughlin is aiming for the Blues to stay up after their promotion to Dorset & Wilts One South.

Bridport take on North Dorset Seconds at the Brewery Ground tomorrow (3pm) with McLoughlin having taken over from previous skipper Tom Gamwell, who steps down to vice-captain for the 2017/18 season.

And McLoughlin, who is enjoying the role, feels his main aim of greater player commitment is well on the way to being achieved after a good pre-season.

He said: “It’s going well. When I first took it on I said the biggest thing is player commitment and we’ve had good numbers.

“I don’t think it’s just about one captain. We’ve got three, four, five leaders on the pitch through the team. Hopefully we can achieve what we want this season.”

After a “long” pre-season, McLoughlin is looking forward to restarting competitive league action and wants to make the Brewery Ground a “fortress” in maintaining a long unbeaten run on their home patch.

“It’s been a fairly long pre-season. It’s nice to actually start playing again. We’ve not really taken too much of a break.

“We started playing touch rugby about eight to 10 weeks ago. It will be really good to get going again.

“Staying up is the main aim. We’ve got a good squad and a couple of players coming back from long-term injuries.

“I’d like to think we can achieve mid-table. We haven’t lost at home for about 18 months.

“If we can keep that going we can make the home ground a bit of a fortress, and pick up a few away points,” he said.

McLoughlin revealed the Blues have not lost any players over the summer and are set to welcome back Ricky Stubbs this month as he finalises a return from a dislocated elbow, while front row Dean Williams is among several new recruits to join the Blues this summer.