Paul McShane hints at change of direction for '˜perfect' Hunslet Club Parkside

Parkside’s 26-18 win over West Hull in the National Conference Premier Division Grand Final came after they had won all 22 of their league matches.

The south Leeds club have been promoted as champions through each of the Conference’s four divisions in successive seasons. McShane said: “The group is pretty determined and they want to be the best.

“We have got a few lads who have been on a six or seven-year journey with us and if they retired after this game it would be on the best terms possible.

“We’ll probably be trying to bring young kids through now and see how they cope with it.”

McShane described the club’s move from the Pennine League to the Conference as a “punt”.

He said: “I’ve got to thank people involved with the club for giving us the go ahead to go to summer.

“Everyone has backed us with the finances and we have a lot to thank them for.”

Parkside led 14-2 at half-time of the final, but their lead was cut to just two points before a strong finish secured the title.

“The lads were calm even when there were two points in it,” McShane insisted. “They knew what they had to do right – it was them telling us [the coaches] what they were going to do to make things better, which is good.

“We had some special efforts. I think our bench were good for us in the second half. They brought some energy when that was probably lacking.”

McShane paid tribute to captain Jamie Fields, who scored Parkside’s opening try and kicked two goals.

He said: “Credit to him. He had a bad knee injury, but he wanted to play on.

“We made an effort to get him back on at the end because he deserved to be there at the final whistle.”