BOLTON Mets secretary Stuart Cooke believes the hits the club are taking this season could aid the fledgling side's development in the long run.

They remain bottom of North West Men's League Division Three after losing 82-0 at home to table-toppers Pilkington Recs A, who are unbeaten this season.

But while the Mets are still within touching distance of safety – level on points with Little Hulton Reds and Burtonwood Ridge and just a point behind Crosfields A – Cooke is confident they are at the bottom of a learning curve and will be stronger in seasons to come.

"Obviously, the result (against the Recs) is a bad one – unfortunately it is not our first this season and may not be the last," said Cooke.

"However, we still managed to field 17 players and stick at it for the full 80 minutes, which some other teams would not have done.

"We have lost a number of players from last season through retirement and injury and the players who have stepped up just haven't got the same years of experience to fall back on.

"On the flip side of that, we hope these negative results can be turned into a positive for future games and seasons."

The Mets have won just two of their 13 games and, in truth, they were never going to add to that figure against a Recs side that is brimming with talent and confidence.

They won the reverse fixture at St Helens by the same 82-0 scoreline and have put every team to the sword this season, racking up 586 points in 11 games so far this season.

With several experienced players missing from the Mets line-up it was always going to be tough to live with the class of Pilkington, who ran in several early tries before a solid defensive period from the home side kept them out for more than 20 minutes.

But Mets lack of confidence led to a number of attacks breaking down through forced passes and knock-ons.

The Recs made full use of the easy possession to take a 50-0 lead into half time.

The scoring pattern continued after the break but Bolton showed great character and caused their opponents some difficulties, with strong running by Ste Lowe, man-of-the-match Ken Sackfield and Tom Knight setting up plays for Rob Tuppen and Carl Henderson to threaten the line.

"A loss can teach you more than a win on certain occasions," said Cooke.

"It's been a tough old season so far but we're still here and still fighting.

"This isn't how we wanted to celebrate our 20th anniversary but it cant be helped.

"We're still being contacted on a weekly basis by new players looking to give rugby league a try so the future of the sport in Bolton is alive and well.

"A few tweaks here and there should help the club develop in the remainder of the season and ahead of next season, so the hard work never stops."

The Mets' next league fixture is on Saturday, August 8, when we travel to fourth-placed Wigan Bulldogs.