LUCTONIANS coach Ryan Watkins says he will now challenge his players to try a few different things in order to get back to winning ways.

The Kingsland side have lost five of their last six games following a decent start to the season in National League 2 North and are currently placed in 11th position.

Their latest reverse was a 22-14 defeat against Hinckley at Mortimer Park last Saturday.

"We are in a bit of a slump in terms of injuries, but we've got to find some other ways to do things," said Watkins.

"I don't want to make excuses that we haven't got the right players because we've proved we were capable of scoring points, we've just got to do that for the full 80 minutes.

"We can't have spells of effort and then spells of slumps, it's not an excuse I want to make.

"Up until now, we've been quite progressive and had a good start to the year.

"I'm sure when we look to challenge the boys in a few different ways and get a few players back from injury, we'll get to progressing in a different way."

Watkins added that Hinckley have improved following a poor start to the season and posed a tough test.

"They're a team on the up and have got some boys back from injury, whereas we're the opposite to that," he said.

"We're probably struggling a bit to get a full strength side, but I think we worked really hard.

"It's just a shame that we've got to find a few more ways to score some points and keep going forward.

"I think we've got to challenge the boys in different ways to get them create some more chances, because I think that's what we're lacking at the minute."

Hinckley opened the scoring in the 12th minute when full-back went over for a try; Jacob Umaga failing with the conversion.

Luctonians struggled to get a foot-hold in the game and Hinckley almost increased their lead through Mitchell Lamb; however referee Shane Lewis spotted an infringement and awarded Lucs a penalty.

Some good footwork from Will Hodnett 21 minutes then saw the home side threaten for the first time, but Hinckley held firm. The latter parts of the first half also saw opportunities for Lucs to score, but they were unable to and Hinckley went into the break 5-0 to the good.

Hinckley extended their lead three minutes into the second half thanks to another Bullivant try before the away side were awarded a penalty try after 58 minutes; Umaga easily converting.

Lucs finally found their form and scored two tries in the last 10 minutes through Hodnett and replacement Rhyan Scott-Young. Louis Silver converted both tries to reduce the deficit to just three points, but Hinckley had the final word when replacement Ben Avent added another try.

This Saturday, Luctonians make their longest trip of the season when they go to Northumberland to face Tynedale.

"The travelling can pose a problem for the boys who have got jobs and busy lives, so we've got to find a way that works for them, but I'm sure they will be looking forward to the trip," added Watkins.