BRENTWOOD'S current six-match unbeaten run is evidence of an increased maturity in the squad, according to director of rugby Steve Killington.
In their fourth season in London 1 North the club are sitting in fifth place and are set for their highest-ever finish.
This Saturday's game at Luton fell foul of the snowy weather, which gave Killington the chance to reflect on their season to date. "I think the players have matured a little," he said.
"When we first got promoted to this league we lost a few players that had been playing for a little while and the younger players did come in.
"These players are only 21 or 22 now and they started playing when they were 17 or 18 and that's made a big difference.
"We've made a couple of additions as well and now we're a better team overall.
"We used to rely on our forwards and now our backs are more instrumental in what we do."
As well as some sound additions, Killington thinks another reason for their improvement is down to coach Elliot Shaw, who has been to work with the club's backs.
"It's helped as it means I can work with the forwards more and it's made a difference," he said.
"He's trying to get the backs to be more confident in themselves and to express themselves a bit more rather than just waiting to see what happens."
A top-five finish is the minimum aim this season and Killington is now keen to get some results against the division's elite clubs.
"I think the players are looking forward to putting in a better performance than they did earlier in the season," he said. "We'd like to be more competitive against Letchworth, Bury, Colchester and Eton Manor and so on.
"If we can stay where we are or maybe move up one or two places then that'll be a real achievement and then hopefully we can move on next year.
"If we hold on to the current crop of players and a couple of teams get promoted we should be looking to be a lot more competitive – but you can't guarantee anything."
This Saturday, weather permitting, Brentwood host bottom of the table Rochford Hundred.
Although on paper it would seem a simple prospect, Killington is wary of the opposition who they defeated 28-12 in the reverse fixture.
He said: "They're really struggling but when we played them earlier in the season I thought they were a team who looked quite dangerous when they attacked . . . that said I would expect us to beat them."
Flanker Chris Stewart will be out for the next two weeks with rib injury, otherwise Brentwood have a fully fit squad.
