Speedway: Sheffield Tigers can win the league

Sheffield star Josh Bates says Tigers have what it takes to win the Premier League title.
Josh BatesJosh Bates
Josh Bates

The Owlerton side are desperate to end a 14-year wait for glory having last lifted the title in 2002. They entered last season with high expectations and won their opening six fixtures, before a series of costly injuries saw them run out of steam.

Young gun Bates, one of only three returning riders from last year’s side, believes they have what it takes to bring Premier League glory back to the city.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“My opinion is we are going to win the Premier League this year” declared Bates. “You never know how things will turn out, but we are good enough to do it. We had a strong side last year, and the way we started off I think we could have been right in the mix. Unfortunately we had bad luck with injuries again; that meant we didn’t have enough when it got to the last few weeks of the season.

“The management have put together an awesome team this season, and if we have a few more things go our way I don’t see any reason why we can’t win it.

“We’ve got the best two heat-leaders in the league in Simon Stead and Jason Garrity. Steady is unbelievable and Jason proved last year how good he can be. Then we’ve got young riders like Dimitri Berge, Kyle Howarth and Nathan Greaves who should go well around Sheffield.

“Richard Hall goes great around Owlerton and is on a low average as well, so I’m feeling confident it can be a great year for us.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bates added: “It will be great to have everyone together at Press and Practice, hopefully we should have a good team spirit and we can get off to a good start and show we’ve got what it takes to be one of the top teams in the league.”