Tigers boss wants '˜polished performance' at Owlerton

Josh Bates should be back for Sheffield Tigers on Monday night against Redcar

The Tigers fell to their second consecutive defeat on their travels at Berwick on Saturday - and were plagued by numerous mechanical issues as they went down 50-40.

The league leaders missed the scoring power of No.1 Josh Grajczonek, who performed admirably to qualify for the Semi-Finals of the Premiership Riders’ Championship in Manchester, and guest replacement Steve Worrall was only able to muster up five points.

Reserve pairing Jan Graversen and Georgie Wood have certainly has better nights between them and were comfortably outscored by their Berwick counterparts.

With Josh Bates also making his comeback from a recent injury it was always going to be a tough night for the Tigers who registered their only heat advantage of the night in the final race courtesy of in-form duo Kyle Howarth and Lasse Bjerre.

Said Mole: “It was a little bit disappointing but for me, coming away from the meeting unscathed was always of major importance.

“That’s what we need going into the play-offs which are coming up - a fully fit side and with Todd Kurtz hopeful of returning soon too, fingers crossed that’s how things will be. A few of the riders had engine problems on Saturday, but they’ve had a day to try and get those sorted and we’re looking for more of a polished performance against Redcar.”

“We’re already assured of top spot and choice of opponents in the play-offs but we want to maintain our unbeaten home record.

“Redcar won’t be easy that’s for sure; in riders like Ben Barker, Jason Garrity and Charles Wright, they’ve got proper racers who know how to generate speed around Owlerton and create some very entertaining speedway races.

“So we’ll need to be at our best and the fans are in for a treat of a meeting I’d say.”

With captain Kyle Howarth representing Premiership side Wolverhampton in the top flight play-offs, three-time British Champion Chris Harris will stand in as a guest for the Tigers.

TEAMS v Redcar:

SHEFFIELD: Josh Grajczonek, Todd Kurtz R/R, Lasse Bjerre, Josh Bates, Chris Harris, Jan Graversen, Georgie Wood.

REDCAR: Ben Barker, Ellis Perks, Jason Garrity, Jonas B Andersen, Charles Wright, Tobias Busch, Danny Ayres.

SCORERS v Berwick:

BERWICK 50: Kevin Doolan 13, Dany Gappmaier 10+1, Ryan Douglas 8+3, David Howe 8, Ashley Morris 7+3, Alfie Bowtell 4+3, Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen R/R.

SHEFFIELD 40: Kyle Howarth 14, Lasse Bjerre 12, Josh Bates 5+1, Steve Worrall 5, Jan Graversen 2+1, Georgie Wood 2, Todd Kurtz R/R.