Sheffield Tigers: Stead calls for ruthlesness from the start against Scunthorpe

The Tigers go head-to-head with rivals Scunthorpe at Owlerton in the Championship Shield as the new-look team race together for the very first time.

And having lost their last three fixtures against the Scorpions during a miserable final stretch to 2018, Stead is keen to reclaim the bragging rights.

“Obviously we want to beat every team that we go up against,” Stead said.

“But of course beating Scunthorpe is always extra sweet because of the rivalry and the banter that exists between the two sets of supporters.

“We were disappointed to lose the meetings we did against them last year as we felt we let them off the hook a bit.

“But this is a fresh season now and we’d love to set the record straight with a positive result and a positive team performance.”

And despite being tipped as one of the favourites for silverware in this year’s Championship, Stead says he’ll never allow his side to take any opposition for granted.

“This league is always very competitive and there always seems to be one or two teams who surprise you,” Stead said.

“Okay on paper certain teams may look stronger than others but it’s all about what happens out there on track and I’ll never let our boys be complacent going into any meeting.

“It’s part of my job to get the best out of each rider and if I do my job properly then we should only need to worry about ourselves because we’re one hugely talented team and we’re rightfully excited about the year ahead.

“The feedback we’ve had from the 90th Anniversary meeting last weekend has been brilliant and it was a great way to get the season up and running at Owlerton.

“But this is where the real stuff starts now and we’d love to keep the buzz around the place going with a win over Scunny.

“There’s a positive, healthy atmosphere within the camp already and there’s a real group feeling which is always encouraging in this sport.

“There’s a lot of hard work gone into the track this week and I’m sure we’re in for some cracking entertainment.”

SHEFFIELD: Danny King, Zaine Kennedy, Kasper Andersen, Ty Proctor, Kyle Howarth, Broc Nicol, Drew Kemp.

SCUNTHORPE: Josh Auty, Stefan Nielsen, Jason Garrity, Jedd List, Jake Allen, Ryan Kinsley, Josh Bailey.