Sheffield Tigers v Hammers Preview

Lakeside resume their league programme when they travel to reigning Champions Sheffield on Thursday (July 26, 7.30).

The Hammers beat the Tigers in their last team outing earlier this month and currently sit second in the standings.

And while Thursday’s opponents may sit just one place above bottom spot, they have a good home record at Owlerton, losing just one meeting in all competitions there since the beginning of 2017.

Hammers reserve Alfie Bowtell knows it will be a tough meeting but is hoping he can make some form of contribution.

“I have had some tough meetings for Lakeside this year, but I’m spending more time on the bike now and I’m getting there,” Bowtell said.

“I’ve shown a bit of improvement over the past month or so and hopefully I can step things up as we start coming towards the most important part of the season.

“We’re happy with where we find ourselves at the minute and we’re confident we can finish in the play-offs – but there’s still a lot of meetings to come and we just have to get as many points as we can.”

Sheffield are led by Kyle Howarth and Charles Wright who claimed Championship Pairs glory at Somerset last Friday.

Sheffield Tigers:

Kyle Howarth, Todd Kurtz, Lasse Bjerre, Broc Nicol, Charles Wright, Georgie Wood, James Shanes.

Lakeside Hammers:

Nick Morris, Zach Wajtknecht, Adam Ellis, Kyle Newman, Richard Lawson, Ben Morley, Alfie Bowtell.

Image: Alfie Bowtell – Credit Rafal Wlosek