Preview: Poole Pirates v Oxford Cheetahs

The Poole Wessex Marine Pirates launch their competitive 2024 season on Friday with their first meeting in the defence of their BSN title as they welcome the Oxford Cheetahs to Wimborne Road.

Easter meetings over the years have been full of intense rivalry and it will be no different this year with this meeting having all the ingredients to make it a classic start to what promises to be an exciting campaign for a Pirates side that features four new faces. Tom Brennan, Tobias Thomsen, Sam Hagon and Max Perry link up with 2023 returnees Richard Lawson and the Cook brothers, Ben and Zach.
The new look Poole side will come face to face with a Wimborne Road specialist in the guise of Sam Masters. In three visits to Dorset last term the 32 year old Australian took seventeen rides and across those dropped only four points! Those performances coming on the back of a paid fifteen from six in 2021 and a fifteen from five haul in 2022 which makes him one of the most consistent high-flier to visit since the Pirates became a SGB Championship outfit.
With the experience of Scott Nicholls and Cameron Heeps the Cheetahs are looking to bring on the collective talents of youngsters Luke Killeen, Henry Atkins, Ashton Boughen and the very promising Jordan Jenkins all under the watchful eye of shrewd team manager Peter Schroek.

Poole promoter Dan Ford, who has been delighted with past performances by Poole sides against Oxford teams is under no misapprehension about the magnitude of the meeting. "This being our first competitive action means we need our new boys to, as they say, hit the ground running, as well as hoping that the guys from last season will provide a solid foundation. With Oxford being one of our nearest neighbours then of course there is the element of a local derby and I expect them to have some solid backing on the terraces given this is a holiday meeting. So, we have two good sides with loyal supporters getting behind them and that has all the promise to be a humdinger of a season opener for us. The record books, for what they are worth, would show us as favourites as I am told that no Oxford team have won here since 1999 when we lost a Craven Shield meeting to them by 43-48. Bizarrely Scott Nicholls also featured in that meeting, but was riding for us that season and much as I respect Scott I hope that he is on the losing side yet again!"

Teams:
Poole Richard Lawson, Tobias Thomsen, Tom Brennan, Zach Cook, Ben Cook (Capt), Sam Hagon, Max Perry Team Manager Neil Middleditch
Oxford Team Sam Masters, Henry Atkins, Cameron Heeps, Jordan Jenkins, Scott Nicholls (Capt), Luke Killeen, Ashton Boughen Manager Peter Schroeck