PREVIEW: PIRATES V LIONS - WEDNESDAY 18TH MAY

After a mini-break of 9 days since their last team meeting the Poole 'ReadyPower' Pirates regroup on Wednesday (18th)  to host the visit of the Leicester Lions, who arrive in Dorset complete with the start-of-season Poole skipper Dave Watt.

An indifferent start to the season, due primarily to off-track issues, saw the Australian sacrificed in a decision described as 'one of the toughest I have had to make" by Poole boss Matt Ford, who opted to bring back Bjarne Pedersen to the Pirates fold after Watt had netted paid 31 points from 28 starts.

But just 24 hours after the Lions were held on home soil to a draw by the Pirates, Watt was given a call-up as a replacement for the injured Sebastian Ulamek, and he made his Lions' debut on Monday in their defeat at Wolverhampton.

Ford said "I am genuinely happy that Davey has been sorted out with another Elite league club. As I said at the time, I had limited opportunity to make a move and I did what I thought was best for Poole Speedway. To see Davey racing again is good news and I figure that he will be keen to try and prove a point to me."

"I am certain he will receive a very warm welcome when he is introduced on Wednesday and he very much deserves that. If he finds the form that we know he is capable of then for sure he will be a thorn in our side."

Watt joins reserve Paul Starke, a 2016 British Finalist, as a second ex-Pirate being fielded by the Lions side on Wednesday with the East Midland side chasing only a third away league win since signing up as an Elite league club in 2014.

Poole are looking to welcome back Kyle Newman to the side after a lengthy lay-off. Newman withdrew from Sunday's British Final qualification meeting at Glasgow to give him extra time to recover fully from the 'Fireball Infection' that he suffered which hospitalized him for a few days.

His return coincides with the Pirates' first meeting under the latest set of averages (which are updated every fortnight) and that means he will move in to the main body of the team, with his fellow Elite Draft Rider, Adam Ellis, dropping back to the reserve berth, on his return from a shoulder and ankle injury.

With Bjarne Pedersen's home debut deferred further due to a clash of fixtures with his Danish club Holsted, the Pirates will operate the rider replacement facility with his rides needing to be covered by world championship leader Chris Holder, Australian champion Brady Kurtz and Ellis.

Teams (from)

Poole - Hans Andersen (capt), Krzysztof Buckowski, Chris Holder, Kyle Newman, rider replacement Bjarne Pedersen, Adam Ellis & Brady Kurtz - Team manager: Neil Middleditch
Leicester - Josh Auty, Patrik Hougaard, Aaron Summers, Dave Watt, Szymon Wozniak, Nicolai Klindt (capt), Paul Starke - Team manager: Norrie Allan