PLAY-OFFS PIRATES PRIORITY

19/06/18

PIRATES' priority will be to try and lift themselves back off the bottom of the SGB Premiership league table when they travel to neighbours Somerset on Wednesday.

A week ago the "Volvo Cars" Pirates began the climb with an emphatic home win over King's Lynn but their time away from the basement was short-lived as, first of all, Rye House claimed a point at Swindon on Thursday to elevate themselves back above Poole and then on Monday King's Lynn turned the Rockets over to gain a better point differential than the Pirates with both clubs level on 13 points.

Poole head for the Oak Tree without the services of latest recruit Nicolai Klindt, as he will be riding in a Danish league fixture and rider replacement will operate for his four outings which means extra rides for Linus Sundstrom and reserves Mateusz Szczepaniak and Kacper Woryna.

The Pirates will recall that on their earlier visit to Somerset this season they suffered a fourteen point defeat. That was in the first leg of the Knockout Cup Quarter Final and they will try and overturn that deficit in a week's time when they host the second leg, but meanwhile the focus will be solely on trying to rise again in the league.

Poole secured their place in last season's play-offs with a crucial victory at the Oak Tree last September when Brady Kurtz and Hans Andersen banked a heat 15 maximum over Richard Lawson and Josh Grajczonek.

Three of that quartet will be in action again on Wednesday but this time around Kurtz and Grajczonek will be in the same camp, whilst Lawson who recently switched positions with 2018 teammate Jack Holder in a Rebels tactical move, will again be representing the home side that has seen two riders released this week, with Charles Wright and Jonas Jeppesen making way for Dane Claus Vissing and Argentinian Nico Covatti respectively.

Poole have shuffled their positions for this crucial match with Grajczonek and Richie Worrall exchanging places as the Pirates remain intent on making a chase for those play-offs .

REBELS: Jason Doyle , Bradley Wilson-Dean, Claus Vissing, Richard Lawson, Jack Holder, Jake Allen, Nico Covatti

PIRATES: Brady Kurtz, Linus Sundstrom, Richie Worrall, Rider Replacement for Nicolai Klindt, Josh Grajczonek, Matuesz Szczepaniak, Kacper Woryna