PIRATES LAUNCH TITLE DEFEND WITH VISIT OF THE SCORPIONS

Safe in the knowledge that they have secured a place in the BSN Series semi-finals, the 'Wessex Marine' Pirates change their focus to establishing a strong start in the SGB Cab Direct Championship on Wednesday 14th May (7.30pm) when Scunthorpe provide the opposition.

Both sides will be beginning their league campaigns and Rob Godfrey's sides in recent seasons have caused upsets at Wimborne Road.

Looking ahead to the fixture, Pirates' promoter is calling on his side to make an all-round improvement to that which saw them concede a defeat at the hands of Oxford last week, "we simply weren't good enough last week, we allowed Oxford to build a good advantage and that cost us dearly. We cannot afford that to happen again, we need to be stronger throughout the whole meeting and not stack so much pressure on the latter heats. Hopefully that loss will be our only one at home this season, the lads know that we are expecting that of them. I think the team talk has written itself to be honest. "

As announced on Sunday, Poole have made a team change introducing Darryl Ritchings at reserve in place of Matt Marson in a bid to make them a bit more competitive at reserve. The Pirates have also made a tweak to the mid-riding order with Lewi Kerr and Zach Cook swapping places on the team sheet.

Scunthorpe are led this season by former Poole captain Steve Worrall who is a popular character around Wimborne Road. With further racing experience being provided by Simon Lambert and Jake Allen, the Scorpions are also blessed with ample thriving talent in Connor Mountain, the Kennedy brothers - Zaine and Declan, and Luke Harrison, the later being one rider to watch as he has made great strides in the sport, often going under the radar.

Teams:
POOLE: (TM Neil Middleditch) 1. Richard Lawson, 2. Tobias Thomsen 3. Anders Rowe, 4. Lewis Kerr, 5. Zach Cook (Capt), 6. Paul Starke|, 7. Darryl Ritchings
SCUNTHORPE: (TM Rob Godfrey) 1. Steve Worrall, 2. Luke Harrison, 3. Simon Lambert (Capt), 4. Connor Mountain, 5. Jake Allen, 6. Declan Kennedy, 7. Zaine Kennedy
SCB Referee Seth Perkin