It’s a hectic two days for Workington Comets with meetings at Leicester tonight and Mildenhall on Sunday – but that includes a double header with the Lion Cubs.
The first of the two meetings at Leicester is the NDL fixture while the second meeting of the double-header on the day is the postponed Knockout Cup fixture from the start of August.
In the KO Cup meeting the Comets have the tough, but not impossible task, of turning around a 16-point deficit from the home leg back in July where the Lion Cubs took the win at Northside by 37-53.
The Comets are fielding a full-strength side with the only change being Kai Ward coming into the reserve number seven spot as a guest for Harry McGurk who has decided to take a break from the sport and sit out the rest of the season.
Kai Ward recently impressed at the Northside Arena on a number of practice sessions, so the promotion felt it right to give him a chance at reserve for the Comets.
Nineteen-year-old Ward rode for the Lion Cubs in 2021 and after missing out on a team place last year was brought in as a replacement for the injured Max Perry.
The GT Tyres Comets are spearheaded by the in-form Connor Bailey who recently reclaimed his track record at the Northside Arena from Leicester’s Ashton Boughen, scoring a 15-point maximum along the way.
The Comets’ septet is also bolstered by the return of Ace Pijper, who celebrated his 17th birthday on Wednesday. Ace is back after suffering shoulder damage in a crash while on Championship duty for Glasgow.
Leicester will be fielding a strong line-up for both matches with the only change being for the injured Dan Thompson at number 1. They have secured the guest booking of the very capable Alfie Bowtell in his place.
Leicester’s heat leaders, Max Perry and captain Joe Thompson are backed up by very strong contingents in the recent Under-21 Youth Champion, former Northside track record holder, and 2023 Susan Roper Memorial GP winner, Ashton Boughen.
They also have Tom Spencer back in the lineup from a broken arm, suffered at Northside back in June. On his return, Tom scored 10+2 for the Lion Cubs.
Reviewing the double header Comets team boss James Denham said: “Leicester is undoubtedly going to be tough, but like I’ve said all season, we have the capability to go there and win if all the lads are firing.
“Our only change is at reserve. We are all gutted for Harry, it is clear it hasn’t been working out for him this year but not for the lack of trying. I’m sure after a break from the sport he will be back and it won’t be the last we see of Harry.
“We recently had Kai Ward down at the track and impressed us all during our practice sessions, and knowing that Leicester was his home track last year we decided it was a no-brainer to bring him in as a guest for the weekend.
“We are delighted Ace Pijper is back. If we had Ace at Belle Vue a couple of weeks ago we are sure that we could have won that meeting, so to have him back is a big confidence booster for us.”
On Sunday the GT Tyres Comets head southeast to West Row and the home of the Mildenhall Fen Tigers with a start time of 4.00 pm for their final scheduled away fixture of the season.
The Comets lineup will be a patched-up side with Bailey and Pijper absent through their Championship commitments with Redcar and Glasgow.
Subsequently the Comets have secured the guest booking of Oxford’s Ryan Kinsley for Bailey and Jacob Clouting for Pijper.
Luke Harrison scored his first full maximum at Mildenhall last year riding for the Fen Tigers as a 15-year-old on his NDL debut so he will be looking to replicate that form on his return to West Row.
Elliot Kelly is also a former Fen Tiger so will also be looking for a welcome and successful return to West Row. Saturday’s guest, Kai Ward, is also remaining in
Mildenhall is another strong outfit, showing in the experience of number one Alfie Bowtell. They are without regular number five and captain, Lee Complin, through his Championship commitments with Glasgow.
For Complin, they have secured the guest booking of Berwick’s Danny Phillips and they are backed up by Arran Butcher and New Zealander, George Congreve in their second-string places.
Mildenhall are also supported by their two young reserves, William Richardson and Sam Woolley.
Comets team boss Denham said: “We need to round off our away NDL campaign with a win, and in doing so it will certainly frustrate Mildenhall’s chances of reaching the top two and the NDL Play-offs. Hopefully with encouraging results from Leicester the day before it will be the motivation the lads need to get a result.
“It would certainly be nice to round off our scheduled away season with a win, in what’s been a tough year results-wise. Then the week after we round off our home campaign at Northside against the Kent Royals, where a win at Mildenhall on Sunday will certainly give the lads that last push to put on a big final show at Northside on the 16th.”
