LEICESTER boss Stewart Dickson admits the club is “buzzing” ahead of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Grand Final.
Ryan Douglas has declared himself fit to lead the Lions bid for their first Premiership title, live on Eurosport.
The Australian missed the dramatic semi-final victory over Ipswich Witches with an infected arm injury but suffered no ill-effects from a weekend practice session at Beaumont Park and will line-up against Belle Vue in Monday night’s Grand Final first leg at the National Speedway Stadium.
Lewi Kerr continues to guest for the injured Craig Cook while the Aces have booked King’s Lynn captain Niels-Kristian Iversen to guest for concussion victim Ben Cook.
Boss Dickson said: “We got through the semi-final using rider replacement but I’d far rather have Dougy in the side and he’s raring to go.
“I know we can’t treat this like an ordinary meeting, it’s a Grand Final, but it will still be the usual message for Monday. Just like at Ipswich we need to make sure we keep the tie alive for the second leg at Leicester on Thursday.
“Everyone is buzzing but we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. We have to keep the tie alive at Belle Vue first.”
Leicester finished three points clear of the Aces in the regular ROWE Motor Oil Premiership campaign with the aggregate results shared. In April Belle Vue won a rain-affected meeting in Manchester 51-33 and held on for the aggregate point despite a 37-53 reverse in the east Midlands.
In the B fixtures Leicester lost the away future by just six points thanks to a paid 17 haul from Max Fricke – on a night when the Aces were forced to use rider-replacement for No1 Brady Kurtz – before a 55-35 home victory.
Belle Vue: Brady Kurtz, Norick Blodorn, Jaimon Lidsey, Niels-Kristian Iversen, Dan Bewley, Antti Vuolas, Jake Mulford.
Leicester: Max Fricke, Richard Lawson, Sam Masters, Luke Becker, Ryan Douglas, Lewis Kerr, Sam Hagon.
Words by George Dodds.
Images by Taylor Lanning.