Phillips: Today will be a proud moment!
Middlesbrough Tigers skipper, Danny Phillips has declared that he will be a proud moment as the ‘Heat Floors’ Tigers make their WSRA National League bow with a tough trip to Leicester with tapes up at 15:00 at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena.
Phillips, who rode for Berwick in 2023, has confessed how proud he is to be awarded the captaincy, “ To captain and ride for my hometown club is a real proud moment for me and overall, I think it will be a really good year.”
The 27 year old knows the Tigers will be in for a tough test against a strong Leicester side, “ Leicester always put out a strong side at this level. Also, only Ben (Trigger) and Jake (Mulford) have had matches whilst Leicester have had a couple of meetings at this level already.”
The skipper also praised the club’s heat leader trio, which looks to be a fearsome one, “ The signing of Jake gives us a really strong top 3. Jake and Ben are experienced at this level and they are both good riders. Once we get into the swing of things, I think we will be hard to beat!”
The club promotion have also brought in Will Hockaniuk with Phillips excited by the youngsters potential at this level, “ Before we signed Will I didn’t know anything about him but I’ve watched him practice a couple of times. I have given him some pointers and he listened straight away, took it on board and put it into practice on track.”
Middlesbrough have made a late swoop for Kai Ward, a former Leicester rider. However, the 20 year old is unavailable for today’s clash due to a pre-arranged commitment with the youngster set to make his debut on Thursday at Sheffield. With Ward unavailable, the Tigers bring in the exciting British youth rider Jamie Etherington as a guest.
The hosts, Leicester are led by Joe Thompson whilst the Darlington born Luke Crang is expected to be a real asset at reserve for the hosts across the campaign.
Leicester Lion Cubs
1- Joe Thompson 9.08 (C)
2- Vinnie Foord 3.81
3- Tom Spencer 5.78
4- Arran Butcher 4.69
5- Max James 5.70
6- Luke Crang 3.61
7- Sonny Springer 3.00
™: Dave Howard
Middlesbrough “Heat Floors” Tigers
1 Jake Mulford 8.21
2 Ben Rathbone 4.07
3 Danny Phillips 6.91 (C)
4 Jamie Halder 4.58
5 Ben Trigger 6.34
6 William Hocaniuk 3.00
7 Jamie Etherington 3.00 (G)
™: Stuart Swales
