PREMIERSHIP PREVIEW: SHEFFIELD

SHEFFIELD have improved in each of their three seasons since stepping up to the Premiership – defeated in the play-off semis in 2021, they missed out in the Grand Final one year later before completing a stunning success last autumn.

As late as the end of August it’s fair to say the Tigers didn’t stand out as title favourites, and they were busy in the transfer market with changes being made due to both form and injuries.

They lost JACK HOLDER and Tobiasz Musielak, and TAI WOFFINDEN – who had replaced Holder – was also on the sidelines by the time the play-offs came around, yet the Tigers still produced a devastating semi-final performance to put Wolverhampton out for a second season running, and then their rebuilt team dug very deep at Owlerton to overcome an 18-point first leg deficit and win the Grand Final at the expense of Ipswich.

Now the task for Simon Stead and his team is to become the first side to successfully defend the top-flight title since 2015 when Poole completed a hat-trick of wins in the old Elite League.

Since then, the following seven seasons have produced six different winners – only Swindon have won the Premiership twice – and the Tigers will certainly be the team with the target on their backs this year.

But there’s no doubt whatsoever that this looks like a line-up very much capable of having a big say in the title race, and in fact all seven riders played a part at one stage or another last season.

Holder is back after his UK season was ended by his crash in the World Cup Final, an incident which almost certainly cost him a top-three finish in the Grand Prix series overall. He’ll start as the Tigers’ No.1 having been with the Owlerton side since 2021.

Woffinden, meanwhile, starts a season in the UK for the first time since 2014, since when there have been short-term stints with Wolves in 2016 and Sheffield last year. He’s also back in the GP series and whilst they are team-mates in the UK he and Holder are on opposing big-name teams in Poland at Wroclaw and Lublin respectively.

Another man back in the UK full-time is CHRIS HOLDER, with the 2012 World Champion coming up with the goods in the last-heat decider against Ipswich after joining the club as part of the late reshuffle, and he completes the heat-leader trio.

An earlier change at Owlerton last year was the inclusion of JOSH PICKERING for a second spell with the club, and the all-action Aussie played a big part in the Grand Final especially with the points he rescued in the first leg. He’s joined in the middle-order by long-serving skipper KYLE HOWARTH, who celebrates his Testimonial on March 14.

At reserve the Tigers track two of the top British youngsters with DAN GILKES back for a second season in the Rising Star role. Gilkes saw his 2023 season ended prematurely by a crash at Peterborough in August, with Sheffield signing JASON EDWARDS to replace him, and Edwards now comes in alongside Gilkes to line up at No.6 in this year’s line-up.

The bookmakers have the defending champions as early title favourites, but only time will tell whether it does prove to be back-to-back league titles at Owlerton!

SHEFFIELD TRU7 GROUP TIGERS

Jack Holder 8.91

Tai Woffinden 8.26

Chris Holder 7.16

Josh Pickering 6.78

Kyle Howarth 5.41

Jason Edwards 3.00

Dan Gilkes RS

*Subject to approval