CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL COUNTDOWN

POOLE and Leicester are counting down to their big Championship decider with the Grand Final to take place this weekend.

The Pirates are defending champions and stage the first leg at Wimborne Road on Friday with the Lions, who were league leaders, hosting the return on Saturday.

Recent aggregate clashes between the sides have gone in Poole’s favour, including a big home win over the Lions last month enabling the Pirates to reach the KO Cup Final.

Boss Neil Middleditch said: “You can be sure that they are still smarting from that 60-30 thrashing we gave them in the KO Cup a couple of weeks ago.

“They are no mugs and they are going to want to come down here and will be going out for revenge.

“The important thing for us is to get a lead on Friday to take with us for the second leg as you can guarantee that they will be doing something to the track for us.”

Lions manager Stewart Dickson said: “We’ll be doing everything we can to get a decent result at Poole on Friday and set things up for the second leg.

“We do know we need to be better than when we lost to them in the KO Cup, the riders know it, and I firmly believe we’re capable of doing so. I think it promises to be a thrilling Final between two very strong teams.”