Eagles eye swift revenge as struggling Panthers visit

Trevor Geer’s men will be keen to return to winning ways after losing their last three meets on the trot - one of which ended their unbeaten home record and two of which continued their abysmal travelling form.

The first of this trio of defeats came at the Showground home of the Peterborough Panthers last month, when the Cambridgeshire outfit triumphed 53-42.

However, the Eagles will take solace from the fact their poor away record is equalledby that of the Panthers, who are also yet to pick up a single win on the road this season ahead of their trip to the South coast this weekend.

The Eagles are currently second from bottom in the Elite League standings having raced more meets than any other team, while their opponents are rock bottom with four fixtures in hand.

The Eagles have made a series of changes to their starting seven, returning Timo Lahti to a reserve berth in hope this will trigger a return to the regular tall scores witnessed from that role last year.

That means there’s a place in the number two race suit for recent recruit Kim Nilsson - a position he was more familiar with while plying his trade for the Lakeside Hammers.

Geer said, “It is absolutely essential we return to winning ways this weekend. We were all bitterly disappointed with the defeat against Poole but we can’t erase that. The visit of the Panthers offers the chance to make some amends.”