Sheffield Tigers ready for new speedway season as fans get first look at latest line up
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00:00It's the start of a new Speedway season and Sheffield are amongst the favourites again
00:17this season. They've got a team that includes two former world champions, they've got a
00:21new captain and there's a lot of excitement at the club ahead of the new season.
00:26Obviously we've retained the backbone of the team from last year. A really strong
00:31e-leader trio, adding Pico into the mix as captain and then some really strong reserves,
00:38so we'll know more when we've turned a wheel but it looks good.
00:43Obviously the top four we're all quite well acquainted with from last season.
00:48Can you tell us a little bit about the three newcomers?
00:52Yeah, well certainly Daniel, we've had him at Sheffield before so he's not unfamiliar
00:59with the place and somebody I think deserved another crack at the premiership. He's a good
01:06level championship rider but by his own admission he struggled for track time last year doing just
01:11one league and was feeling like another league would help him get more track time and help go
01:19forward again. So he's really excited, looking forward to jumping on that and getting on and
01:26improving himself. The other two obviously I've had a lot to do with through the GB management
01:32side of things. Lads I've had an eye on for a long time and certainly potential-wise they've
01:39got plenty going for them. I think Anders made real strides forward last year with Kingsley
01:44and some really dominant displays. Obviously that shows in the fact that he's now not eligible for
01:50the Rising Star programme and as such got a 25% reduction on his average so that made things
01:55really appealing. It helps us accommodate a really strong heat leader trio and Picco so
02:02that worked but wasn't the only reason that we wanted him. I think somebody who's making strides
02:07in the sport and I think we can help with that development and with Leon looking at
02:13his championship average he's the best Rising Star in the league. So far I don't
02:20think he's managed to recapture his championship form in this league and I'm hoping that
02:26between myself and the likes of the holders and Ty Waffenden and Picco we can help him
02:31kick on and be the best Rising Star in the league. Obviously we've got Ty Waffenden back again
02:38for another season. How is he? He's good. Look, Ty's been doing it for long enough
02:47now to know his own body. I think the winter off has done him the world of good. He's been at home
02:54in Australia and had a lot of rest and sort of settled himself and given his body
03:02enough time to heal properly and I think that was the real important thing that he needed to do.
03:07I know last year he was chomping at the bit to try and get back it just wasn't achievable so
03:12he's done the right thing giving himself plenty of time to recover properly and heal properly
03:16and I think now he's sort of chomping at the bit and really got that dog look in his eye because
03:23he's out to prove some people wrong who think that might be one injury too many and
03:28I for one know that he's going to certainly turn heads again this year. Obviously first new
03:35Sheffield captain for a long time with Josh Pickering in the absence of Kyle Haworth.
03:39Was it a difficult decision to make? No, not at all. He's a good influence in the pits,
03:47he's vocal, somebody I get on really well with and that's important as a captain and
03:52as a team manager you work closely together and to try and get the best out of the lads and
03:57as much as his focus will be on what Josh Pickering is doing and that is where I'd expect
04:01his focus to be I know that he can simultaneously get involved and help the rest of the lads and
04:07just his nature is perfect for the role so a really easy decision.
04:14It seems like a tough league this season, there's a lot of riders coming from
04:20Poland and so forth, do you think it's going to be a tough league? Yeah I do, I think the standard
04:25of the league has improved since last year and I think the makeup of all the teams is slightly
04:32different which I think adds to the interest and I'm excited by it. It's good because it doesn't
04:41look like anybody's going to be cast away, there's going to be no easy fixtures. We need to make sure
04:47that our home form is dominant, I really want to concentrate on that and make sure we're a real
04:52force to be reckoned with here and then what we do away from home will be a bonus but first things
04:58first we need to make sure that we're turning people over in good numbers here and then I think
05:06the away form will be good as well.