Berwick Bandits travel to Oxford on Friday with one aim, to break their aggregate point duck, and they welcome back Nick Morris after injury.
Bandits have conceded the aggregate points to Scunthorpe and Glasgow but, with a 16-point cushion from the first meeting of the sides in the Cab Direct Championship, and a team packed with Cowley experience, they hope to put that right.
Jordan Jenkins returns to the track where he spent three years as a Cheetah and a fourth as a member of Oxford’s National League side, the Chargers, while Peter Kildemand rode for the Premiership Spires in 2025.
Nick Morris (pictured by Keith Hamblin), returning from a back injury, has already guested three times for the Cheetahs, including wins against Edinburgh and Plymouth.
The home side are forced to use rider replacement for Anders Rowe who is in Italy preparing for Saturday’s GP Challenge at Terzano, but that does mean that Sam Masters, virtually untouchable around the Cowley circuit, is able to take one of his programmed rides.
Berwick won at Oxford in 2022, Chris Harris and Jonas Knudsen scoring 13 apiece in the 50-40 triumph.
Four years on, the only survivor of that July evening is skipper Jye Etheridge who had an eventful evening, a tapes’ exclusion followed by a race win and then crashing out of the meeting.
Berwick team manager Stewart Dickson said:“We still have meetings in hand over our play-off rivals but it is time to start collecting bonus points.
“We have yet to really fire away from Shielfield Park, due in part to injuries which have stopped us fielding our best seven.
“Now we are together on track it is time to start putting points on the board.”
After the meeting Berwick return north to host Plymouth on Saturday with another three points at stake.
Cheetahs: Sam Masters, Luke Killeen, Edward Kennett, Mitch McDiarmid, R/R Anders Rowe, Darryl Ritchings, Dayle Wood
Bandits: Peter Kildemand, Jye Etheridge, Victor Palovaara, Jordan Jenkins, Nick Morris, Jack Smith, Reid Battye
