LEICESTER’S National League team are the first into Grand Final action as they face Kent on Wednesday at the Paul Chapman & Sons Arena (7.30pm).
The Roger Webster Lion Cubs are unbeaten at home this season and need to build a lead ahead of next Monday’s return at Central Park.
Cubs have reached the 50-point mark in all of their outings on their own track, but the Kings were amongst the better away performers when the clash on August 31 ended 51-39 in Leicester’s favour.
That completed a double for the Cubs as they also won 50-40 at Sittingbourne in July, although little can be read into that result as both teams were depleted on the night.
Kent suffered numerous injuries in the first half of the campaign but now have a full-strength side in place, and after finishing third in the regular table the Kings took out second-placed Belle Vue in the semi-finals, to finally reach the Grand Final after play-off exits before that stage on no fewer than four occasions.
The Kings track a strong top three of hugely promising talents Anders Rowe, Drew Kemp and Dan Gilkes, all of whom are under-18 years of age.
Meanwhile the Cubs operate rider-replacement for Luke Ruddick who is deemed as withholding services following his absence from the double-header against Cradley and Stoke earlier this month.
Boss Dave Howard has placed Ruddick at No.2 in the riding order, and all members of the side with the exception of No.1 Ellis Perks are eligible to take an extra ride.
Howard said: “The guys have been fantastic all year – if we’d said four or five months ago we’d be in two Finals, obviously we’d have hoped for that, but who would really have thought we’d do it?
“Everybody has done such a great job, and with a really good team spirit, so now it’s on to the Finals and we just want to finish with some silverware.
“The supporters can really help us in that, and also those who have travelled to back us away from home have been absolutely fantastic.”
*The home date has been confirmed for the Lion Cubs’ KO Cup Final clash with Belle Vue. Leicester will stage the first leg on Wednesday October 23, with the return in Manchester 48 hours later.
*Leicester remind supporters of the second leg of the Championship Grand Final against Glasgow on Saturday October 19. The meeting starts at 7.30pm and with a big crowd expected, fans are advised to arrive a little earlier than normal if possible.
LEICESTER: Ellis Perks, Luke Ruddick R/R, Joe Thompson, Dan Thompson, Danyon Hume, Josh Embleton, Ryan Terry-Daley.
KENT: Anders Rowe, Jordan Jenkins, Dan Gilkes, Rob Ledwith, Drew Kemp, Alex Spooner, Jake Mulford.
