Derby

HAVING coached Matty Davies for a couple of different spells in his career, Ryan Aldridge knew exactly what kind of player he was dealing with.

Seeing Davies follow in his footsteps and move behind the bench, the Leeds^[1] Knights’ head coach is not surprised to see the former centre beginning to enjoy the kind of success he had while on the ice.

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Of course, Aldridge hopes to bring a brief halt to that ‘success’ over the next two nights when his team takes on Davies’ Hull^[3] Seahawks in an eagerly-anticipated Yorkshire derby double-header.

EXPECTANT: Leeds Knights’ head coach, Ryan Aldridge. Picture: Jacob Lowe/Knights Media.

Friday night’s clash at Elland Road Arena – with a swift renewal between the two in Hull 24 hours later – brings the teams up against each other for the first time this season in a competitive context.

Both enjoyed a win apiece when they met in pre-season but, almost four months on, there is a lot more on the line.

Eight points separate the two teams ahead of Friday’s first meeting, when a home win would see Leeds move level on points with leaders Milton Keynes Lightning.

Davies, of course, will have other ideas and Aldridge is expecting a far sterner examination from the Seahawks than last season, when his team swept the six-game head-to-head series in convincing fashion.

THAT WAS THEN: Kieran Brown (left) an Matty Davies celebrate a Leeds Knights goal in a pre-season friendly at Elland Road Arena in September 2021. Picture courtesy of Kat Medcroft – Swindon Wildcats

Hull have got the better of Milton Keynes and Peterborough Phantoms twice already this season. They will fancy their chances of emulating that success at least once over the next 48 hours.

Leeds, however, will take plenty of confidence – borne from last Sunday’s 3-2 overtime win at Swindon Wildcats – and bodies into the two games, with all of their Great Britain Under-20 contingent back.

With Kieran Brown^[4] ensuring his absence with an upper-body injury was confined to just the one weekend, the only missing body Leeds have will be defenceman Jordan Griffin, who is sidelined with a lower-body injury, possibly until early in the New Year.

“Hull are a totally different proposition, there’s no doubt about that,” said Aldridge. “Matty has recruited really well.

WE MEET AGAIN: Leeds Knights an Hull Seahawks won a game each when they met in pre-season. Picture: Jacob Lowe/Knights Media.

“Bringing some of those homegrown boys back, the kind that obviously play with a bit more passion than perhaps some of the players from last year, I think he’s done a really good job and they have turned some big teams over.”

As a player, Davies was one of the most passionate around, a trait that sometimes landed him in hot water. As a coach he will be no different, literally having invested everything into his hometown team when leaving the Knights in the Spring of 2022 to help create the Seahawks from scratch.

It is a labour of love for Davies, something Aldridge believes will be reflected in how his team plays.

“He has a lot of passion for that team, that town and when you’ve got a lot of passion for something you put a lot into it and with him being the owner as well, there is a lot on the line, too,” he added. “He also knows the game very well and he knows the British players really well. It’s hard to say once somebody gets behind a whiteboard or gets in the locker room but he is clearly doing a fine job as coach.

“It will be a tough weekend, every shift is going to be a hard one. They are probably going to try and get in our faces. They tried to play like that a bit last year, the difference this year is that they’ve got a lot more depth than they had then.”

References

1. ^{^} Leeds (www.yorkshirepost.co.uk)
2. ^{^}