Back-to-back KO Cup winners Denaby go into the new season with a realistic ambition of landing a first ever league title. The arrival of Shane Goodwin at Dumpton Park from Merseyside has given the Devils a boost ahead of the new campaign, his opening four meetings for the club all resulting in victories, and impressive ones at that. Steve Pearce’s side lead the pre-season form guide following a comfortable 59-31 victory over Hull in their latest fixture, in which Goodwin (15)—a title winner in SL20 with Ramsgate—scored his first maximum for the club. The 31 year old multi-capped England international though wasn’t the only rider to finish unbeaten, with Callum Osborne (10+2) and second string Ladislav Zgonc (13+2) also going through the card untroubled, while Lesta Markoff (10+1) dropped just a point. It’s a top four that will scare plenty of their top rivals when the season gets underway proper next month, the quartet all averaging well above their GSA’s in the warm-ups, in Zgonc’s case doing so by over two points. Pearce also has a trump card at reserve, a position where 18 year old New Zealander George Jamieson starts his first full season at Denaby in after making the switch to the club from Hull part way through SL25. He was paid for six in the rout against his former club and is averaging 5.50 in the challenge meetings despite holding a GSA of just 3.00. Denaby’s 100% pre-season record to date is matched by top flight rivals Cradley Heath and recently relegated side Southampton, the latter having already beaten both Dumpton and Don Valley from division one since their drop into the second tier.