Leeds Knights Fans' Jury: Hailing perfect NIHL National start but aware of the tougher challenges down the road

Once again, this season we are going to bring you the thoughts of some of the Knights fans on a weekly basis, giving their take on how they feel the team is playing, reviewing one weekend’s action while looking ahead to the next.

If you would like to be a regular contributor to the panel – which will appear both in print and online – contact Phil Harrison HERE

For now, here are the thoughts of Jim Piper and Kaine Greenwood, two regular contributors from last season.

Have a scroll through and see if you agree with their thoughts and maybe leave your own comments at the bottom of the page.

Jim Piper, Manchester: The Knights struggled in the first period against Bees on Saturday until Ryan Aldridge changed the lines around and we dominated the rest of the game.

Kieron Brown broke his goalless streak and led us to the four points. Sunday was different and a blistering start put us in control early in the game. Bees are a tricky, physical team and always hard to beat in Slough but despite a bit of penalty trouble we held on to take the points and go clear at the top of the table.

Next week we only have one game, against Raiders and would think we can continue our excellent winning streak.

I must mention our two imports, Grant Cooper, and Zach Brooks, who are tearing up the league at the moment. The former is one of the best two-way forwards I have seen for a while and Brooks just seems to be in the right place at the right time to pick up the points.

Brown and Barnes are finding their scoring touch and it all looks good for a successful season

Kaine Greenwood, Halifax: Leeds Knights went to a perfect six to start the league season after double-header victories over Bees IHC last weekend.

Five of the Knights are currently among the league’s top 10 scorers and new face Matt Haywood provided four assists on Saturday night to help overcome Doug Sheppard’s men thanks, largely, to a four-goal second period. He then added two more in the reverse fixture as a 5-4 victory was ground out.

Import Grant Cooper also continued his record of troubling the scorers in every game by claiming five more points over the weekend. His tally now means an average of three points-per-game.

The unblemished start comes after success in the inaugural pre-season Yorkshire Cup against Sheffield Steeldogs and newly-formed Hull Seahawks extending the winning feeling to 10 straight all told.

A strong start was part of the 2021-22 season for the Knights, however, yet the final visit of Bees IHC last season consigned the home side to a defeat, effectively ending their Final Four play-off hopes on the back of weeks of being short-handed.

Strength in numbers this season doesn’t just come in the form of the table but also the options on which head coach Ryan Aldridge can call.

This time around the intentions are to avoid too much load on certain individuals. Elite League experience from former Glasgow Clan stalwart Haywood has come in to assist, alongside North Americans Zach Brooks and free-scoring Cooper meaning the side is better furnished across the board.

One thing to note is that while increased options allowed the league leaders to overcome their Slough-based counterparts in both games, the periods were split evenly and certainly represented the toughest challenge yet.

A single-game week means only the Raiders now stand between Leeds and an entire month of unbeaten league ice hockey. Be there Sunday to see what unfolds.

Don’t forget: If you would like to be a regular contributor to the panel – which will appear both in print and online – contact Phil Harrison HERE