Enjoyable spell for Leigh
LEIGH LANHAM has thoroughly enjoyed his late-season spell with the FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance.
Scunthorpe moved in to snap up the vastly experienced Lanham, aged 38, after he was released by Somerset – his side for the majority of 2015 – despite adding substantially to his starting average for the Rebels.
Lanham has scored doubled-figures in each of his four appearances for the Scorpions, and been a pivotal figure in the home victories at the Eddie Wright Raceway over Sheffield, Redcar and Plymouth, that have steered the Scorpions away from the bottom of the Premier League table.
He’s shown himself capable of winning the ‘big’ races for the Scorpions, for example Heat 13 against Sheffield, and Heats 13 & 15 against Plymouth.
Speaking after Friday’s 53-40 triumph over Plymouth, Lanham said: “I’ve really been enjoying racing for Scunthorpe, with no pressure on me.
“Rob (Godfrey, Scunthorpe promoter) told me to ‘come in and have some fun’ and that’s pretty much what I’ve done. I’ve enjoyed every moment riding for the club.
“There’s not been that many times that I’ve been dropped during my career, so after Somerset released me, it’s been nice to come in for Scunthorpe and finish my season on a high.
“We were at the bottom when I joined, and we’ve lifted ourselves above Redcar, which is what we wanted to do. It’s not really a major achievement to simply avoid bottom, but nevertheless, it’s good how we’ve finished the season.
“I’ve known Carl (Wilkinson) for a long time, while I’ve been good friends with Alex (Davies) since he came over, because we only live around 10 miles away from each other. I rang Alex once I knew I was coming in, and he was pleased that we were going to be team-mates.”
The final decision on whether Scunthorpe compete in the 2016 Premier League will not be taken until the BSPA Conference. But if the Scorpions do come to the tapes, Lanham would not rule out another spell at the club.
He said: “I wouldn’t mind returning to Scunthorpe, if the chance came up. I’ve always enjoyed the track. I’ve spoken to Rob a couple of times before, during the winter months, but it never quite happened.
“You never know what’s going to happen next year, but I’ve enjoyed myself over the last couple of weeks, and wouldn’t mind a longer spell in Scunthorpe colours in 2016.”
Meanwhile, the Scorpions remain in 11th place in the Premier League table, after Rye House lost at home to Plymouth last night. The Devils bounced back from Friday’s disappointment at the Eddie Wright Raceway, to take a 53-38 victory at Rye House, which seals their place in the play-offs, at the expense of the Ipswich Witches.
Rye House, some three points behind Scunthorpe, only have two away fixtures remaining, at Glasgow and Newcastle, and the Scorpions now have every chance of finishing ahead of them.
* The Scorpions are involved in their final match of the season at Peterborough this afternoon (Sunday, 3pm), where either a win, draw or one point for a narrow loss would lift Scunthorpe up to ninth place in the league table. Sheffield’s David Bellego is set to guest for the absent Theo Pijper.
SUNDAY UPDATE: Andre Compton also set to guest again for Scorpions this afternoon.
