SHEFFIELD suffered another disappointing away defeat as they went down 54-36 at Newcastle on Sunday.
An excellent showing from young gun Josh Bates was not enough to prevent a convincing loss on a difficult night at Brough Park.
Bates battled to an impressive 13-point haul featuring two race wins, but only Kyle Howarth offered any substantial support.
He also earned paid double figures as the middle order duo put up the bulk of the Tigers’ resistance against a strong Diamonds side.
Nathan Greaves also put in a creditable display at reserve – but skipper Simon Stead endured a night to forget in the No.1 spot whilst Arthur Sissis and Dimitri Berge also struggled to make an impact.
Despite being weakened by the absence of injury victim Jason Garrity, team boss Marc Bates admitted it was a below-par performance which leaves them in danger of missing out on the Premier League play-offs.
Said Bates: “Josh rode really well, Kyle tried extremely hard and Nathan did his job by beating his opposite number. Apart from that we just weren’t good enough again.
“We expect more than six points from our No.1, and I know Steady will be as disappointed as we are with that score.
“Dimitri and Arthur struggled as well, and it’s just frustrating because we know we can do better.
“Obviously it was a blow to be without Jason (Garrity), but we should still have done much better than that and if we keep riding like this we won’t be getting in the play-offs.”
The Tigers will be back in action as they host Edinburgh in a crucial clash at Owlerton on Thursday (7.30).
NEWCASTLE 54: Steve Worrall 13+2, Ludvig Lindgren 10+1, Lewis Rose 10+1, Robert Lambert 9+1, Victor Palovaara 7+2, Matej Kus 5, Danny Phillips 0. SHEFFIELD 36: Josh Bates 13, Kyle Howarth 8+3, Simon Stead 6, Nathan Greaves 4+2 Arthur Sissis 3+2, Dimitri Berge 2, Jason Garrity r/r.
