Reading Rockets make the long journey to Middlesbrough on Saturday when they face the only team they have not played so far this season in the form of bottom of the table team the Tees Valley Mohawks. Rockets go into the game off the back of a good win against Coventry Crusaders last Sunday where juniors Adam Thoseby and Louis Sayers impressed as they scored 25 and 17 points respectively whilst the Mohawks have yet to record a victory in EBL Division 1 this term.

The Rockets, who are looking to continue their push up the table, go into Saturday’s game with a number of injury concerns as their heavy schedule begins to take its toll. Robbie Parker (knee), Jon May (back), and Fenny Falmagne (knee) are all injury worries for the Berkshire club and will face late fitness tests to see if they will play. Rockets Chairman Gary Johnson is hoping to see all his players on the court on Saturday. He said, ‘We have quite a few niggling injuries at the moment but I am assured by our physio we can get all three of them on the court in some form come tip time on Saturday.’

Rockets’ Director of Coaching Matt Johnson isn’t expecting an easy game in the north east. He said, ‘The league is extremely close with any team being able to compete with any other team so I expect no different when we face Tees Valley on Saturday despite them being winless in the league so far. Our performances have been getting a lot better over recent weeks and we have had some really close games which we haven’t come out of on the right side from our perspective so we will be looking to get another win under our belts this weekend as we move into the second part of our campaign.’

Without a win this season, Tees Valley go into the weekend’s game knowing they can put points on the board after scoring 93 of them in their last game against Coventry. Rockets Team Analyst Ben Fisher has seen this potential threat his side are under and said, ‘Despite Tees Valley not recording a victory in the league so far this season it is going to be a difficult place to go and get an all important win. Coach Douglas (Tees Valley’s Head Coach) is doing a good job up there with the resources he has and has some good talent especially in Steve Leven who has played a key part in their season so far. We are in a similar situation to them although confidence within the team is good and we really hope to go up there and come back with a much needed win which would take us to the .500 mark.’