Scott Nicholls has had a week at home ahead of the Elite League season, thanks to 20 centimetres of snow in Poland.

Nicholls and his Eastbourne Eagles colleagues host Peterborough on Saturday in the first league meeting of the season.

Eagles' star winter signing skipped a pre-season trip to his Polish track Rzeszow for their equivalent of press and practice and is looking forward to taking on the Panthers.

He said: "Much as it's nice to go for the party and to meet people I said if I couldn't practise over there I couldn't make it.

"I've got too much on. I've got speedway things to organise and I'm moving house."

Eagles will go out of the Craven Shield tonight unless Poole lose by between seven and 26 points at Swindon. Pirates won 54-39 at home to Robins last night.