CRADLEY Heathens skipper Paul Starke insist he’s hungrier than ever to win a second successive National League title with the club.

Heathens are preparing to face Coventry in the league's Grand Final on Tuesday, October 21 after seeing off Mildenhall last Sunday.

They stormed to a sensational 48-41 win over their semi-final opponents. Despite carrying a big lead from the first leg, Cradley showed no mercy as they edged a memorable victory at West Row to wrap up a comprehensive aggregate triumph.

Starke says last year’s glory under the Dudley banner has given him the appetite for more success.

He said: “It really has been an unbelievable couple of years since I joined Cradley, and it’s just awesome how well we’ve done the last two seasons.

“It would be amazing for me personally as a rider if I could end up winning the title again.

“After doing so well last year it just made me hungrier to repeat that this year, and hopefully the other guys will be able to experience that feeling as well.

“It’s good to be in a winning team and know what it’s all about - you can appreciate that when you race in good teams in the future and it helps you become a winning rider.

“It’s been an amazing time with Cradley, and hopefully the best is still to come for me and the club.

“But we can’t get over confident – we need to stay focused and keep our eyes on the job in hand.

“We need to keep riding at our best because we can’t afford any slip-ups now. We need to try and keep our momentum going now it’s the business end of the season.

“We are out to win it all, and we are in a strong position again so we’ll be doing everything we possibly can to make sure we capitalise and come out on top.

“Then there are some big decisions to be made during the winter, in fact pretty much within the next few weeks. I have faith in the Cradley management to do what they feel is right for the club.

“I’ve enjoyed my time with Somerset, Birmingham and Cradley but I’m desperate to round it all off with a league and cup double with the Heathens.”

Cradley’s Knockout Cup final dates with King’s Lynn have now been agreed as Wednesday, October 22 at Lynn followed by the decider at Monmore on Tuesday, October 28, which will be the last meeting of the season.

Against Mildenhall, the Heathens but in another fine display to overcome the absence of Steve Worrall and Matt Williamson.

Team boss Will Pottinger was full of praise for his side as they survived a tough test to claim their 20th consecutive win in all competitions.

He said: "Although we had a big lead we wanted to concentrate on winning the meeting.

"It’s a great result considering we were without Steve Worrall and Matt Williamson, so we are all going away happy after another terrific team performance.”

Skipper Paul Starke led by example with a fine display as he raced to four wins out of five with a superb showing before defending the Bronze Helmet in the absence of Worrall immediately after heat 15.

His only defeat came as he was on the receiving end of a 5-1 in heat 13 which brought Mildenhall level and set up a tense finale.

However, the Heathens were gifted a 5-0 in the penultimate race as Jack Kingston fell and Brendan Johnson brought down Danny Phillips before Starke and impressive guest Simon Lambert sealed a tremendous triumph.

With in-form youngster Max Clegg storming to three impressive victories the Heathens heat-leaders accounted for nine race wins whilst Danny Phillips and Tom Perry also chipped in with solid scores to ensure they edged a tight affair.

Cradley were set to be back in action last night when they welcomed a strong Birmingham side to Monmore.