Bad weather has put Sheppey's trip to Maidstone in doubt

After the big freeze wiped out Sheppey’s London 3 South East fixture with Maidstone last Saturday, their coach Pete Olliver could be forgiven for hoping this weekend’s rearranged game goes the same way.

The Islanders will be without key players if the weather abates and the game goes ahead at Maidstone’s Mote ground on Saturday (kick-off 2.30pm).

“I can’t see it being on myself,” said Olliver.

“We’ve got to prepare for any outcome, but the weather forecast is for it to be freezing and it wouldn’t be a bad thing if it was because it was supposed to be a free weekend and a lot of our lads have got tickets to the international games.”

Number 8 Dylan Davies is definitely unavailable, but Sheppey can draw encouragement from the result the last time these sides met, when they beat Maidstone 
17-5 at The Ditch in October.

But despite the win, Olliver played down the significance of the result.

“Maidstone always attract some good players,” he said.

“They had 50 points deducted last year, came down a division and probably should have won this league.

“They didn’t have the best of starts, but they’re starting to show their true form now.”

Sittingbourne suffered the same fate as their near-rivals when frozen pitches wiped out the entire Kent 1 fixture list last weekend.

They will try to get the meeting with HSBC at The Grove on again this Saturday (kick-off 2.30pm), although it could be another frustrating weekend spent kicking their heels if the weather remains as forecast.