SITTINGBOURNE Crusaders begin their Conference Shield campaign at the Old Gun Site on Sunday.

Reappearing at the Iwade track to carry on the Kentish speedway crusade are some of heroes who gamely battled against the odds last term.

Andre Cross led the Crusaders for much of that campaign having succeeded Chris Hunt as skipper following Hunt’s untimely accident in June.

Both are back, Hunt this time as team manager and the three-times European Cycle Speedway champ, Cross as a heat-leader.

They’re joined by Daniel Blake, who rode admirably in 16 of Sittingbourne’s fixtures last year, and the hero of the Crusaders’ late season away victory at Newport, Ashford-based James Theobald.

Also from Ashford is the talented grass-tracker Luke Goody and another hugely promising home-grown Kentish speedster, Aaron Baseby.

Dean Felton, the new captain and number one, said: "We’ve got a group of very promising youngsters and I hope that my experience will be of help in bringing them on"