MATTY DAVIES returns to Elland Road on Thursday night knowing Leeds Knights will be gunning for revenge - but confident his team can again rise to the challenge of taking on one of NIHL National’s big guns.

On both visits to West Yorkshire so far this season, the Seahawks have prevailed, most memorably on February 2 when they won 5-1 in the second leg of the NIHL National Cup semi-final to seal a thoroughly deserved 9-4 aggregate triumph and a final date with destiny against Milton Keynes Lightning.

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The triumph was just the latest example of Davies’s team getting the better of one of the second-tier’s top teams.

WE MEET AGAIN: Hull Seahawks' Brock Bartholomew (left) and Leeds Knights' Mac Howlett will come face-to-face at Elland Road once again. Picture: Bruce Rollinson

It hasn’t all been plain sailing of course, Leeds themselves producing a dominant response to their 4-2 home defeat in the league to Davies’s team in December when they won 5-0 in Hull just 24 hours later.

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But there have also been notable wins against the Knights’ main title threats Milton Keynes Lightning and Swindon Wildcats.

Davies believes former club Leeds will have enough to retain their league crown. With a game at Milton Keynes scheduled for Saturday night, this week could see his team have a major say in the race for the title.

UP FOR IT: Hull Seahawks' head coach, Matty Davies. Picture: Bruce Rollinson

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Coming into the game on the back of defeats on the road at Swindon and Bees, facing the league’s top two is probably just what Davies’s team needs right now.

“The way we play Leeds, we do change a little bit,” said Davies. “You have to be aware of what they have got, as that team can beat you on any night if you give them a chance - you’ve got to make sure you take those chances away from them.

“They seem to have got their mojo back a bit, as the wins over Peterborough show and we know that no matter what has happened in the previous games between us, it won’t have any bearing on this game.

“They are still the team to beat in this league by a long way and I still think they are going to win the league.

“But we’re a team who get up for these kinds of challenges, our lads like testing themselves against the likes of Leeds and Milton Keynes.

“Leeds are going to raise their game as well because they will probably want revenge for the Cup defeat. It’s going to be a tough game, as it always is against them.”

Leeds Knights v Hull Seahawks - Matty Davies confident Seahawks can rise to challenge and extend winning streak at Elland Road