BEDWAS bid to get back on the horse by doing a Premiership East double over champions Merthyr at Bridge Field tomorrow (kick-off 1.30pm).

Ian Gardner’s side have endured back-to-back disappointments with a home loss to Pontypridd and a last-gasp defeat at Newport but are still well-placed.

They sit third and are set to head into the 16-team unified Premiership with a healthy points tally thanks to their early-season exploits.

Bedwas made the rest of the league sit up and take notice when the won at Sardis Road on opening weekend and then 37-24 at Merthyr in week three.

That upset at the Wern means that Gardner is expecting the second-placed Ironmen, who have won their last five after a shaky start, to be fired up.

“It’s a tough ask against Merthyr because we know the quality that they have in their team, on their bench and even sitting in the stands,” said the head coach.

“They seem to have gelled and have got their gameplan going so they will be looking to get one back on us.

“I hope it’s not a carbon copy of last year when we won in Merthyr but then they beat us twice, really comfortably in the league.

“We have had two really disappointing performances against Pontypridd and Newport; last week we just made far too many errors and they capitalised on them to be fair.

“We put in a really strong performance against Ebbw Vale, then the break [for the British & Irish Cup] didn’t help us, but that can’t be an excuse because all teams were affected the same.

“We haven’t had the same intensity or accuracy since so we need to get our house back in order.”

Bargoed are currently propping up the eastern conference and face a tricky clash with Cardiff this evening (kick-off 7.30pm).

The Bulls head to the capital on the back of defeats to Merthyr, Ebbw Vale and, most recently, Cross Keys.

The teams met on three occasions last season and every fixture was hard-fought even though the Blue and Blacks won every time.

The hosts took the spoils in the solitary Arms Park meeting 30-22, a last-minute penalty denying Bargoed a consolation bonus point.