THE Basingstoke Bison fans will be delighted with the first signing news from the Herd this summer, as they have announced a double re-signing of netminders Alex Mettam and Jordan Lawday.

Mettam will return for a fourth season with the Bison having joined them from local rivals Bracknell in 2018.

He produced a string of fine performances in the play-offs finishing with a 93 per cent save rate, which ranked him second in the competition.

The 34-year-old also picked up the prestigious players’ player award in the Bison’s end of season awards.

Mettam started his senior career in his native Sheffield and then went on to play for Guildford, Milton Keynes and Bracknell.

Basingstoke-born Lawday joined mid-term last season from the Telford Tigers and finished the year with an 89 per cent save rate.

Basingstoke Gazette: Jordan Lawday. Pic by Jo LoatJordan Lawday. Pic by Jo Loat

He had a dream debut for the Bison back stopping them to their first league road victory of the season in Sheffield.

The 23-year-old is a product of the Herd’s junior programme having played for every team from the under-10 Bison upwards and he also represented Great Britain at under-18 and under-20.

This will be his fourth year at National League level having previously played in Cardiff, Milton Keynes and Telford.

Head coach Ashley Tait is delighted to have his netminding duo back and said: “It made perfect sense to have the guys back as they both did a good job for us last season. They pushed each other on in practice and I will continue to rotate them in games as I feel this works well.”

The Bison’s other netminder last season Dan Weller-Evans has now made the permanent move to the Bees, after a loan spell with the Berkshire club.

The popular netminder suited up for the Herd for seven seasons and is sure of a warm reception when he returns to Basingstoke this autumn.