THE Basingstoke Bison have added two young guns Paul Petts and Hallam Wilson to their line-up for the coming season.

The pair have signed on a two-way deal with the Basingstoke Buffalo, which will see them train full time with the senior team and play for the Herd when they are not in action with the Buffalo.

Bison head coach Doug Sheppard is passionate about bringing players through from the excellent Basingstoke junior programme and has a proven track record with Stuart Mogg, Grant Rounding, Daniel Lackey and Dan Weller-Evans, the latest in a long line of Herd stars to have started their careers as junior Bison players.

He is hoping his latest additions will inspire another generation of further stars and Sheppard said: "I always wanted as much home grown talent as I could in the team and will continue to bring the juniors through. This proves that players joining the club at the age of nine or 10 have a realistic goal of one day pulling on senior Bison shirt."

Sheppard added: "Hallam and Paul have both impressed me and training full time will benefit them both. They have the best of both worlds, getting game time with the Buffalo, training with the Bison with the opportunity to play when Buffalo fixtures allow."

Wilson scored on his Herd senior debut in 2014 and last season the 19-year-old played for the Oxford City Stars in South One, the level the Herd play at this season, scoring nine goals in a 16 points haul from 25 games.

Petts, the under-20 Bison captain last season played twice for the Bison last year.

He returned 37 points for the under-20s scoring nearly a goal a game. He also played nine times for the Buffalo in South Two returning 11 points.

Forward Wilson said: "I watched the Bison as a youngster and have always wanted to be part of the team since then. So I am thrilled to be joining this season. I hope I can inspire other juniors to follow in my footsteps."

Fellow forward Petts said: "I am really excited in joining the Bison and I will be hoping I can pass on any experience gained to the younger players as the older players have done for me."