Jay Herne has warned his Buccaneers team-mates not to fall into the trap of becoming “too cocky” ahead of their crunch home play-off clash against Weymouth tonight.

Bournemouth Castle Cover became the first side this season to beat Wildcats on the south Dorset side’s own shale last week by a hard-earned 49-41 winning margin.

That was the east Dorset outfit’s third victory in four derby clashes between the two teams this term.

With Buccaneers also a mighty 17 points in front of second-placed Weymouth in the National League table going into the play-offs, Herne doesn’t want the favourites to slip up in the title chase now.

Speaking ahead of tonight’s mouth-watering semi-final encounter at Poole Stadium (7.30pm), he said: “Our win at Weymouth has given us a lot of confidence going into the play-offs.

“But we can’t afford to be over-confident going up against Wildcats again.

“I know we’ve beaten them convincingly at home twice this year, 56-36 in the league and 62-30 in the cup, but there’s a fine line between having confidence and being over-confident.

“You have to be confident in yourself in every race that you know you can win it, but you can’t be too cocky and think you can take it easy.

“You have to go out there and give 110 per cent because every point is vital over two legs.

“If someone crashes and injures himself, that can cost your side 10 to 15 points.

“So we have to treat every race like a heat 15 and try and build up as big a score as we can to go to Weymouth for the second leg on October 9.”

Herne, whose side slipped to a 54-40 cup defeat at the Wessex Bus Raceway in June but triumphed 102-86 on aggregate, is aware reigning third-tier champions Wildcats still provide a big threat to Buccaneers’ double hopes in their debut season.

After all, three Bournemouth riders – Danny Warwick, Andrew Aldridge and Aaron Baseby – only mustered six points between them during Friday’s victory at Weymouth.

If that happens again on October 9, Herne’s team are leaving themselves open to disappointment as they chase a coveted two-legged play-off final place against Plymouth or Buxton, the northern outfit who Buccaneers already meet in the cup final next month.

The Aussie, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Tuesday, is delighted with his personal form after reeling off a scintillating 18-point maximum at Weymouth last week.

It followed his 17 point-haul for Buccaneers three months ago and his Bronze Helmet triumph in July on the same track where he also stormed to a stunning 20 paid 21 point maximum for Weymouth on his British debut in 2007.

Herne, dubbed the ‘King of the Wessex Bus Raceway’, said: “I’ve always got on well with that track.

“I feel I’m riding a lot better this year than last year.

“My gating is good. I made six great starts, six good first corners and if you ride the right lines there, I don’t think anyone can overtake you.

“It’s a tight track and difficult to pass,” added Herne, who has gone through the card unbeaten by an opponent nine times for Bournemouth in 2009.

Buccaneers are at full strength tonight, while Weymouth use rider replacement for injured Buzz Burrows.

Buccaneers: 1 Jay Herne, 2 Andrew Aldridge, 3 Danny Warwick, 4 Mark Baseby, 5 Jerran Hart, 6 Aaron Baseby, 7 Kyle Newman.

Weymouth: 1 Benji Compton, 2 Rider replacement for Buzz Burrows, 3 Tim Webster, 4 James Cockle, 5 Terry Day, 6 Lee Smethills, 7 Jamie White-Williams.

Buccaneers visit Buxton in the National League Cup final, first leg, on Sunday, October 11 (3pm).

The return is at Poole on Thursday, October 15.