WILL Croker is preparing his Bournemouth side for what he believes will be a “humdinger” of a clash with table-topping Dings Crusaders.

The Lions boss was left disappointed when his team suffered a three-point loss at Cleve in South West Premier last time out.

But with undefeated Dings set to travel to Chapel Gate on Saturday (3pm), Croker is keen for his charges to rise to the occasion and record a victory which could blow the league standings wide open.

Visitors Dings recorded an emphatic 43-22 triumph to scupper Newton Abbot’s flawless start to the campaign on Saturday.

And Croker told the Daily Echo: “It is going to be interesting for us to prepare for what is going to be an absolute humdinger of a game.

“These games are really big and, for us, it’s not just an opportunity to get back on track, it’s a chance to put a dent in what Dings are doing.

“I don’t think many people saw the Dings result against Newton Abbot coming.

“They have been building momentum and will be feeling comfortable and confident.

“Not just for us, but for the rest of the league, they need to lose at some point for everybody else to feel they can close the gap.

“I think there will be a lot of very excited players looking forward to getting stuck into it.”

Dings finished second in the division last season but missed out on promotion after losing 55-5 in a play-off against Wimbledon.

But having started the campaign with five bonus-point wins in succession this time round, Croker is fully aware the visitors will be a difficult side to overcome.

Former Bristol man Luke Arscott also doubles up as coach for the Crusaders to add some star power to the set-up.

“I know their head coach Jason Forster pretty well. He is an uncompromising character,” the Lions head coach added.

“He’s a hard man and they got duffed up in their play-off game against Wimbledon at the end of last season – they would have learned a lot from that.

“Dings are always difficult to play against but in recent seasons they haven’t scored many points. They have just been difficult to beat.

“It would appear they have been able to arrest that this season and I’m guessing having someone like Luke Arscott in their team helps with that.”

Bournemouth's Grant Hancox is set to return to the fold having been unavailable for the trip to Cleve.

Fly-half Adam Davies could be in contention after receiving treatment on a hamstring problem.

But Jack Hennings, who was forced off last week, is set to be ruled out for around four weeks with a knee injury.

Lions currently sit fifth in the league table having won three of their opening five encounters, with 15 points to their name.