Bannister is relishing his return to Westcliff

Bannister has spent the last three seasons playing abroad.

But the full-back is now delighted to have returned to his roots.

“Being back has been great,” said Bannister.

“Luckily 90 per cent of the boys are still around from when I left so it’s been easy to come back into the squad.

“Everything is pretty much the same as when I left.

“I still see the same faces around the clubhouse after the game and it makes me feel like I haven’t been away some of the time.”

Bannister - who came through the youth ranks with Westcliff - has been abroad for the past three-and-a-half years.

During that time, Bannister played in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

But he is now back with Westcliff and has helped them win their opening two games of the London & SE Premier Division season.

“The opening two games have been good and luckily we have been able to be on the right side of two tight games,” said Bannister.

“We have things to work on as a squad but if we can keep grinding out results and keep the momentum, we will be a tough team to come up against.”

Westcliff kicked off the season with a 27-20 win against Dorking before a narrow 29-27 victory at Sidcup on Saturday.

And Bannister has set his sights high for the remainder of the season.

“I’m hoping that we are going to be able to finish in the top four this season,” said Bannister.

“You can see in the first two games that we have enough talent and skill to compete in this league as a squad.

“Hopefully we can keep improving game by game and make that happen.”

Westcliff - who finished sixth last season - host Hertford this weekend.

And Bannister knows the visitors will be tough to beat tomorrow.

“Hertford have been around the top of the table for the last few years and after a big win last week I’m sure they will be coming full of confidence,” said Bannister.

“It will be a big test for us but we just have to match them physically and take our chances when we get them.

“If we do that then we will be in with a good chance of winning the game.”

Hertford - who were fourth in the standings last season - lost 35-27 at Tunbridge Wells on the opening day of the campaign before bouncing back to beat Shelford 48-10 last time out.