Marc Steutel wants more from his men of the moment as Trey Pulliam and Christian James continue to perfect what could be the ultimate postseason partnership.

Newcastle Eagles’ mid-term signings are making April fools out of their nonplussed rivals with both guards enjoying a rich vein of form heading into the playoffs

And as the men in black host Leicester Riders in tonight’s penultimate regular season clash, Steutel insists it’s time to celebrate two key players in perfect rhythm.

“I think Trey can complement any team-mate because he’s such a high-level player,” said Newcastle’s head coach.

“At times expectations can be too high when a new player first comes in.

“When a point guard joins a team people expect them to be fully acclimated straight away. But these things take time.

“Trey is really invested in his team-mates and understanding how he can get people going. That hard work’s paying off.

“Since Chris has come in he’s worked exceptionally hard. He’s worked hard physically on his conditioning and he’s worked hard in terms of understanding our system.

“I think the two of them are really in rhythm at the minute and that’s helping us down this stretch.

“But I expect even more from them for this last weekend of the regular season and heading into the play-offs.”

Newcastle have brushed off a miserable March to win three straight games and they face a Riders side still reeling from Wednesday’s loss to London.

That defeat handed Lions the Championship title but Steutel still expects a typically tough night at the office against Rob Paternostro’s side.

“They’ll obviously have the disappointment of not winning the league but I still think they’re a formidable team,” added the Eagles’ playcaller.

“Coach Paternostro’s done a great job with that team this year, so we’re excited for a really high-level, quality game to mark the final regular season fixture.

“Everyone knows Leicester’s ability and they’re a really talented team.

“Their floor spacing is really positive, they shoot the ball really well and they make a lot of threes off assists.

“We’ve got to try to find a way to disrupt the ball and that means putting pressure on their playmakers — Jaylin Hunter and Zach Jackson.

“Then we’ve got to make sure we guard the line as well so it’s a difficult scout.

“We’ve seen each other a lot this year and we’re expecting another real test against one of Super League Basketball’s top teams.”

Aside from Sauveur Kande’s brief cameo against Bristol on Monday, Steutel’s been running a tight seven-man rotation in the absence of sidelined guard Seneca Knight.

And Newcastle’s coach likes what he sees from a group of players locked into a disciplined defensive mindset ahead of next month’s playoffs.

“The guys have played with the defensive DNA and the defensive application that we want to see and that we know that we need to be successful,” added Steutel.

“I’m really pleased with our defensive consistency and that’s what’s underpinned our recent run of wins.”

Tonight’s clash tips off at 7.30pm with remaining tickets available via box-office.newcastle-eagles.com