Nick Nurse today told his Brighton Bears to fasten their seatbelts and prepare for the rockiest of rides in defence of the British League title.

Bears fly north to meet resurgent Scottish Rocks tonight (7.30pm) in what is shaping up to be the most intriguing league title race for years.

Shock home defeats for pre-season favourites London Towers and many people's more recent tips Chester Jets have thrown the contest wide open.

Newcastle Eagles have failed to live up to lofty expectations but, with Sheffield and Steve Swanson's Rocks making steady progress and Bears having won eight of ten without earning much praise outside Sussex, the stage could be set for a thrilling six-way race for top spot.

That is in contrast to recent years, when Bears and Sheffield have stood out from the crowd.

So is the position further down the league, where less-heralded teams like Thames Valley, Leicester and Milton Keynes have already claimed shock wins.

Nurse had plenty of time to work out the permutations as his team travelled by car, plane and train to the Braehead Arena today.

The Bears coach said: "There are five or six teams who could win this thing and the bottom half looks to be getting stronger too.

"Teams all the way down the table have made changes and we are getting back to a situation where you never know what will happen anywhere, looking at the way the results have been in the last couple of weeks.

"As for the title, I still think you've got to look at the first four and Scottish Rocks who, as I said after watching them two weeks ago, have to be in contention with the team they've got now.

"I don't think you can rule out Newcastle yet. They've got too many players and too much talent for that.

"They've got to do something to prove they can win it but there are five or six teams in the race.

"You would have thought it would be Towers in front and then anyone who could chase them.

"Towers have lost three big games at home, though. They've got another big one coming this weekend against Chester.

"A guy like Steve (Swanson) is sitting there with a 6-6 record and he's only one weekend away from being right back in this thing the way our league works.

"The way things are now a loss isn't the end of the world but you sure don't want to see too many of them."

A more competitive league is great news for club owners and investors like Nurse, not least with a television deal seemingly drawing closer.

In his other role, though, as coach of one the teams who used to turn up at games knowing they would win, a more level playing field might not be such good news.

Not a bit of it, he insists.

"As an overall picture it's awesome. To look at five teams at the top and then see mid and lower table teams who can win games, that's great for the league.

"My (coaching) standpoint is I always like a good race because it keeps you sharper and makes you play better.

"Take last Saturday night. We thought we just had to turn up at Thames Valley and win and that isn't the case. You have to work hard day in, day out and get up for every game."

Our panel shows the top teams have had more joy winning on the road than defending home court but Nurse admits his men will have to be at their best in Scotland tonight.

He said: "Rocks are more talented than we are, more athletic and have more depth but I think we've got a bit more experience.

"My teams historically bounce back pretty well after a loss.

"They were good at practice on Monday. They know we mean business, they know we've got to play defence, rebound, be a little bit tougher mentally."

And that sort of resilience could be the most valuable commodity of the lot in what could be a long haul towards league honours.