Edinburgh Monarchs v Stoke Potters

With 30 points from the top two, the Scotwaste Monarchs controlled the match and beat Stoke easily in an enjoyable evening's entertainment.

For William Lawson, this represented a dramatic turnaround after recent disappointing showings. Right from the first running of heat 3, stopped after an unsatisfactory start, William looked much more confident. He made good starts and even when he didn't gate in front, he moved through the field decisively.

Monarchs had an excellent reserve pairing also - the ex-Dale Devils duo of Andrew Tully and Sean Stoddart totalled 15 and played an important role.

As is now customary, Ronnie Correy piled up a big score in smooth style and dropped just a single point, to top Potter Rusty Harrison in heat 13.

Stoke played their part in a good match withRusty having his best match for a while and Ben Barker, Lee Complin and Jack Hargreaves all displaying watchable styles.

The first couple of heats didn't quite go according to plan. Henrik Moller had bike problems at the start of heat 1, won easily by Correy, and Jack Hargreaves rode side by side with Sean Stoddart in heat two for a couple of laps before pulling clear for a good win.

Heat 3 was stopped for an unsatisfactory start with Lawson leading, but he did it again off gate 4 in the rerun, rounding Garry Stead at the first corner. Already, William looked like a new man. Henrik switched to come out on the Correy machine and took a comfortable third.

Heat 4 was an intriguing race with Andrew Tully brilliantly moving through the field, taking Harrison on the fourth corner with a fine inside pass. Meanwhile Matthew Wethers was struggling a bit at the rear but caught Hargreaves on the run to the line.

We doubled our advantage in heat 6, an easy Lawson/Moller 5-1 and then added a 4-2 from Correy and rider replacement Tully over Harrison.

Ten points up, we might have expected Garry Stead to take a TR in the next heat - Potters weren't exactly spoilt for choice. But they missed this chance, and Steady duly won the heat from Matthew. Lee Complin showed his style to take a third.

We were back in control over the next three heats though. Heat 8 went easily to Lawson and Tully ahead of the bouncing Barker who was always worth watching.

William was out again in heat 9 and made his poorest start of the night. He came past his partner and moved in on Harrison, always looking like passing and assisted when Rusty lifted off the pits corner and almost hit the fence.

Henrik lost third place to Barrie Evans but regained it to give us a 4-2.

It was three abreast down the back straight in heat 10 before Correy moved ahead round the outside. Matthew edged ahead of Stead and rode a clever race to deny the visitor any way through on the inside.

Matthew was a winner in heat 11, keeping TR Cunningham in second spot, but this time Andrew Tully could make no impression on Ben Barker. Potters took a 5-3.

Sean Stoddart's first two rides had been unexceptional but he rode an excellent outside line on the first corner of heat 12. Lawson slotted in behind him, managed to avoid running into Sean and held off Garry Stead for another 5-1.

Ronnie Correy seemed to make his usual excellent gate in heat 13 but for once things didn't go according to plan on the first corner as Cunningham and Harrison slipped past on either side. Ronnie quickly raced round Cunningham but couldn't reach Harrison. Matthew trailed to give Stoke an advantage.

After this success Stoke decided to give Harrison a TS ride, a rare event at Armadale for anyone other than Shane Parker.

Sean Stoddart again went ahead, but a curiously unsteady Moller was passed round the outside by Harrison, now enjoying his best meeting of the season. Just as well Sean was doing his job right.

All eyes were on William with his maximum on the line for heat 15, and there were no mistakes as Ronnie raced away followed by William. A 5-1 and a superb paid 18 for Lawson.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Stoke Potters

It's Premier League action at Armadale this week as the Monarchs look to get off to a good start. Standing between them and two points are the Stoke Potters.

The Potters have had a torrid time of things so far in 2007 and have already replaced two members of their starting line-up. Who said Berwick's Peter Waite was the most ruthless Promoter in the sport?!

Leading the charge is Garry Stead. Now I know I'm not meant to be biased on here but I can't let his one and only visit this season pass without handing out some praise, can I?!

Steady is a Premier League Legend and has carried the flag for a number of sides during his illustrious career. Sadly (for me anyway!), he rates Armadale as his worst track, so his scores aren't always reflective of his talent.

Next in line for the Potters is a man who annoyed a number of Monarchs' fans last year when he refused to race during our home meeting with Rye House. Yes, Russell Harrison's back in town! Mr H hasn't had the best of times to date this term but I have no doubt he'll be up there chasing the exhaust pipes of our guys on Friday.

As I mentioned earlier, the Potters have made two changes to their side. Exiting are Paul Pickering, his comeback from serious injury having unfortunately failed to be a success, and the drab German, Robbie Kessler, who has been quite awful for a number of years. Quite why Stoke persevered with him for so long is beyond me.

Their replacements are Lee Complin and Glenn Cunningham. Complin mysteriously quit the sport in 2002, half way through his second year, citing personal reasons at the time. However, he's been riding the Short Track circuit and is the current Champion in that field. It will be most interesting to see how he gets on, as he certainly seemed to have 'that little something' in his early days.

Cunningham was a PLRC winner in 1998 (and also runner-up to our very own Peter Carr in 1997) but, for whatever reason, he's just never been the same guy since then. Generally averages between 6 and 7, which I guess is ok if you're looking for a solid third heat leader type rider!

Moving further down, Barrie Evans has been around for ages and never seems to progress very far, despite having burst on the scene as a wee laddie at Arena Essex and Jack Hargreaves is still in his senior speedway nappies but can be a danger man on random occasions!

Which leaves one man... Ben Barker. This guy's an amazing talent. Small, pintsized, miniscule, tiny, describe him however you see fit but, at the end of the day, if this young lad gates, we'll be in bother (as we found out to our cost in heat 14 at home to Somerset last year!).

Remarkably (or maybe not?!), Monarchs still haven't scored 50 points in a meeting yet this season! We would've done so against Berwick (damn fog!) and should've done so against Glasgow (damn chains!) but I'm going to stick my neck out and predict we'll do it this time.

However, if we are to reach 'unprecedented' levels, we'll have to do so without Daniele Tessari and (possibly) Derek Sneddon. Tessari is the meeting reserve at the Italian Grand Prix (wouldn't it be great if he got a ride, just like last year?!), while Sneddon remains a doubt after his smash last Friday. At the time of writing, there is no confirmation either way but, should he not make it, Monarchs will use rider replacement to cover his absence. Given the fact that every single member of the side (bar Ronnie Correy) will be entitled to an outing (Derek's lying third in the new averages), I wouldn't think we?d be overly weakened by such a scenario.

Daniele's replacement is Monarchs' asset, Sean Stoddart, who is currently enjoying an extremely impressive spell of form. Let's hope he keeps it going all season (and especially Friday!).

As always, may the best team win...

Line-ups:

Monarchs: Ronnie Correy, Derek Sneddon (or r/r if unfit), William Lawson, Henrik Moller, Matthew Wethers, Sean Stoddart, Andrew Tully.

Potters: Glenn Cunningham, Ben Barker, Garry Stead, Lee Complin, Russell Harrison, Barrie Evans, Jack Hargreaves.