TWO KEY MATCHES THIS WEEKEND

NEWS Tuesday 25th March 2008, 7:50pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

The Scotwaste Monarchs will not be resting on their laurels this weekend because after victories in each of their first four fixtures, they race the highly rated Workington Comets home and away.

They race on Friday at Armadale and Saturday at Derwent Park in matches which even at this early stage look as if they will be crucial in deciding the group winner in the Premier Trophy.

With the absence of bonus points, an away win for either side would be a killer blow to the chances of the other, and race points scored could be important too.

Monarchs await news on the fitness of their Swedish rider Thomas Jonasson.

TEAMS FOR THE PREMIER TROPHY MATCH AT ARMADALE ON FRIDAY 28th March (start time 7.30, doors open 6.30) are:

EDINBURGH SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Ryan Fisher, Derek Sneddon (captain), Thomas Jonasson (if fit), William Lawson, Matthew Wethers, Andrew Tully, Aaron Summers.

WORKINGTON COMETS sponsored by Thomas Armstrong: Daniel Nermark, Scott Smith, Carl Stonehewer, Charles Wright, Kauko Nieminen (captain), Joe Haines, John Branney.

THE PREMIER TROPHY: Only the winners of the four Groups in the Premier Trophy qualify for the semi-finals this year.

Berwick can safely be ruled out of the reckoning as they have lost five matches in the competition already.

However Glasgow have won their only match and so are obviously still in the running.

Edinburgh and Workington both have 5 points after beating Berwick home and away, so top the section table right now.

Group 2 features Newcastle, Sheffield, Stoke, Redcar and Scunthorpe.

Group three competitors are King's Lynn, Rye House, Birmingham and Mildenhall.

In group 4 are Somerset, Newport, Isle of Wight and Reading.

The group winners move into the semi-finals. In previous years there have been chances for runners-up but there are two additional teams in the Premier League this season, hence there are 4 sections for the first time.

THOMAS INJURY DOUBT: As intimated in an earlier release, Thomas Jonasson has reported himself doubtful for this weekend's two matches with a back problem sustained during the match at Glasgow on Sunday.

He will make a definite decision in a day or two after consulting a specialist.

SPONSOR ON FRIDAY: Friday's big match with Workington will be sponsored by Martin Whitehead and Son, Painters and Decorators of Broxburn.

STRONG COMETS: Workington will certainly be on everyone's list of the top few teams in the Premier League this season.

They have surely the strongest heat leader trio around in Nermark, Stonehewer and Nieminen, and the rest of their team doesn't look bad either!

Nermark of course is the reigning Scottish Open Champion, winner at Armadale last August, and he also scored a maximum at Armadale for his club of 2007 King's Lynn.

Nieminen scored heavily on two late visits to the track last season, while Stonehewer has been throughout the 12 years of racing in West Lothian one of the most consistent visitors. He almost became a Monarch last summer.

Charles Wright could be a key man ? the brother of the reigning Premier League riders' champ scored 10 in Comets' victory at Armadale last August.

Scott ?Scud' Smith is experienced but hasn't been an Armadale specialist in the past. At reserve John Branney has made considerable improvement in the last year, and 16 year old Joe Haines is regarded as a hot prospect in his first Premier League season.

COMETS' WINNING RUN: Workington have won on their last THREE visits to Armadale. No other team has ever done this; the Comets won by 1 point in April 2006, by 2 points in September 2006 and by 5 points in August 2007.

And prior to that they drew 36-36 in a curtailed match in August 2005!

Monarchs may complain that they were unlucky on the last two occasions with injury problems, but it is still a fact that they haven't beaten the Comets anywhere since 13th May 2005 (49-41 at Armadale).

NEXT WEEK'S MEETING: Another vital Premier Trophy match at Armadale on Friday 4th April when Glasgow Tigers are the visitors for the second time this season.