Title Partner
PREVIEW Sunday 8th August 2010, 12:00pm
Edinburgh Monarchs
Monarchs and their fans will travel further down the A1 with hope in their hearts to take on their closest challengers at Newcastle tonight (6.30) in a match which could bring them within touching distance of the Premier League title.
Unfortunately their preparation hasn't been the best because the expected confidence-building practice night on Friday was washed out and it showed in some of the performances at Berwick the next night. Hopefully that was a wake-up call and we can see all seven riders firing again.
On paper, the task facing the blue and gold brigade is a huge one since a check through the Diamonds score chart reveals a string of comfortable home wins. Since the opening night draw with Berwick and a Premier Trophy loss to Glasgow, they have recorded only 50's and 60's.
In recent weeks they have easily brushed aside the challenges of Birmingham, Somerset, Workington, King's Lynn, Rye House ? and everyone else besides. And having beaten Newcastle by 61-31 at Armadale in the League in May, the Monarchs went down 56-37 at Newcastle in the Premier Trophy two days later.
The Diamonds have just about managed to keep the same seven riders they started with, only having had to bring in Anders Andersen in place in injury-plagued Adam McKinna. And it's no secret that two young Danes are the reason that Newcastle are such a formidable side.
At the top, Ryan Fisher once again is faced by Kenni Larsen who is riding high on confidence with a near ten-point average to show for it. He went through the card with a perfect 15 points on Monarchs last visit, so flyin' Ryan will have to try to curtail his scoring this time.
Monarchs former captain who has been a victim of the averages system of team building in recent seasons rides at No.2. His counterpart, Kalle Katajisto enjoys a higher average gained while riding at reserve, but there is speculation about how fit he is after returning from injury.
There's more of a chink of light at No.3 where Kevin Wolbert is faced with the unpredictable Jason King who scored a paid 12 from four rides against Birmingham a fortnight ago but scored only a paid four against Scunthorpe last Sunday.
Monarchs fans will hope to see Kevin at his best.
Matthew Wethers, fresh from an excellent score at Berwick has a daunting task at No.4 as he faces Rene Bach who has put nearly two points on his average this year and is close to the nine-point mark. Rene scored fourteen plus one on Monarchs last visit, so Matty will also have to be at his best.
It gets no easier at No.5 where Andrew Tully faces the consistent Mark Lemon who could easily be the No.1 rider for just about any other team in the league. In his last three home meetings the experienced Australian has dropped only one point to the opposition each time.
It's a match-up of Australians at No.6. Dakota North has been quietly improving on his starting three-point average for the Diamonds and already averages more than Monarchs new reserve Arlo Bugeja who has been on the sidelines for a spell after being released by Sheffield.
Anders Andersen has come into the Diamonds side at No.7 and while he may not be pulling up any trees away from home, he has been achieving around four points per match at home. So if former Diamond, William Lawson can show some form, this is Monarchs best chance of a clear advantage.
When you break it down, Monarchs face a huge task, but that was said before away trips to Rye House, King's Lynn and Birmingham. This fixture means so much to both sides that nerves will be jangling, nails will be bitten down to the quick and just about anything could happen.
Probable line-ups:
NEWCASTLE SAPPHIRE ENGINEERING DIAMONDS: Kenni Larsen, Derek Sneddon, Jason King (c), Rene Bach, Mark Lemon, Dakota North, Anders Andersen.
SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Ryan Fisher, Kalle Katajisto, Kevin Wolbert, Matthew Wethers, Andrew Tully, Arlo Bugeja, William Lawson.
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Bathgate Road
Armadale
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