Will The Bears Catch Us Napping?

PREVIEW Friday 9th June 2017, 10:00am

by Graham Muncie

  Edinburgh Monarchs

Another week another tough looking tie for the Parsons Peebles Monarchs as we look to stretch our lead at the top of the SGB Championship against the Redcar Sg Petch Bears on Friday night.

This will be no easy task though as the Bears arrive at Armadale with a solid looking line-up with plenty of experience and pedigree around our circuit and the Monarchs will need to be at their absolute best if they want to make sure the Bears leave empty handed.

This is the second time this season we will have seen Redcar but it is a different looking line-up that makes the not overly long trip up the a1 from the one that we defeated 52-40 back in April.

The first difference in the line-up comes at number 1 where Jason Garrity takes his normal place. Garrity missed the first match between the two teams due to a family funeral but is showing the kind of form overall that the Bears new management would have hoped for when they snapped him up prior to the season. Garrity is a flamboyant performer but his style and exuberance perhaps does not lend itself to the tighter confines of Armadale and he is yet to show his best form around our circuit. No one would be surprised though should this change this week.

A very strong second string slots in at number 2 in the form of Jonas B Andersen. Andersen is one of the best visitors we have seen at Armadale this season recording 12 points back in April. Andersen’s main strength that night was from the gate and as is the way with most Danes when out in front he is a very hard man to overcome. A repeat of his last Dale performance could go a long way to his team heading home with points in the bag.

Number 3 for the Bears is one of everyone’s favourite pantomime villains Ben Barker. Barker is on an uptick in form just now after sorting out some early season machinery issues. Barker would have been disappointed with his previous showing of 3 points but showed his true style with 10 points when guesting for Newcastle a few weeks ago and the Bears will be looking for a repeat of this Newcastle performance rather than his first visit of the season.

Most improved Bear so far this season is Ellis Perks at number 4. Perks has been in tremendous form this season putting the best part of 4 points onto his average which is a truly remarkable achievement. It will be interesting to see whether the young Worcester racer can maintain this level of form as he makes his first foray into the main body of the Redcar team but with his showings so far both for Redcar and for Rye House in the Premiership it would be no surprise if he was to continue on as he has so far.

A former Monarch slots in at number 5 in the Bears line-up with Charles Wright moving to Redcar at second tier level after Somerset moved into the top tier. This seems to have reinvigorated the exciting Lancashire man who has pushed his average to over 8 points per match from a starting figure of around 6.5. Wright for all his Armadale experience has never shown a great liking for the circuit but in his current form he is another who will be looking for this to change.

Moving to reserve after Perk’s promotion is Coty Garcia. Garcia thankfully appears to have come out of a dreadful looking smash last week relatively unscathed and will be looking forward to a spell at reserve to boost his scoring. Garcia had his finest ever Armadale meeting back in April with 2 heat wins among his 7 point haul and those were from the number 2 slot in the team. If Garcia shows this kind of form again then he could be a trump card for the Bears.

As is the norm we report on a change to the programmed line-up for the visitors and this time it comes at number 7. Recently signed Danny Ayres is out injured but the Bears have pulled a rabbit out of the hat in his replacement. Workington’s Matt Williamson is the man to replace Ayres in what will be his last day on his current starting season average of 3.58. Williamson has been one of the star reserves in the league so far this year and is racing to an average of over 7 so to be able to bring him in at number 7 is a tremendous boost for the Bears and one that may well be match turning.

So a competitive and balanced looking Bears line-up will face up against our home heroes the Parsons Peebles Monarchs. The Monarchs men will of course also have had the long trek home from Ipswich this evening to contend with, a journey that will seem all the longer for coming home empty handed. We will need to dust ourselves down and brush ourselves off though and be at our very best to fend off the Bears.

There will be numerous key battles throughout as we look for our top men to lead the way and put the Bears opposite numbers in their place. In my eyes though key man will be Max Clegg, this will be Clegg’s last home match at reserve before the averages change again and we will need him to continue the scintillating form we have seen at the Dale in the last few weeks particularly as we face up against one of if not the most powerful reserve pairing in the division in Garcia and Williamson (the inclusion of Williamson of course just making it all the stronger). That is not to say that everybody doesn’t have their part to play and we need everyone chipping in if we are to secure all 3 points and move back clear at the top of the Championship after Ipswich moved level on points with us with their win on Thursday night.

So another huge match and an exciting looking tussle ahead and there is only one place to be to see it all and of course that is trackside. See you there!

Full Result Details