WE'RE IN THE PLAYOFFS

The Scotwaste Monarchs made their Playoff place mathematically certain by beating Rye House 58-34 tonight, but have injury concerns over two key team members.

It does seem likely that young Josh Bates, hero of last week's win over Somerset, has a broken wrist after his heat 11 crash, caught on the outside of Derek Sneddon and Oliver Allen as they swung round the first corner.

Josh had already been brought off trying to sweep round Tyson Nelson in heat 7, so his luck was very much out. He didn't ride again after his heat 11 crash and an unsuccessful attempt to ride in the rerun.

Claus Vissing was also ruled out of the meeting, in his case as early as heat 3. He was leading the heat but was hit from behind by Kasper Lykke as the two opposition riders came fast into the first bend of lap two, and high-sided off. His injury is somewhere in the rib/hip area and we await developments.

In the circumstances, which included a 0-8 loss in the eventual running of heat 11, Monarchs did very well to score 58 points. Theo Pijper won his four races and seems to have been boosted by his superb Longtrack result at the weekend. Craig Cook was also unbeaten, and Max Fricke was on a paid maximum from his first four rides before dropping a point in heat 15.

Derek Sneddon contributed 11 from reserve without looking too comfortable, and Jozsef Tabaka had three paid wins. So other than the injuries, the team were impressive.

Rye House were expected to be a threat on recent form, even without Garrity who seems unable to get over his injury problems. None of them really excelled although reserve Kasper Lykke looked impressive at times.

Monarchs have a big KO Cup semi final against Somerset coming up and could certainly do with good news at least from Vissing if not Bates.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Rye House Rockets

The term 'a troubled season' could well have been coined to describe this week's visitors, the Rye House Rockets who virtually had to write off the first half of their season after a series of injuries to key riders, but they have picked themselves up and are now a top side.

As for Monarchs, they will be boosted by that pulsating win last week against the Somerset Rebels and they must continue to pick up every available Premier League point if they hope to finish on top of the table going into the end-of-season Play-Offs.

Craig Cook saved the best till last with a sublime pass in Heat 15 last Friday to ensure Somerset left with nothing. He will have to be at his sharpest again when he faces the Rockets' No. 1, Oliver Allen who is back in action after breaking his arm last year and dropping down from the Elite League this season.

Max Fricke continues to impress with the manner he has tackled his very steep learning curve. This week at No. 2 he faces a fellow 'learner', Pontus Aspgren from Sweden who was recently signed as an injury replacement on the recommendation of Linus Sundstrom.

Theo Pijper continues to make a solid contribution in the engine room of the side and he faces the Rockets' captain and 'man in black', Jason Bunyan who does a very similar job for them and is best known for his dominance of speedway in New Zealand every winter (eight-times National Champion).

Jozsef Tabaka is a potential match-winner who will be looking for a bit more consistency in the latter half of the season. He will certainly know he has a fight on his hands at No.4 where he faces 'The No Fear Cavalier', young Australian Tyson Nelson who is flying in his third UK season.

Claus Vissing has shown throughout the season that he is prepared to give his all for Monarchs and his opposite number is a talented young Swedish rider, Anders Mellgren in his second season with the Rockets and who showed his ability by finishing second in last year's PLRC at Sheffield.

Josh Bates thankfully races again for Monarchs at No. 6 after his breathtaking heroics last week, and this week he lines up opposite a young Danish rider, Kasper Lykke (Nielsen) who was signed last season as a replacement for Jordan Frampton on the recommendation of Charlie Gjedde.

Derek Sneddon will be raring to go at No.7 where he has been piling up the points. The Rockets hope to track last year's top newcomer, Jason Garrity at second reserve who is close to fully recovering from a broken leg sustained in May and who will be testing his fitness on Thursday.

There have been precious few 'easy' matches this year and this is very much another potential 'banana skin' if the Monarchs are at anything lower than their best. The Rockets have been on a sensational run with six wins and a draw in their last eight matches, so they pose a serious threat.

The Rye House track is also one of the smaller ovals in the league, so home track advantage may be nullified to an extent. Monarchs must still go into the match as firm favourites though and the fans will be hoping for a repeat of the all-round team heroics from their blue and gold heroes. Tapes up 7.30 sharp.

Likely line-ups:

EDINBURGH SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Craig Cook, Max Fricke, Theo Pijper, Jozsef Tabaka, Claus Vissing, Josh Bates, Derek Sneddon (capt.).

RYE HOUSE ROCKETS: Oliver Allen, Pontus Aspgren, Jason Bunyan (capt.), Tyson Nelson, Anders Mellgren, Kasper Lykke, Jason Garrity.