Birmingham Brummies v Edinburgh Monarchs

PREVIEW Wednesday 13th August 2008, 12:00pm

by Gary Lough

  Edinburgh Monarchs

There?s silverware on offer this week as the Scotwaste Monarchs go head to head with the Birmingham Brummies in a bid for Premier Trophy glory.

Monarchs have already won at Perry Barr in the Premier League and, coupled with an outstanding victory over title challengers Workington Comets at sunny Armadale last night (even Kelvin Tatum MBE enjoyed that one!), they will enter these two fixtures full of confidence.

The Brummies, on the other hand, appear to be merrily floating from one crisis to another. As if their injury hit start to the season wasn?t bad enough, the fans then voiced their disapproval when Promoter Graham Drury rang the changes in an attempt to add some much needed middle order strength!

The main bone of contention would appear to be the fact ?star reserve? James Birkinshaw was one of those chopped. He was certainly a fans? favourite and indeed probably the most impressive home man on show when we were last there. He was joined on the dole queue by Lee Smart (now at struggling Mildenhall) and Jack Hargreaves, both having failed to recapture their early season form after attempted injury comebacks.

The new chapter in the Brummies? history began last Wednesday with a home defeat to the Stoke Potters, so it?s fair to say they?ll be hoping for better fortunes this week. If they?re to have any chance of a decent result, key man Tomasz Piszcz must improve on his 2 point debut. I for one certainly don?t expect him to score so lowly!

Mr Piszcz is joined by ex-Glasgow man James Cockle, who had a brief spell with Mildenhall at the beginning of the year, and young Australian Jay Herne, who guested for Somerset in a KO Cup fixture up our way last season. He failed to score from 3 outings in the difficult number 2 berth but showed he was rather adept at lightning starts.

The remaining members of the home side are Jason Lyons, Craig Watson, Kyle Legault and Jack Roberts. Lyons is a well respected Aussie who is practically guaranteed double figures on any track in the League. Unfortunately, countryman Craig Watson seems to be struggling somewhat since two major knocks during the last few seasons.

Both Legault and Roberts have been pretty decent guests in Monarchs? colours last year. In fact, Canadian ?Lego? managed a 21 point full house at Stoke! Meanwhile, young Jack will be hoping he avoids a repeat of is recent trip over the top of the Armadale safety fence during Friday?s second leg!

As far as the Scotwaste Monarchs are concerned, I would guess the primary aim of Wednesday evening?s meeting is to keep the scores as tight as possible. Obviously a victory would be most appreciated but you can?t always have everything!

Top man William Lawson is still sidelined so Rye House stalwart Chris Neath covers his absence in the first leg. Neath has had two visits to Perry Barr already this season and enjoyed significant success so here?s hoping he makes it three out of three! At the time of writing, there is no confirmation as to who will fill the void on Friday.

A mark of the success being enjoyed by Monarchs this year is the fact young Swede Thomas H Jonasson has been listed as a meeting reserve for this weekend?s Grand Prix. This means that, although he will be available tomorrow, rider replacement will be pressed into operation for the return leg. However, as he?s currently second in the averages, every one of his teammates is entitled to an extra outing.

Elsewhere, we should be unchanged for both meetings (famous last words!). I guess in an ideal world, we?d like a repeat of the results from earlier in the season. Nevertheless, one thing I hope we don?t see more of is the God awful weather! The five Premier League points collected by the Monarchs against this week?s opponents were gained in somewhat ?heavy? conditions and it would be such a shame if the Premier Trophy were to be decided by who could paddle their boat the fastest.

Whatever happens, the Monarchs appear to be riding like a team on a mission at the moment and it seems likely only a herculean effort will halt their charge for honours.

As always, may the best team win...

Line-ups:

Wednesday at Perry Barr:

Brummies: Tomasz Piszcz, Jack Roberts, Jason Lyons, Kyle Legault, Craig Watson, James Cockle, Jay Herne.

Monarchs: Chris Neath, Derek Sneddon, Thomas H Jonasson, Matthew Wethers, Ryan Fisher, Andrew Tully, Aaron Summers.

Friday at the Scotwaste Arena (to be confirmed):

Monarchs: guest for William Lawson, Derek Sneddon, rider replacement for Thomas H Jonasson, Matthew Wethers, Ryan Fisher, Andrew Tully, Aaron Summers.

Brummies: Tomasz Piszcz, Jack Roberts, Jason Lyons, Kyle Legault, Craig Watson, James Cockle, Jay Herne.

Full Result Details