MARK'S OUR MAN AGAIN

NEWS Wednesday 13th August 2008, 10:37pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

Armadale will now host the first leg of the Premier Trophy Final on Friday (7.30) with the Birmingham Brummies of course in opposition, including top men Jason Lyons and Kyle Legault.

Mark Lemon, brilliant for Monarchs in last Monday's televised fixture, guests in place of the injured William Lawson, and will also be in the Monarchs' ranks on Sunday. The first leg scheduled for Perry Barr on Wednesday was rained off early which at least prevented the Edinburgh team and most of the supporters from travelling.

TEAMS FOR THE PREMIER TROPHY FINAL FIRST LEG AT ARMADALE ON FRIDAY 15th AUGUST (start time 7.30, doors open 6.30) are:

EDINBURGH SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Mark Lemon (guest), Derek Sneddon (capt.), rider replacement for Thomas H Jonasson, Matthew Wethers, Ryan Fisher, Andrew Tully, Aaron Summers

BIRMINGHAM BRC ROOFING BRUMMIES: Tomasz Piszcz, Jack Roberts, Jason Lyons, Kyle Legault, Craig Watson, James Cockle, Jay Herne.

BRUMMIE WASHOUT: The eagerly anticipated first leg of the Premier Trophy final was rained off on Wednesday morning.

This was not entirely a bad thing for Monarchs who had two riders struggling for fitness. Thomas Jonasson has been visiting Hospital after recent heavy crashes which have left him with knee and leg injuries, while Matthew Wethers has also been struggling after crashing at Armadale on Monday.

Matthew will be riding in all the remaining matches this week while Thomas of course is in attendance at the Swedish GP on Friday and Saturday before he flies in to be with the Monarchs at Glasgow.

SKY SUCCESS: Feedback from the Sky team after the Monarchs v Workington match screened on Monday night was highly favourable.

Rain did its best to make the buildup difficult and the track heavy, but there was enough drama and incident to keep the commentary team busy!

Edinburgh Speedway enjoyed the experience (including by far the biggest crowd of the season) and would welcome the Sky cameras back any time.

LEAGUE BUSINESS: The weekend matches also include two important league fixtures. Monarchs ride at Workington on Saturday and at Glasgow on Sunday.

Mark Lemon is again Monarchs' guest at Ashfield but the Saturday guest has not been selected yet.

MEETING SPONSOR: Keyline Broxburn will once again be the meeting sponsors at Armadale on Friday for the Premier Trophy final. We will also be pleased to have a party from Brodies Solicitors in our Hospitality area.

BRUMMIE CHANGES: Birmingham boss Graham Drury has tried to arrest the slide in his team's very unlucky season by making changes to his side.

Opinions amongst supporters have been mixed over whether the introduction of Piszcz, Cockle and Herne replacing Birkinshaw, Hargreaves and Smart is an improvement, but one point to be made is that Tomasz Piszcz has a very good Armadale record.

He has only had one meeting since his return but will be trying to provide backup to top men Jason Lyons, Kyle Legault and Craig Watson, and of course the experienced Watson will be keen to do better than on recent visits to Armadale.

Perhaps surprisingly the Brummies have paired top men Lyons and Legault together.

Jack Roberts should know the circuit well as he rode a number of meetings for Monarchs last season and did well.

LAST MEETING: On Monday Monarchs thrashed an unlucky Workington team 59-30. Mark Lemon scored an excellent 13 and Andrew Tully 12 as Monarchs again delivered a compact and solid performance.

NEXT MEETING: The much-improved Berwick Bandits have agreed to come to Armadale in the Premier League on Friday 22nd August. Star man Adrian Rymel has been virtually unbeatable home and away this season.

Full Result Details