BIG TWO CLASH AGAIN

NEWS Wednesday 14th October 2009, 11:19pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

The Scotwaste Monarchs had to wait till Wednesday night to be absolutely sure of their opposition in the Premier Playoff Final ? but in the end there were no shocks and King's Lynn came through comfortably.

The Stars had already won at Birmingham and scored a 20-point win at home. They had already selected their provisional side for the Armadale match and have been very shrewd in their choice of a guest ? Josh Auty has been brilliant at Armadale this year and stands in for Kozza Smith, meaning that all of their team can take a rider replacement ride for Tomas Topinka.

TEAMS FOR THE PREMIER PLAYOFF FINAL FIRST LEG AT ARMADALE ON FRIDAY 16th October (start time 7.30, doors open 6.30) are:

SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Ryan Fisher, Michal Rajkowski, Andrew Tully, Matthew Wethers (captain), Kevin Wolbert, Aaron Summers, Kalle Katajisto.

KING'S LYNN STARS: Darcy Ward, rider replacement for Tomas Topinka, Chris Schramm, Emiliano Sanchez, Josh Auty, Linus Eklof, Jan Graversen.

THE TOP TWO: It is an incredible achievement that King's Lynn and Edinburgh have finished first and second in all four of the Premier League national team competitions.

Both sides had to lose points last winter due to the points limit, more than any other teams, but they have come back to dominate once more.

Of course King's Lynn are still on target to win all four, having won the league title and beaten Monarchs in the Premier Trophy Final.

Monarchs will be doing their utmost to prevent a clean sweep and would of course like to finish the season with two national trophies.

SECOND LEG: Monarchs will go to King's Lynn next TUESDAY 20th October for the second leg of the Premier Playoff Final.

KNOCKOUT CUP FINAL: This competition will be fought out by the same two teams and the dates are Friday 23rd October at Armadale, and Wednesday 28th October at King's Lynn.

It would have been nice to have had one of the second legs but the problem is that the Playoff Final has to be completed to allow the Promotion / Relegation match against Belle Vue to be fitted in.

If Monarchs were to win the Premier Playoffs, the provisional dates for the Belle Vue match are Saturday 24th October at Armadale and Monday 26th October at Belle Vue.

MATCH SPONSOR: Friday's Premier Playoff Final will be sponsored jointly by Kumho Tyres and Linlithgow Tyres and Exhausts, who will be joined in Armadale Hospitality by other special guests.

KING'S LYNN STARS: Darcy Ward, rider replacement for Tomas Topinka, Chris Schramm, Emiliano Sanchez, Josh Auty, Linus Eklof, Jan Graversen.

STARS TOUGH TO TOPPLE: Monarchs are going very well, but they already know just how tough King's Lynn are to beat.

Even with some injury problems, the Stars have been covering brilliantly, and undeniably they have had the better of the clashes with Monarchs this season.

They have World Under-21 Champion Darcy Ward, a sensational first season rider, who curiously hasn't had a great meeting at Armadale yet.

The Schramm / Sanchez pairing has been the foundation of their success especially on their home circuit, and although they will miss the influence of experienced captain Tomas Topinka, they have a strong rider replacement facility as well as a very effective guest in Josh Auty.

If ever a rider was born to ride Armadale, it is the talented Josh.

Of course reserve Linus Eklof, who has had a mixed season, was the key man against Monarchs in the Trophy Final.

KALLE BACK: For anyone who missed the announcements earlier in the week, 18 year old Finnish rider Kalle Katajisto returns to the Monarchs team on Friday in place of Byron Bekker. Byron had asked to be left out a week previously but had stayed on to assist the team. Kalle last rode for Monarchs in 2007.

LAST MEETING: Monarchs fought their way through to the Playoff final by beating Newcastle in a thrilling finale, featuring Golden Heats for the first time ever. The two-leg tie had ended 93-93 on aggregate and the first Golden Heat finished 3-3 thanks to a brilliant ride by Matthew Wethers to win from the back. Wolbert and Tully then took a 5-1 in the second Golden heat.

NEXT MEETING: The KO Cup Final first leg will be at Armadale on Friday 23rd October, between Monarchs and King's Lynn. Monarchs could also be at home the following day in the Promotion /Relegation match against Elite League Belle Vue, should they succeed in beating King's Lynn in the Playoff final.