Monarchs fall just short - but it's a season to be proud of

NEWS Wednesday 1st October 2025, 9:30am

by PR Team

  Edinburgh Monarchs

Agonisingly close. That was the story of the Stellar Monarchs' Play Off journey, as the team came within touching distance of the Final before Glasgow edged through by the narrowest of margins. Yet despite the disappointment, manager Alex Harkess believes 2025 has been one of the most positive seasons in recent years – and a campaign that has laid firm foundations for the future.

Harkess Reflects

Stellar Monarchs Team Manager Alex Harkess admitted frustration at coming so close – but also pride at how far the Monarchs came this season.

"We got close, and of course it's frustrating, yes, but at the same time it was refreshing to be there. We can think of several different things, everyone can – 'If only that was a bit different', 'If only we didn't give as many points back in the home leg and went with a bigger lead' – you could go on like that forever.

"Our hope had been that we could get to the Play Offs and hope that the team developed enough to challenge in the Play Offs. Well the team that finished top of the league managed to beat us by two points so we weren't that far away.

"If we had managed to overcome Glasgow I would have been going to the Final looking to win, make no mistake about it. I don't really see any reason to be negative about the season."

Challenges and Progress

Harkess pointed to the bumps in the road across the campaign, but praised the way the team adapted and developed.

"We had a bumpy start in that we lost a rider unexpectedly, fairly quickly, but you can say the same thing about the team at the end as you could throughout the season – if they had all performed as well as they are capable of then we would still have been in the competition.

"Unfortunately consistency was the word that I used 100 times, and it still was the problem. They are all capable of doing almost everything, but they didn't do it consistently."

The loss of skipper Paco Castagna to injury at such a crucial time was also a blow.

"Sadly we lost Paco. Would that have made a big difference in the semi final? Sadly we'll never know. Would he have earned us another couple of points? We'd like to think so but you don't know. Paco's presence can lift the team but to be fair Justin Sedgmen tried very hard to do that at Glasgow, and tried hard to keep everyone working together. He wanted to win more than anyone I think."

Looking Ahead

Despite the disappointment of missing out on the Final, Harkess sees plenty of positives for the future.

"Jordy of course was a fresh face to give us a lot of hope for the future. I thought Kye Thomson for the second half of the season turned a corner and was very good. He's proved what he can do and he's proved he has the determination to take on anybody."

And reflecting on the bigger picture, he added "Over the season we can see plenty of things that could have been better, and that's unfortunate. But overall, from a team that nobody gave any chance to at all, we weren't that far away at the end, that's for sure."

And with a rallying note to fans, Harkess concluded, "We'll use this as motivation and come back stronger next year."

British Youth Championship

Unfortunately it has not been possible to find a suitable restaging date for the rain postponed Edinburgh round of the British Youth Championship which means there will be no further racing at Armadale Stadium this season.

The club looks forward to welcoming everyone back for more action in 2026!

Belle Vue vs Academy still to go

Although the home senior season is now complete, the Stellar Monarchs Academy have one match to go, as they travel to Belle Vue on Sunday 12th October for the last National Development League match of the season. A commendable second place finish is still a real possibility.

Monarch of the Season 2025

With the Stellar Monarchs season now complete, the Club looks ahead to the upcoming awards dinner on Saturday 25th October at the Village Hotel, Edinburgh.

Tickets are on sale now priced at £60, which includes a 3-course dinner, awards ceremony and DJ until late.

Join the whole team as we round off the year in style!

Book Now