Monarchs Go Down By 12 At Ashfield

The Stellar Monarchs battled hard but ultimately for naught going down by 12 losing out on the aggregate bonus point also at Ashfield on Sunday evening.

The Monarchs were competitive throughout and were only 4 down after heat 8 but back to back maximums for the home men in the next two took the match away with Monarchs manager Alex Harkess saying after

'It's a shame really we just didn't have enough at the bottom end. Early doors I thought we were in it but the longer it went in the more we drifted away from it. Gating became more and more important and we weren't gating consistently so it's disappointing.'

The Meeting started with a bang as Josh Pickering and Chris Harris traded positions multiple times before the Monarchs captain pulled ahead.

The Tigers took a lead they never relinquished in heat 2 as Lee Complin took the win after a lap 2 mistake from Jacob Hook who had done well to round the field.

It was nip and tuck from there with some excellent races in the early stages before the track slickened off as the meeting progressed, it has to be said though this due to forecast rain that was starting by the time the meeting was complete.

Heat 4 was undoubtedly race of the night as Kye Thomson made the gate for the Monarchs only to be stalked and passed by an excellent cut back off the second bend by Tigers Ben Basso, Thomson repeating the favour on bends 3 and 4 before Basso made the move stick on the last corner.

The turning point of the meeting would come in heat 9 as with the score at 26-22 in the Tigers favour Craig Cook squared off for the Monarchs against the powerful Danish duo of Basso and Claus Vissing.

The Tigers gated best with Cook trying to squeeze into 2nd ahead of Basso, the Tiger would charge hard under Cook entering the 3rd bend of lap 2 and when Cook tried the inside pass again on the next corner he drifted out bringing down the home men.

The resulting disqualification for Cook wasn't argued by many but Basso still had words to say to Cook as he came back round.

The resulting 5-1 in the re-run was matched in heat 10 and with the lead now 12 for the Tigers the only thing to race for was the bonus point.

The Monarchs gave themselves hope as Cook was brought in as a tactical substitute in heat 12 promptly recording a maximum with Kye Thomson but the match was over after a heat 145-1 by home pair Vissing and Lee Complin put the score beyond doubt.

The Monarchs will now look to home and away fixtures against Berwick in 2 weekends time knowing more than likely victory in both is required to progress in the BSN Shield.

Derby Day On The Road

The Stellar Monarchs are on the road for the first time this season on Sunday as we make the short trip west to take on Glasgow in the BSN series.

Positives will have been taken for both sides from the Monarchs 48-42 victory at Armadale on Friday night and this being the return tie the aggregate bonus point is up for grabs also.

The formula for that is fairly simple a 5 point defeat or better means the extra point heads east a 7 point plus home win and it's 3 points on the day for the Tigers. A repeat of Friday's score and it's a run-off.

It has been made clear though that chasing bonus points will not be the target this year and certainly giving his comments after the match on Friday Monarchs captain Josh Pickering believes his side can come out on top.

For that to happen then the Monarchs will need a team effort akin to Friday night where 5 of the 7 took the checkered flag at least once, star of the show undoubtedly being returnee Craig Cook who took 4 wins in his 14 point haul.

A repeat of this would go a long way to helping the Monarchs achieve their goal but the Tigers look to have built a side that will make Ashfield a fortress once again.

Chris Harris showed he is still at his very best on Friday night while again there were moments to savior for each of Cami Brown's septet. With each of the top 5 also taking a win or paid win while Ace Pijper recorded his first point at this level.

The Tigers had the best home record in the division last year and despite 5 changes from then would appear as strong with the re-introduction of Claus Vissing and Marcin Nowak on averages well below their previous Ashfield figures. While Tom Brennan and Ben Basso look to continue their upward trajectory.

So, an intriguing battle lies ahead with tapes due to fly at 5pm, live updates available on the Monarchs official website.

Stellar Monarchs : Josh Pickering, Lasse Fredriksen, Kye Thomson, Paco Castagna, Craig Cook, Kyle Bickley, Jacob Hook

Allied Vehicle Tigers : Chris Harris, Marcin Nowak, Ben Basso, Claus Vissing, Tom Brennan, Lee Complin, Ace Pijper