SIX MATCHES IN EIGHT DAYS!

NEWS Wednesday 1st August 2012, 10:57am

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

The Scotwaste Monarchs are heading into their busiest spell of the season starting with the visit of the Rye House Rockets to Armadale on Friday.

Monarchs then go on tour with away matches at Leicester (Sunday), Somerset (Wednesday) and Sheffield (Thursday) before returning to Armadale for two matches intwo days against Somerset (Friday 10th) and Newcastle (Saturday 11th). The riders invariably prefer being busy but they will need to stay clear of any mechanical or physical problems if they are to get the kind of results to boost their league placing.

TEAMS FOR THE PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH AT ARMADALE ON FRIDAY 3rd August (start time 7.30, doors open 6.30) are:

SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Craig Cook, Derek Sneddon, Theo Pijper, Matthew Wethers (capt.), Andrew Tully, Jozsef Tabaka, Marcel Helfer.

RYE HOUSE ROCKETS: Charlie Gjedde, rider replacement for Luke Bowen, Anders Mellgren, Ritchie Hawkins, Jordan Frampton, Jason Garrity, Jason Bunyan (capt.).

TABAKA RETURNS: As already announced, Hungarian Jozsef Tabaka returns to the Monarchs' team on Friday for the first time till 2010.

Because of previous commitments Jozsef will miss away matches at Leicester and Newcastle but otherwise should give Monarchs a boost from the reserve berth, once he settles back in.

FIXTURES: The updated list of Armadale fixtures appears below, with Redcar now agreeing to be part of a double header on the 31st.

Friday 3rd August v Rye House (PL)

Friday 10th August v Somerset (PL)

Saturday 11th August v Newcastle (PL – 7pm)

Friday 17th August Stormy Wethers Testimonial (season tickets not applicable)

Friday 24th August no meeting (Premier Pairs day)

Friday 31st August Scunthorpe (PL) / Redcar (PL)

Friday 7th September Ipswich (PL)

Friday 14th September Glasgow (PL)

Friday 21st September Leicester (PL)

Monarchs will travel to Rye House on Saturday 22nd September.

COOK SUCCESS: Congratulations to Craig Cook for his ten point score in the British Final on Monday, and his subsequent selection to race for Great Britain against Australia in the Test Match at Poole on Wednesday.

ADMISSIONS NEXT WEEKEND: Supporters will be offered reduced admission to the Saturday 11th August fixture against Newcastle.

Supporters attending on Friday will be able to come to our Saturday night match (7.00pm start) and present their readmission ticket to gain entry for £10 for adults, seniors, students and children 16 to 18. For children from 12 to 15 with a readmission ticket the price will be £2 and under 12s will be free.

For those who do not present a Friday readmission ticket on the Saturday the price will be £12 for adults, seniors, students and children 16 to 18. For children 12 to 15 it will be £4 and for under 12s £1.

GARRITY BOOST: Rockets are a solid side, and in spite of a poor performance a Armadale in the KO Cup in May they should go well on the small circuit.

One key man could be Jason Garrity, who amazingly recently scored a 15-point maximum against Glasgow from reserve, in spite of a thumb injury which had threatened to put him out for the season.

Due to this injury he was not initially programmed for the Rockets this weekend, but now he has been included, though it is still not 100% certain that he will ride. This depends on talks with a specialist this week.

He has already done well at Armadale, not on Rockets previous visit but with Leicester last season.

Charlie Gjedde is another who should do better than on his last visit, and the Rockets seem to have potential high scorers throughout the side. It could be a tough start to Monarchs' crucial run of matches.

LAST MEETING: Monarchs defeated Plymouth 55-41 last Friday in spite of the double threat of Barker and Fisher. Top scorer was Craig Cook with 12 points.

NEXT MEETING: The Scotwaste Monarchs have two home matches next week, against Somerset (Friday 10th) and Newcastle (Saturday 11th).

Full Result Details