Edinburgh Monarchs v Sheffield Tigers

PREVIEW Friday 5th September 2014, 12:00pm

by Gordon Fraser

  Edinburgh Monarchs

This week's match has been a long time coming because the Sheffield Window Centre Tigers were first due to visit Armadale on April 25th in what would have been Monarchs' first Premier League fixture of the season - until the weather intervened.

The Tigers may be propping up the table at the moment but their new management and completely different 2014 side are beginning to gel and they have three riders who didn't appear in their colours in the League Cup fixture here in June, having made a two-rider mid-season switch.

They are led by the returning local Sheffield hero, Simon Stead who is still a youthful-looking 31-year-old and enjoying life back in the Premier League. He should prove an excellent foil for Edinburgh's superb No.1, Craig Cook who has been working really hard on getting away from the starts quicker.

Tigers use rider replacement at No.2 to cover for the injured Andre Compton. Monarchs track Justin Sedgmen who has made the No.2 position his own since his promotion from reserve and whose fine form has been earning him several guest appearances recently.

Always a popular visitor at No.3 is a rider still going strong after 20 years in the sport, Leigh Lanham who has moved to the Tigers from his home-town side, Ipswich. His match-up with Max Fricke should be another benchmark of how the Monarchs young Australian is continuing his rapid progress.

Another former Ipswich rider makes his appearance at No.4 for the Tigers, Taylor Poole, a talented young Australian rider rebuilding his UK career after a year out in 2013. His opposite number, points machine Steve Worrall will no doubt be just as unphased by the calibre of his opponents as usual.

At No.5, Monarchs fans will get the first chance to see the exciting 26-year-old Argentinian flyer, Nico Covatti who unfortunately lost his Elite League place with the demise of Birmingham. Lurking on the opposite side of the pits will be Sam Masters who has been showing scintillating Armadale form in recent weeks.

Ben Wilson has returned as a very useful reserve to his home-town Sheffield side for whom he first appeared at Conference League level in 2001 as a 15-year-old and later partnered Sean Wilson. His match-up with Monarchs' Californian, Aaron Fox will be another intriguing and very telling one.

Sheffield's No.7 is yet another local lad, 17-year-old Josh Bates who, like Aaron Fox, is on a fast learning curve in his first season of Premier League speedway. He will face the hugely determined Monarchs' captain, Derek Sneddon who will be keen to find his best form for the sharp end of the season.

Big track Sheffield have traditionally found the much tighter Scotwaste Arena to be a struggle but this time around they have a very experienced heat leader trio in Simon Stead, Nico Covatti and Leigh Lanham combined with potential improvers Taylor Poole, Josh Bates and Ben Wilson.

Monarchs are desperate to get as many matches under their belts as possible before the Play-Off cut-off date and would count this match as a great chance to add another three points to their tally as they chase one of the top two spots. Can they do it without any slip-ups or mishaps? Take your place on the terraces to find out. Tapes up 7.30 sharp.

Likely line-ups:

EDINBURGH SCOTWASTE MONARCHS; Craig Cook, Justin Sedgmen, Max Fricke, Stevie Worrall, Sam Masters, Aaron Fox, Derek Sneddon (capt.)

SHEFFIELD WINDOW CENTRE TIGERS: Simon Stead, rider replacement for Andre Compton, Leigh Lanham, Taylor Poole, Nico Covatti, Ben Wilson, Josh Bates.

Full Result Details