Edinburgh Monarchs
Plymouth Devils
Premier League
PP
PP
Friday 17th June 2016
Armadale Stadium

The Border Roofing Monarchs continue our quest for a hat trick of titles this Friday as we welcome the Plymouth Devils back to Armadale for the second time this season.

We of course have already seen the Devils this year having comfortably defeated them 54-36 last month in the Knockout Cup. It has to be said though that this Devils team may well be a different proposition to what we faced that night being as there is 3 changes to the team we faced that night.

The first and most noticeable change comes at the top of the Devils line-up where Charlie Gjedde decided after a handful of meetings that the Premier League was not the place for him to be and withdrew his services. The Devils utilised guest replacements for a while including when visiting Armadale last time but they have now found there man and what a signing it turned out to be as joining the Devils ranks is none other than current Australian champion Brady Kurtz. Kurtz of course was part of the successful Somerset teams of the last two years and although he is yet to find the fastest way round the Dale with a current highest score of 5 from his 3 previous visits few would be surprised if he was in the mix come Friday night.

Another Devil who missed the KO cup match was Captain Kyle Newman. Newman was suffering the after effects of a nasty injury last month but has returned to the Plymouth fold as if he was never away doing his usual steady job in the middle of the line-up. Newman is another who perhaps flatters to deceive on occasion and many feel that with the points he piles up for Poole in the Elite League he should be challenging at the top of the Premier League averages. He has maybe been a victim of his own success having settled into a lower heat leader role with Plymouth and fast track reserve spot with the aforementioned Pirates and it could be a move away from the comfy confines of these is what is required for him to take the next step in his career.

The third and final change to the Plymouth line-up comes at reserve where with Stefan Nielsen being required by his Elite League club Swindon the Devils have drafted in Swedish star Victor Palovaara. We are all aware of the current form and Armadale expertise of Palovaara who raced to paid 12 from the difficult number 2 slot when Newcastle visited 3 weeks ago this including victories over all of the Monarchs top 5. With the capability of extra rides the Newcastle man could be a very shred choice by the Devils management.

These 3 will join the 4 remaining Devils from their previous visit who will all be looking to improve on their showings. Jack Holder, Todd Kurtz, Sam Simota and Ellis Perks could only muster 16 points between them on that occasion and they will feel that more is required if the Devils are to come away with anything this time. Although it has to be said that Holder in particular will feel that his efforts deserved more than the 5 points he totalled and Perks was paid for a victory in heat 2.

Hoping to inflict a similar score line on the Devils will be our home heroes the Border Roofing Monarchs. The Monarchs continued their unbeaten League run last Friday in a tough fought encounter against Ipswich with many positives to be taken from the match. However the management obviously feel more can be wrung from the line-up as they have shuffled the deck this week. Sam as the top man remains at number 1 but it is all change in the main body of the team below him. Our newest recruit Mark Riss moves to number 2 after a promising home debut last week. If Mark can get out the gate quicker then there is no doubt he will be in the mix and anyone who stayed behind and saw him testing in the second half last week couldn’t help but be impressed by his style and fearlessness on the bike attacking the dirt round the outside. Moving into the number 3 slot is Erik. Erik had formed a formidable pairing with Sam but with the progression he is showing this year the management feel he will be better suited in the engine room of the side where he joins Ryan. The Fish being moved up to this slot to help us defend against what has been a weak heat 14 for the Monarchs this year and this also leaves Kevin at number 5 where with his current form he may well be a better option to protect our reserve pairing. No change at the reserve berths where we will look for Max and Dan to build on impressive home performances last weekend.

An intriguing battle awaits as we look to see how the changes to the Plymouth line-up impact the performance on track. We are now starting to get into the main part of the season and our Blue and Gold will be looking to maintain our home record as we push for the playoffs.

Edinburgh Border Roofing Monarchs

1- Sam Masters (Capt)

2- Mark Riss

3- Erik Riss

4- Ryan Fisher

5- Kevin Wolbert

6- Max Clegg

7- Dan Bewley

Plymouth Devils

1- Brady Kurtz

2- Todd Kurtz

3- Sam Simota

4- Kyle Newman (Capt)

5- Jack Holder

6- Victor Palovaara (Guest)

7 - Ellis Perks