GREAT LINEUP FOR THE OPEN

NEWS Wednesday 30th July 2008, 8:48pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

Elite Leaguers Joe Screen and Travis McGowan plus in-form Glasgow riders Trent Leverington and Robert Ksiezak are late additions to Friday's Keyline Scottish Open at Armadale Stadium.

So while there are unavoidable changes to the original lineup the field should not be weakened. Former winners Rory Schlein and David Howe are also major contenders while there are six home riders all looking for their first Open title.

LINEUP FOR THE KEYLINE SCOTTISH OPEN AT ARMADALE ON FRIDAY 1st AUGUST (start time 7.15, doors open 6.30) is:

ROBERT KSIEZAK (Glasgow & Australia), AARON SUMMERS (Edinburgh & Australia), MATTHEW WETHERS (Edinburgh & Australia), ANDREW TULLY (Edinburgh & Scotland), THOMAS H JONASSON (Edinburgh & Sweden), BILLY JANNIRO (Coventry & USA), TRAVIS McGOWAN (Swindon & Australia), MICHAL MAKOVSKY (Berwick & Czech Republic), TRENT LEVERINGTON (Glasgow & Australia), RYAN FISHER (Edinburgh & USA), JOE SCREEN (Belle Vue & England), DEREK SNEDDON (Edinburgh & Scotland), DAVID HOWE (Wolverhampton & England), JAMES GRIEVES (Redcar & Scotland), RORY SCHLEIN (Coventry & Australia), GEORGE STANCL (Newcastle & Czech Republic).

EARLY START: Supporters are reminded of the early start on Fridays at 7:15 to give time for the 22 heats to be completed.

Also please note increased admission to assist with the additional staging costs (7 extra heats over and above the normal 15).

Adult admission is ?16, OAPs ?12, with children at the normal level of ?5, unless under 12 and accompanied by an adult in which case they are FREE!

RORY'S RETURN: Friday's big event will be the first appearance of 23 year old Aussie Rory Schlein at Armadale since he was transferred from Monarchs to Coventry.

Rory was winner of the Scottish Open title in 2004, and as he has pointed out, ?I never lost it!?

He was a stalwart member of the 2003 league winning Monarchs' team and his results are still eagerly followed by Monarchs' fans.

He is well established as an Elite League heat leader though he has had his off nights this season.

The other former winner in the field is Wolverhampton's David Howe, a real Armadale fan favourite who was Open Champion in 2005.

BERWICK ON SATURDAY: There's another vital meeting for the Scotwaste Monarchs this Saturday when they travel to Berwick in a Premier League match.

Newcastle's Josef Franc will deputise for the injured William Lawson in Monarchs' side.

MEETING SPONSOR: Keyline Broxburn sponsor the Scottish Open for the fourth successive year. There is also a full range of heat and rider sponsors for a meeting which is very important to the club in every way.

INTERNATIONAL LINEUP: Six Australians, three Scots, two Americans, two Czechs, two English and a Swede battle for the title of Scottish Open Champion on Friday.

Injury has ruled out holder Nermark plus William Lawson and Carl Stonehewer, and it is understood also that this is why Jason Lyons has withdrawn as he feels he is only fit enough for his Birmingham commitments.

So we are delighted to welcome Elite Leaguers Screen and McGowan into the field as well as Glasgow Tigers Trent Leverington and Robert Ksiezak.

There had been some comment at the lack of representation from Monarchs' closest rivals, though of course Shane Parker was in the list of original invitees. Trent and Robert would no doubt agree that Armadale has not been their best venue in the past, but both have shown some excellent form recently and are worthy additions.

The three Scots ? Tully, Sneddon and Grieves ? will have plenty of support and it will be interesting to see if the top Premier League riders can match up against the Elite Leaguers.

LAST MEETING: Monarchs beat Redcar 55-37 in spite of losing their guest rider Carl Stonehewer through injury in heat 1. Aaron Summers top scored with 12 points.

NEXT MEETING: There are two meetings over next weekend with Mildenhall visiting on Friday 8th August followed by Workington on Monday 11th in a match to be screened live on Sky TV. Supporters attending the Mildenhall match will be given a voucher which will allow them entry to the Workington match for just ?5!