Monarchs Need To Be On Their Toes

PREVIEW Friday 23rd June 2017, 2:06pm

by Graham Muncie

  Edinburgh Monarchs

It’s take two this week as we welcome the Scunthorpe Henderson Insurance Scorpions back to Armadale in SGB Championship action.

The nature of the beast though means that this is a different looking side that will head north with only 4 of the riders that were on display back on the first night of our Championship campaign back at the start of April still in the Scorpions ranks.

This has been brought about from a myriad of injuries, bad luck and poor form and the Scorpions currently sit second bottom of the table and with half the season complete it is looking unlikely they will be in contention for the playoff places barring a massive uptick in performances.

Promoter Rob Godfrey had put together what he hoped would be a sold side with improvement in the middle order making up for a lack of top end heat leader prowess and with the makeup of the team always allowing for one strong reserve. This has not really been the case though as the middle order men have largely stagnated while bad luck as seen the Scorpions lose first Fritz Wallner then Stefan Nielsen from that reserve berth.

One man who cannot be accused of having stagnated is number 1 Michael Palm Toft. The all action Dane has put more than a point on his starting average to move up form a second string role and has performed admirably since moving to number 1. Now a long standing member of the Scorpions having first been introduced to British speedway back in 2011 Palm Toft will be looking to improve on his score of 6 from earlier in the season on a track he normally rides well.

A recent introduction but no stranger to these shore rides at number 2 in the form of Tero Aarnio. Aarnio has been a fan favourite in his spells on these shores with Berwick and Newcastle among others but this has never really translated into big pints on track. It would be fair to say he has an inconsistent record around Armadale and will be looking to improve on that tonight.

Number 3 for the Lincolnshire men is Lewis Kerr, I’m sure I write this every time I talk about Lewi but it really is a pleasure to see him fully recovered form that horrific crash at Peterborough the other year and he is building year on year and showing the skill we all know he has. A tremendous gater who has certainly had his moments at Armadale he will need to be watched out for tonight.

Joining Kerr in the middle order is Aussie Ryan Douglas. Douglas has had an inconsistent year so far missing matches due to injury and illness and it could be argued that he has been a disappointment for the Scorpions faithful. Starting the season at number 1 many hoped that going into his 5th season in the UK that he would be able to take that jump to bonafide heat leader and give the Scorpions some top end punch. That has not been the case though and in actual fact Douglas has seen his average drop by over 1.5 points to just over five and a half points.

Number 5 is the recently unretired Josh Auty. Auty it looked like could be lost to the sport after stepping down from Scunthorpe line-up but a quick change of heart sees him back in the team. A can’t miss prospect when he was a youngster it would appear that Auty may have found his level as a solid 7 point man in the second tier but he is another that on his day is more than capable of pulling a shock or two and his sensational style is always worth watching.

If I describe Josh Auty’s style as sensational then it is hard to come up for a word for senior reserve Carl Wilkinson’s. Now the elder statesmen of the Scorpions the local lad is still often worth the admission money alone with his outside swoops a thing of legend. A key man with the make-up of the Scorpions team his battles with Josh Pickering tonight could be something to behold to see which will ride wider than the other.

Ryan MacDonald guests at number 7 for the injured Josh Bailey. Although struggling for a National League slot MacDonald is picking up numerous guest bookings at Championship level due to the scarcity of 2 point reserves and this experience is doing him the world of good as he looks to progress in the sport.

Onto the home men and the home debut of recent signing Theo Pijper. Well it may be a stretch to call it a debut given Theo’s history with the club but none the less it is nice to see him back and he will be looking to put his name in the shop window with some strong performances before the return from injury of Mark.

Beyond that it is as you were for the Parsons Peebles Monarchs as we go looking for a further 3 points to stretch our lead at the top of the table back to 6.

While this may be seen by some as easier fixture than we have faced over the last couple of weeks the Scorpions can certainly not be taken for granted and with entertainers such as Palm Toft, Auty and Wilkinson in the side some cracking racing no doubt lies ahead. You all know there is only one place to witness it and that is trackside. See you there!

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