heathen79 6 Posted December 10, 2011 (edited) Bekker should really be a steal on that average. He's still relatively young and has been a consistent heatleader in the NL for a few years, should is certainly capable of 8.00+ Last year was decimated by injury and the Belle Vue track probably didnt help! With the Cradley boys in his pits corner already, he'll be well backed. He's been a reliable guest for us for the last couple of seasons, coming in to replace our Number One. Now he comes in on a 6.5 average. Potentially strong team coming together nicely! Edit: James White-Williams also now confirmed on 4.53 average. Edited December 10, 2011 by heathen79 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
21st century heathen 220 Posted December 12, 2011 I remember someone saying Bekker was a steal last season on his average from the year before, but it still went down. Ditto for James. Both riders will get my full vocal support when they pull on the Heathens race jacket but I'm going to need some convincing we've signed the right riders for 2012. My challenge to both of them is to go out there and prove me wrong. -------------------------- Our side seems almost done and dusted now. The club have confirmed they'll speak to Ash and Tom when they get back from Aus. It would be a major surprise if they don't re-sign, so with the exception of nailing down which 3-pointer it will be our line up is virtually confirmed. Roynon Morris Bekker Perry White-Williams Ritchings ? I've said all along my preference would be Clegg at reserve but I expect N Stoneman. Time will tell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
villiers210 61 Posted December 12, 2011 I remember someone saying Bekker was a steal last season on his average from the year before, but it still went down. Ditto for James. Both riders will get my full vocal support when they pull on the Heathens race jacket but I'm going to need some convincing we've signed the right riders for 2012. My challenge to both of them is to go out there and prove me wrong. -------------------------- Our side seems almost done and dusted now. The club have confirmed they'll speak to Ash and Tom when they get back from Aus. It would be a major surprise if they don't re-sign, so with the exception of nailing down which 3-pointer it will be our line up is virtually confirmed. Roynon Morris Bekker Perry White-Williams Ritchings ? I've said all along my preference would be Clegg at reserve but I expect N Stoneman. Time will tell. At the end of the day, all we need is for em to improve their 2011 average, which they are both more than capable of doing. To my mind, its a far better option than signing someone like Kurtz who is indeed a top rider, but can't improve his average by that much. As far as the reserve is concerned, I expect neither Clegg or Nathan. I expect Dan Greenwood. Having said that, I've said all along that an untried 3 pointer is a bit of a lottery really. Either of them could turn out to be hopeless or brilliant. Could be interesting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trackside 0 Posted December 13, 2011 I think Bekker is a good signing.Has proved before that he can beat probally most of the heat leaders in the NL. Injuries not of his own doing last season . Got involved in some hefty races which he got the worst side of. Here's to the building of a very competitive Heathens team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigred 187 Posted December 13, 2011 At the end of the day, all we need is for em to improve their 2011 average, which they are both more than capable of doing. To my mind, its a far better option than signing someone like Kurtz who is indeed a top rider, but can't improve his average by that much. As far as the reserve is concerned, I expect neither Clegg or Nathan. I expect Dan Greenwood. Having said that, I've said all along that an untried 3 pointer is a bit of a lottery really. Either of them could turn out to be hopeless or brilliant. Could be interesting. "EXPECT" Wow......Typical british write the young ones off before they get going.I,ve seen both these kids and i would say they both have a bright future in the sport(if given the chance to learn),after all isn't that what this league is about????hopefully one day soon you'll be cheering for them.ps if my info is correct your second expectation is correct.good luck dan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
771neil 31 Posted December 13, 2011 hope we go after or get nathan stoneman and that bigred info is incorrect Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
21st century heathen 220 Posted December 13, 2011 At the end of the day, all we need is for em to improve their 2011 average... Not necessarily. The points limit is below the average number of points scored in a meeting. The team could improve its average and still be crap. Typical british write the young ones off before they get going. Hang on mate, they weren't written off. He said untried 3-pointers could be brilliant or hopeless. I can't see anything wrong with that, although we do have some youngsters coming through that have shown well at junior level. villiers remembers only too well some of the reserves we've had in the past. Heathens fans of old are scarred for life after watching some of them try to get around. hope we go after or get nathan stoneman and that bigred info is incorrect Nathan Stoneman likes Dudley Heathens and his two favourite teams are Dudley Heathens and Eastbourne Eagles. Personally I don't think he's ready for the EL yet so... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
villiers210 61 Posted December 13, 2011 "EXPECT" Wow......Typical british write the young ones off before they get going.I,ve seen both these kids and i would say they both have a bright future in the sport(if given the chance to learn),after all isn't that what this league is about????hopefully one day soon you'll be cheering for them.ps if my info is correct your second expectation is correct.good luck dan. bigred - please tell me who I have written off??? Please dont accuse me of writing any young British rider off because believe me, you couldnt be more wrong. There is nobody prouder than me of any NL rioder who makes in into the PL/EL which ever team they ride for. And furthermore, how can you accuse me of writing British youngsters off by saying I expect Dan Greenwood to be our no 7. Oh yeah - I forgot, he's well "over the hill" isn't he? Not necessarily. The points limit is below the average number of points scored in a meeting. The team could improve its average and still be crap. Apologies - I didnt explain myself very well. All I meant was that if each of our riders can substantially increase their average, I see this as the key to being a successful 2012 team, and I think that we already have the riders to be able to do that (if we sign Ash & Tom). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greyhoundp 990 Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) My prefrence would be to see Dan Greenwood given a chance, but having said that none of whom i had hoped to see sign has materialised, so maybe Dan will be 3rd time lucky, whoever it may be,good luck to them.. Edited December 13, 2011 by greyhoundp 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
villiers210 61 Posted January 5, 2012 With both Tom Perry and Ashley Morris now confirmed signings for the new season, the Heathens look to have a well balanced side with strength in depth. Just the no 7 to be confirmed now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
21st century heathen 220 Posted January 6, 2012 It's a big season for both of them as they look to push on in the NL and start to break into the PL properly. Assuming they're paired together again at 3/4 I would be looking for them to average at least 15.something between them, with Ash over 8 and Tom over 7. As harsh and blunt as it may sound less than that is not going to be good enough for us as a club or for them as riders looking to progress their careers. By all accounts the Aussie trip seems to have been a huge success, and for Tom in particular I think the extra speedway experience could be crucial. He's still done very little speedway, although an accomplished racer in other respects, and he did admit that not racing speedway in between the 2010 and 2011 season had an effect on the early part of his season last year. I, for one, am hopeful that the Aussie trip has got him well and truly hooked on speedway and that his full commitment in future will be to speedway. That's not to suggest that I think he should quit grasstrack. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greyhoundp 990 Posted January 6, 2012 Yes, a big season ahead in 2012 for Them and us, after what can best be described as a dissapointing season in 2011, for the team on the whole. Ash progressed very well, and young Darryl showed bags of potential, besides flashes of great riding from Royno, and his sometimes replacement Kyle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
771neil 31 Posted January 6, 2012 I really hope lessons we re learnt and ash and tom are not together ash is in fact second in averages so think rules state top 2 and bottom 2 have to be in there right places Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
21st century heathen 220 Posted January 6, 2012 Tom and Ash get in each other's way if they both miss it and are both trying to find a way through the traffic, though they do look quite comfortable when out front on a 5-1. As a spectator I felt there were signs of a growing understanding. Either way I'm happy to have both back. If they're not paired together I would revise my expectations slightly. Tom at 3/4 with Byron should average a little more as I feel Ash is better than him (just my opinion) so would therefore have taken more points off Tom. Ash at 5 is a tougher position so I would revise him down a bit and even a little under 8 would represent a good season for him. Royno - depends if he goes flat out up front or drops in behind his team mate so 11 with BP's is what I would expect. Basically he shouldn't drop too many points to opponents but may not have a very high average if he sits in 2nd often. JWW - I'd be happy with anything that's an improvement as I've not seen enough of him to offer any real analysis of where he should be in '12. Tom - He should have done better last year so his sub-6 start point is low in my view. He should be looking to average 7-7½ in '12 if he's going to make a real breakthrough in speedway and move up to make a career in the PL, and perhaps beyond one day. Ash - As above I think position in the team will dictate to a certain expect how much he can put on his average. He needs to be looking in the region of 8 either way. He did it in the early part of last season so the ability is there without improvement as such. He just needs to keep the bike rubber side down and put it together for the full season. I think he quite openly admits, I'm sure Neil can confirm or deny if he so chooses, that the heavy knocks affected his confidence last season. As we all know confidence is so important. Boris - I know a lot of people rate him very highly, and I certainly don't have any problem with the guy, but I just haven't seen anything that really convinces me he's going make any sort of big step up. I might be wrong, and will be happy to hold my hands up if I'm wrong, but for now I'll just say that if others improve as I hope/expect then a solid 6½ from in the middle order will suit the team just fine. We can't afford to carry him if his average drops though as I feel it would pile pressure on -----> Darryl - Fully deserved the award at the end of last season as he showed signs of good progress, battled well, lead confidently at times and was a real pain in the backside to anyone trying to hold him off. It was his first season and often the encore can be tricky, as Tom found out. So although I think that with better equipment for a full season, I believe he struggled with a few bits n bobs later in the season last year, he could make a significant step up I will keep expectations realistic. Near a point improvement to put him over 5 will be job done. Number 7 - According to the Heathens FB feed there are on-going discussions with riders so this one's open to quite some debate. Depending on who we get he could prove the difference. If we are lucky enough to get a 'wonder-kid' that can bump up his 3-point start figure significantly we're looking very very good indeed. A more 'raw' novice rider in, that's looking to just justify himself and his position in the team/league with a 3.something at the end of the year, and we may not quite have enough fire power at the bottom end. Whatever happens as long as the lads give us 100% effort and commitment they'll get the full backing of the large, relatively speaking, crowd. Give it some ommer lads. Neil - The only fixed positions are the top averaging rider at 1 and the lowest two at 6/7. We could start with Ash at number 2! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
villiers210 61 Posted January 6, 2012 Thats a fair enough assesment I'd say. In fact the only I would differ on is Byron (but you would have expected me to say that wouldn't you ). He's at home in South Africa at the moment training hard on his fitness, and has 2 new bikes to look forward to on his return. He has wanted to be part of the Dudley set up for over 2 years, and knows full well whats expected of him. I would be surprised (if he can steer clear of injury), if he doesn't end up with an 8+ at the end of the year. I must say though, that the overall line-up looks to be nicely balanced, and a match for anybody. Can't wait now!!!! 'Ommer 'Um Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
