Hunters

I take your point, particularly as Charley has had to have Tom as his partner every heat 2 and has met Jenkins 4 times. In a couple of weeks when the 'stars' move into the 1 to 5 he should score even more. He has speed and I don't question his effort and courage, what does concern me is the way he often struggles to keep control. Every time I see him I wonder if he is going to wobble which does my nerves no good at all.

Very surprised if Jake Knight doesn't return to Eastbourne next few days. Somebody has to make way so snap up Connor Coles. May not be too much clash as he is struggling at Newcastle.

Thanks for that. I had looked for 89 in the youth championships without success but I see he uses No 12 in the 125cc class. Probably has two bikes as there is no 150cc champ this year .

Does anyone know the name of the lad that had No 89 on his bike before and after the meeting. He looked very promising, slowed a little approaching turns 1 & 3 then opened up and went full bore round the bend, pretty fast and stylish. The bike sounded more like 250cc than 150cc. It was obvious from his size that he was young but when he took his helmet off I was surprised to see he looked like 6 or 7. Definitely one to watch for the future. We seem to be bringing a lot of these lads on.

If they don't do it by the 20th of the month, new averages will kick in and with Brennan in the 8's or 9's it will be impossible to make the change. A re declaration other than like for like has to be at 39 points whilst we are already on 47, due of course to Tom. It has to be now or never while tom is still 3.

After last night's performance Coles has got to go. Watching Jake Knight go around after the match makes you realise just what we are missing. I noticed Georgie Wood doing the victory lap around the Stock Car track and watching Jake intently. I have little doubt the switch will happen in the next few days but who else goes? It can only be Kelsey which might explain his attitude last night. The problem is that only leaves Charley and a 3 pointer at reserve. Charley is not looking very good at present and I would have preferred Kelsey at reserve but he is just .02 over the remaining limit. A difficult situation but we must bite the bullet and get rid of Coles if we are to make that top four.

Mildenhall used Jenkins at every possible opportunity and had seven rides from him which they should do but Connor Dugard had three such opportunities to use Tom Brennan and used none of them. Brennan had Jenkins beat on the night 3-1, what a difference it would have made if they had used him in the same manner. I was amazed when Coles broke the tapes and Powell got the ride instead of Brennan. The only excuse I could think of was that a re declaration was imminent with Kelsey and Charley having a last chance to see who survived and Connor wishing to give Charley a fair chance. When I checked the averages though this cannot be so because Jake Knight +3.00 instead of Coles + Powell makes a total of 39.02 so near yet so far.

Well done Lakeside, Perhaps Belle Vue will not be as dominant as a lot of us we thought.

Seems strange! If he has broken bones in both hands how can he control a bike? In any case surely they should rest him for the next 3 meetings when Tom can stand in. Kelsey could then come back much fitter at reserve at the end of May.

Cannot see the Eagles losing this one. Armstrong struggled for Cradley last week and Halsey does not go well although he did do much better last time. Mountain will be in some good races. Will be some interesting battles between Brennan and Jenkins but Home track knowledge should help.The other three may have problems with Bates and Powell plus Brennan probably 7 rides.

I would not want to do that but in any case on the present scores Kelsey and Mattie are both reserves. Charley would be No 2. It should be r/r next two matches and then review injury before Stoke match. If short term give Nial Strudwick a few meetings if thought longer than re declare, Who to drop and who to bring in is a different question.

I did not know he had ever ridden there.

An away win on paper and form but it was a graveyard for the eagles in 2015 probably because of the difference in tracks. Last year was rained off and never re arranged whilst the Cup leg was forfeited because the Stars were too far behind so we only have the one visit to measure by. Think the large track will suit Tom Brennan who is fast and likes to wind it on so with a potential 7 rides should Kelsey be r/r he could well win the match for us. It may not have registered with all fans yet but it looks almost certain that in the return match at Arlington on May 20th Tom will swap the No 7 Race Jacket for No 1.Has that happened before after only 4 league matches? His current GSA equivalent is 10.00, well clear of Coles (7.5) and Wood (7.0)and his last 2 matches before GSA change is this one and home to Stoke so I don't see a lot of change.

With r/r for Zach the result looks a foregone conclusion. That is the problem with top heavy teams if your No 5 is a double upper. You can have a guest for no 1 but not for 2-5 unless there are two missing unless I am very much mistaken. You will get an extra ride from your No 1 but the other three rides should cost dearly. If Zach had been missing on Good Friday they would have lost by about 30 at Arlington and 40 on aggregate. Having now seen both sides I expect Cradley to win by 24

Your attitude on this beggars belief. The original thinking was a development league but it has turned into the third division with the new clubs that have come in. Ten now are independent and need to get some success, not necessarily in development but in close racing and results because that is what keeps crowds coming back. If they disappear there will be no opportunity for these young riders. I haven't noticed a rush by a dozen of the so called 'senior clubs' to form a colts league for development of their own youngsters. No, That would cost money better spent on opportunities for foreign riders,They would rather let others do it so they can sign the ones that make the grade and of course they also don't let NL clubs have Assets so they can get Loan Fees to help defray their costs. What did your Swindon do to develop BWD and Zach? they wouldn't even think of thanking Eastbourne and Birmingham let alone pay a transfer fee. The NL needs a Mike Parker to break with the BSPA and run their own show. The point gee jay was making is that if you were right how come The Sprockets team has been put together with the likes of Dan Greenwood on a bargain average who is not, as you put it, part of your future. Surely they should be giving opportunity to 7 of their own second halve riders, after all winning doesn't matter does it.

I understand your sentiments but I still think they can both reach the play offs. There looks a decent gap between the top 5 (B V, Mild, Bir, CH & East) and the rest. There are bound to be tough times when they meet each other. As regards actually winning either League or Cup I agree, No Chance! Keep the faith.

The long awaited appearance of the League favourites. Could also be their hardest home match of the season.

Does'nt Danny Ayres move up to No1? or does the guest have to ride the same position as the man he replaces?

I tend to think this will be a comfortable home win. I presume Kelsey is r/r and Brennan will have a field day with 7 rides. I cannot believe Luke Harris will be much different to last year and rates behind Charley Powell so the Heathens bottom 4 look vulnerable. Armstrong looks good when he gates but otherwise struggles around Arlington. Danny Ayres is an enigma, guested here a lot but rolling starts,tape incidents & falls mixed in with some terrific rides. Dan Greenwood struggled last year to overcome his 2015 injury, hence his average drop and I think he still needs time to get his old form back.

With a very weak Plymouth and IOW I just hope Swindon fans don't get the wrong impression of NL racing. The side they have selected from the other 7 teams makes them too strong for both the others. They could see a decent match though against Mildenhall in the final.

What a terrible performance. This is probably the worst result I have seen from them, who are they going to drop for Jake Knight? Three heat wins all from Tom Brennan says it all. The Fen Tigers must have ridden their hearts out because I would not believe Eastbourne can be that bad.

Fully agree! Even the Elite League title went to the second best team because of this. (Reading v Peterborough) We should also scrap play offs, to use your analogy, imagine the ridicule if Chelsea and Spurs have to play off with two others no matter what the results are next week or so. I think this was all down to Sky and I cancelled my Sports Subscriptions 3 years ago although I have to admit this was largely due to wanting to be shot of Pearson and his manic Woofy Woofy nonsense

Glad to see Mattie is Ok, hope there are no after effects. JPB strengthens the side and we have a good chance of winning a really tight match. What can we do about Charley? I believe you can only replace a reserve with an unattached 3 pointer. It would make sense to go with 6 riders and forfeit one ride in heat two whilst giving Tom Brennan 7 rides.