NeilWatson

5.37 left for the final rider 4.72 and 4.58 Both Lasse and Ben come in on converted 2018 CL averages, Ben’s average includes the 2.5% discount.

Two riders being announced tomorrow.

The ‘experts’ comment was a wry reference to last year’s Speedway Star ratings pre-season

British Speedway has priority on Mondays and Thursdays

The NDL AGM isn’t until the end of the month, its structure will be finalised then.

The 'Premiership Supporters Cup' will open the season, two mini-leagues of three and four Clubs.

Guest appearances don’t count towards averages.

This simply prevents a 2.xx rider being used in the Premiership but taking a 3.00 average. Assessed averages will still apply where appropriate.

Peterborough will race in 2019 We are The 2018 AGM brings the 2018 season to a close, then opens the 2019 season

It is possible under the 2018 rules to have a team of seven guests - if both 4 and 5 by average were missing riding for their DU Club!

PETERBOROUGH have been forced into a further change ahead of tonight’s re-arranged play-off semi-final at Rye House. The T.Balfe Construction Panthers have been informed they now cannot track Danish star Ulrich Ostergaard - despite being previously told they could. Ostergaard missed last Sunday’s abandoned clash with Lakeside due to illness, which carries a seven-day suspension according to SCB regulations. Panthers sought confirmation of their view that the meeting would be deemed not to have taken place, thus making Ostergaard eligible for tonight. A previous incident this season has been cited by their opponents, whose captain Richard Lawson served a seven-day suspension after missing a trip to Workington which was abandoned after two races. Panthers have secured Theo Pijper at very short notice to replace Ostergaard. Club owner Ged Rathbone said: “We did this the right way and after speaking to Ulrich to establish his fitness, we asked the question on Monday over whether he could ride tonight, and we had an email from the SCB to say ‘that’s fine.’ “Then at 8.24pm last night we received another email to say he can’t ride, and that the decision is final. “That put us in a terrible situation and after spending until midnight contacting almost every Championship rider, none of whom wanted to do it, it looked like we would have to use a National League rider tonight. “There were literally three riders we were waiting to hear back from, and we are grateful to Theo who took the booking in mid-morning and agreed to drive straight down from Scotland to ride for us. “Needless to say it’s another frustrating and expensive episode, and one which really shouldn’t have happened.”

PETERBOROUGH make what has become a familiar trip to Rye House on Wednesday for another attempt at resolving their Championship play-off semi-final. The T.Balfe Construction Panthers effectively have a second chance as they faced a 22-point aggregate deficit to Lakeside on Sunday before the meeting was prematurely brought to an end by floodlight failure at Hoddesdon. The matter was considered by the BSPA and SCB on Monday, who came to the expected conclusion that the match has to be re-staged as the Hammers were not mathematically sure of progression. The second leg scores are therefore re-set to 0-0 with Lakeside carrying the 46-44 aggregate advantage that they gained at the East of England Arena way back on October 7. Of course, Panthers still have a hefty injury list to contend with, as Scott Nicholls, Michael Palm Toft, Bradley Wilson-Dean and Tom Bacon remain on the sidelines with season-ending issues. However, Ulrich Ostergaard is set to return meaning Panthers are able to at least track three of their own riders. Panthers’ guest strategy is severely limited by rider availability at this stage of the season, so a change of plan from Sunday sees the rider-replacement facility in operation for Nicholls at No.1. Thomas Jorgensen and Carl Wilkinson line up again having competed for Panthers in the abandoned fixture, and they are joined by Newcastle’s Ashley Morris who comes into the middle-order. Co-promoter Ged Rathbone said: “I understand it’s late in the season but it does surprise me that more riders don’t want to make themselves available to guest. “Potentially they could have three additional meetings with us with a good chance to make a fair bit of money, but many of them have dismantled bikes for the winter and have equipment up for sale. “If it was me, I’d be looking at my average, looking at the teams involved and thinking I could well get some more meetings – I’d actually be ‘phoning clubs to say I was available! “We did ask about using Scunthorpe riders and that was a no-go because they have a Cup Final on Thursday which I do totally understand. “Having said that, we’ve never stopped our own riders from guesting and we’ve ended up with a run of injuries from riders getting hurt when racing for other clubs, so maybe if I was to continue in future I’d take the same view, that I need to protect my own team. “Certainly we know with the team we had for most of the season we’d be able to give Lakeside a massive battle. “However, we’re grateful to the boys who are coming in, and in Ashley we have a rider who we know well, he can gate and he can ride this sort of circuit well. “We also know that it’s very much a second opportunity and whatever happens we can’t be any worse than we were on Sunday. “We have three of our own team racing, which is an improvement, and whilst we were virtually down and out last time, it’s a new meeting and as we’ve seen several times before anything can happen.” Admission prices at Rye House on Wednesday are £10, with a free race-card for those who have re-admissions tickets from Sunday. In all other cases normal admission prices apply. The meeting starts at 7.30pm. LAKESIDE: Richard Lawson, Zach Wajtknecht, Adam Ellis, Kyle Newman, Nick Morris, Ben Morley, Alfie Bowtell. PETERBOROUGH: Scott Nicholls r/r, Emil Grondal, Ashley Morris, Thomas Jorgensen, Ulrich Ostergaard, Carl Wilkinson, Simon Lambert. ENDS

No, as he's not in a declared 1-7

Agreed, and typical of the cooperation we get from our Landlords.

Chris isn’t eligible as he’s a Glasgow rider.

I presume the OP was referring to Aarnio guesting for Scunthorpe in the KOC final second leg on Thursday, rather than the first leg tomorrow, but as he surmised that wouldn't be possible under the 8-day rule.

Congratulations to Scunthorpe on reaching the KO Cup Final. The victory parade is for the team that wins on the night, not on aggregate.

There’s a decent chip shop in Orton Wistow, next to the Tesco Express store. Rather than turn right into the Showground carry on to the next roundabout and take the second exit, the shop is on the right in about 200m.

Although a licensed Promoter at Peterborough I am, like everyone else involved in the Club, a willing volunteer. I offer my time and expertise freely, simply because of my love for the sport.

Ricky’s average doesn’t permit him to guest for Scott away from home.

It’s not that the season tickets were ‘no longer valid’ - they were priced and sold as being valid for the regular season only, which has now ended, with special concessionary pricing for additional meetings.

It’s Neil, and I’m at Peterborough!

PETERBOROUGH are re-focused and ready for the job in hand against Lakeside in the Championship play-offs on Sunday (5pm). The T.Balfe Construction Panthers had expected to be staging the second leg of their semi-final tie, but Saturday’s wet weather put paid to that with the scheduled fixture at Hoddesdon an early casualty. Panthers will now travel to Hertfordshire next Sunday (October 14, 2pm), and will be desperately keen to take a lead with them into that meeting. They have defeated Lakeside in all four of the Hammers’ previous visits to the East of England Arena this season – twice by scores of 52-38, and twice by scores of 46-44! Clearly a result of the order of the former would be far more preferable, and that depends on Panthers providing the race wins to control the in-form Hammers heat-leaders, as well as holding sway in the lower order. Scunthorpe’s Steve Worrall takes the guest booking at No.1 in place of Scott Nicholls, with Jordan Stewart in for Tom Bacon at reserve. Emil Grondal returns to the middle-order, and rider-replacement is again Panthers’ only option to cover for the injured Bradley Wilson-Dean. The Hammers’ side is far more recognisable than their team from last Sunday’s Championship Shield clash, with Zach Watjkencht back from injury whilst Lakeside regulars Ben Morley and Alfie Bowtell – who finished one-two in the National League Riders’ Championship – at reserve. It’s a massive night for Panthers as they bid to keep their title hopes alive having topped the regular-season table, and they are determined to erase the memories of Friday’s KO Cup defeat at Scunthorpe. Start-time is 5pm and Panthers fans are urged to generate a big-match atmosphere as their side looks to continue their 2018 journey. PETERBOROUGH: Steve Worrall, Bradley Wilson-Dean r/r, Emil Grondal, Ulrich Ostergaard, Michael Palm Toft, Jordan Stewart, Simon Lambert. LAKESIDE: Richard Lawson, Zach Wajtknecht, Adam Ellis, Kyle Newman, Nick Morris, Ben Morley, Alfie Bowtell. ENDS

1 If a meeting is abandoned no further track action is permitted - so that wouldn’t have been possible. 2 Miracles we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.....

PETERBOROUGH will continue to battle injury adversary when they start their biggest weekend of the season at Scunthorpe tomorrow (Friday). The T.Balfe Construction Panthers will be without both Bradley Wilson-Dean and Emil Grondal for the KO Cup semi-final first leg against the Scorpions, along with long-term casualties Scott Nicholls and Tom Bacon. Wilson-Dean has not recovered sufficiently from shoulder surgery, whilst Grondal is out with a hand injury although it is hoped he will be fit to face Lakeside in the play-off semi-final on Saturday and Sunday. Promoter Ged Rathbone explained: “Bradley’s surgery was a big success, but he has been left in rather more pain than had been expected. “We had him looked at when he came to our meeting last Sunday, and the verdict was that he’s going to need more time to recover, so we’ll keep on monitoring that over the coming days. “Emil hurt his hand when he fell in his third ride against Lakeside, and he finished the meeting in pain and went to see the paramedic at the end. “He was signed out for a few days so he misses Scunthorpe, and hopefully we’ll have him back on Saturday with Rye House being an easier track to ride.” Panthers will operate rider-replacement for Grondal on Friday with guest bookings being taken by Tero Aarnio, Theo Pijper and Drew Kemp – all of whom have proven records at Scunthorpe this season. Aarnio has racked up scores of 15+2 and 9+1 in visits for Newcastle in 2018, whilst Pijper collected 10+2 for Berwick and 16-year-old Kemp a hugely impressive 12+2 from five rides for Ipswich. The Scorpions, meanwhile, have Kyle Howarth guesting at No.1 as Josh Auty has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after a recent crash at Workington. Rathbone added: “We don’t just look at riders’ averages and select the highest one when it comes to choosing guests. “We’ve hand-picked them based on what they’ve done at Scunthorpe in the past and we’re still confident that we will do enough to still be very much in the tie prior to the second leg.” The return fixture takes place at the East of England Arena on Saturday October 13 (7pm) – whilst this weekend, attention switches to the crucial Championship play-off semi-final against Lakeside with the home match on Sunday at 5pm. SCUNTHORPE: Kyle Howarth, Stefan Nielsen, Jason Garrity, Jake Allen, Steve Worrall, Danny Phillips, Gino Manzares. PETERBOROUGH: Tero Aarnio, Emil Grondal r/r, Theo Pijper, Ulrich Ostergaard, Michael Palm Toft, Simon Lambert, Drew Kemp. ENDS