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Plymouth need their reserves to outscore the oppositions every meeting to be competitive. But if Hagon rides like he did against Oxford, gonna be a long night for the Gladiators.

Agree with all you've said

That was the downside of the "rising star" system. Newcastle dropped promising young Brit Connor Mountain because he wasn't a "RS" replaced him with Joe Alcock who was nowhere near ready, then replaced him with Archie Freeman who was even further away from being ready. Obviously he got "free practice" but did going in the Champ far too early, hinder his progress? Ideally you want riders to be NL heat leaders before stepping up.

Surprised Edinburgh didn't score more today. I rate Leicester as favourites, but Edinburgh's riders pre-season really talked up their game & had me believing in them. I'm sure Wood talked about being a number one & both Watson & Parker talked about becoming heat leaders?

I don't think so. Aside from the cost being prohibitive (who pays for it). Testing for drugs / alcohol isn't there to "catch riders out" it's there as a deterrent to stop them doing it in the first place. For example I don't get tested for drink driving every time I'm in my car at work, but I know my company could come anyday and do it. So I don't do it for two reasons 1) it's dangerous, 2) I could get caught. The same 2 reasons should are applicable for speedway riders, I'd hope like me the first reason is enough to stop them taking anything.

Worrall's average is below 8, so a 6+1 score away from home isn't so bad. He's not the rider he was when he first went to Poole. Have Glasgow fans overrated their heat leader strength I wonder?

You certainly weren't the only one. I guess he was overshadowed by Masters & Nicholls at Oxford. This is his chance to show he can be a number one.

Jack Smith? But let's not jump to conclusions before all the facts are known.

It says "no longer available" which means it was previously available. Assuming Sheffield had spent time organising the new date with the riders, officials, volunteers etc can they sue the stadium owners for going back in their word for any lost expenses?

I don't think so, if the league is the most important, why not start with league fixtures to ensure they are all done? The BSN is designed as an early season competition. Whenever league takes priority, fixtures get pushed back & we end up getting all finals raced at the end of October / November / abandoned.

He's not really had a long injury free run, perhaps that's been holding him back? At the same time, you can't expect never to get injured racing Speedway. So riders have got to learn to overcome that to make their way in the sport.

Despite clubs seemingly having very blank calendars, there's no available Saturdays for a re-staging until June 22nd when the BSN fixture could replace the scheduled league fixture. If Plymouth beat Scunthorpe in the KOC then 28th April becomes available. I can see the BSN series lasting a lot longer than last year.

With a 38 point limit, every team should look weaker at home. To me this team is stronger than if they had included Douglas, having to drop Mountain for a reserve to fit under the limit for example.

Really strengthens Middlesbrough imo, plus should help their Redcar with Mulford getting extra races.

I remember a situation, not sure how long ago, when Buster spent ages on the Lynn track to get it ready, but riders refused to race (fans already in the stadium). So perhaps he's had a change of attitude towards what sort of tracks riders will race on. I won't criticise a club for calling a meeting off early, as of they get it wrong, that's far more preferable than letting the fans on for no racing.

Why on earth would Scunthorpe want a rain-off?

I don't think the plan was for Kemp to cover Joe's 0s & 1s. Firstly Leicester probably expected more from Joe (it's early days I know) especially around Leicester. Secondly Leicester probably expected their top 5 to win the matches without needing a great contribution from the bottom two. Not that I think Leicester would make a change so early, but now Kemp's average has gone up to 4.22 possible replacements are Ben Barker (4.06) David Bellego (4.00) Kye Thomson (4.00) Claus Vissing (4.00).

When Plymouth decided to start their season a couple of weeks later, there was a discussion of how that would affect the BSN series / hold it up. But now Oxford & Scunthorpe have had postponements, with the weather looking very dodgy up in Scotland, doesn't look like Plymouth's delayed start will cause any issues.

Scunthorpe look good on paper, but not had a chance to show what they can do yet. Luke Harrison could score a few from reserve on a track he knows well.

Was working on the outskirts of Edinburgh & it was non-stop rain all day. I know Armadale is a wee bit away, but can see Friday being cancelled.

After calling off a few meetings last year when all the fans were in the stadium, you'd think Oxford would be praised for calling it off early? As they are racing in all 3 leagues, there's no way they want any postponements, so they must have been sure the track wasn't raceable.

I would wait till Lampart gets an average, then if he hasn't improved, replace him with Riss, Laguta, Zmarzlik etc (wishful thinking). That way if they want to try him in future seasons, he'll be on a better average for team building. The team total will be well below the limit anyway, so Brummies don't need to keep him on a 6.00 average to make changes.

What normally happens, is a foreigner would be signed & Brits left on the scrap heap, think we'll have to agree to disagree on the merits of the RS scheme. I honestly think it's the best thing to happen to the Prem, since it stopped being the Elite League.

I agree, Joe has outgrown the NL because they've dropped the points limit to 36.25 & stopped any of his close rivals (all above 4.00) for racing in it. Last year it suited him, this year not sure if it'll help him develop much at all?

Allen's average would be about a point above Kemp's, would've had to lose a point from the top 5 for that swap. Personally I disagree about the RS in the top league being a joke, so far Brennan, Jenkins, Flint, Hume & Mountain have all progressed with team places after being "rising stars".