szkocjasid

Harris did very well, if you told me before the match he'd score 12, I've had said that's Sheffield into the final

Could do, I think Edinburgh beat Workington by 28 & the Comets win the return leg by 32 in 2018 (wasn't the final). Must've been some meeting for the Comets fans.

Unless they both get battered.

I'll go for Sheffield 49 - 41 Belle Vue

That's so bad, it's almost hard to believe. Like you say, they need to better for Belle Vue to progress.

Douglas drops to third in the averages for October (no r/r for Fricke) so Leicester won't be wanting any postponements of the final.

Personally I would've put Holder at 5, think heats 13 & 15 will be important. Maybe Harris will prove me wrong,but it's a tough heat for him, when I'd be expecting a 5-1 from the Holders

Yeah I know that. My comment was a reply to someone saying a plus point of finals is giving riders a second chance if they've had bad luck earlier on. My thought is what's the logic of getting a second chance if you get an ef in your first heat, but not the final?

That argument could be used against any (non injured) rider. If they're good enough they should qualify & not need a wild card.

For me the best news about that, is it means there will be a NDL next season.

Retain: rising stars Replace: the play-offs (will never happen I know)

Think you're on the wrong thread for Poole's team plans. I know it started with wether Brennan would be available for Edinburgh, but this isn't the thread for who Poole may use.

I don't think Tai deserves a wild card at all. That being said I don't think it's time to retire from international racing or that he should move on. If he wants to race in the GPs, he'll just have to do something he's never managed before, get through the qualifying system. If he does that, then he deserves to be there.

Would that not make the racing closer though? Means a reserve is capable of beating 6 of the opposition team? Ideally you want the gap between the top & bottom riders as narrow as possible for close racing. So hopefully doesn't mean 4-6 point riders get dropped for new 2.00 riders. But with the likes of Pickering, Ben Cook & Brennan possibly not riding in the Champ next year, Plymouth not having a number one all season, will Schlein ride next year? Where will the heat leaders come from?

It's not the length of time between the semi finals that's my issue, I just find it daft that a riders score is decided by what another rider does in the following race! Say Lambert is 7th highest qualifier, in semi 1 he finishes 4th. If the 8th highest qualifier finishes 4th in semi 2 he'll get 10 points, otherwise he'll get 9 points. Why should Lambert's score differ based on wether Lindgren or Bewley (for example) finished last in the following heat?

Apart from wanting the GP winner to be the top scorer, which I don't agree with, but understand why people want that. There are many issues with the current scoring system. If 5 riders are tied on 6 points, why do you need to split them via countback? If someone scores a 15 point max but has an ef in the semi, do they really only deserve 9 points? The other issue is after semi 1, you don't know if the 3rd finisher is 5th or 6th, or if the 4th finisher is 7th or 8th. The world title / rostrum position / top 6 qualifiers could end up being decided by the meeting wildcard! There are far simpler ways to ensure the GP winner ends up with the most points, if that has to be done.

Rickardsson had two really bad decisions go against him, really should've won 5 world titles on the bounce.

I think Holder would be very likely to get a wild card if he doesn't qualify. But he's in a good position to make it.

I think Sheffield are favourites to go through, but at least Belle Vue have made the second leg interesting.

Not want Castagna after his best season yet?

Why should Emil riding mean one less Polish rider racing in the GPs. The wild cards don't have to be based on nationality, they could just go by ability. I'd certainly hope so.

The fact that everyone is eager to believe the story without any evidence, should be a wake up call to Jack Holder to improve his attitude & actions, after all he is a professional sportsman, representing his sponsors / clubs / country. Had this story been about Emil Sayfutdinov, I would not have believed it at all!

Surely a 6 point rider would be expected to score 7 at home & 5 away. So while 5 points wasn't a good performance how can one point off your average be "well below par" especially riding at number 5, meaning he meets Bewley & Kurtz twice?

I have no doubt that Chris Holder & Pickering is a very strong partnership & splitting them no doubt weakens the middle order, but to not split them leaves a vulnerable pairing of Harris & the reserves anyway. Guess the management have to work out what's best for them.

I don't think Harris was that bad, don't forget he's a 6 point rider, so 5 points away from home riding in the difficult number 5 position isn't a major shock. I agree he wasn't great, but average wise he wouldn't be expected to beat any Belle Vue heat leaders. In Thursday I'd certainly put Chris Holder at 5 & move Harris to a "second string" position.