Lord Lucan

Is that a reference to the weather or what we're racing for?

Yeah, dont see many "Brass" trophies around thesedays!! (reference to over polishing silver plate)

Absolutely DD, beat me to it on that suggestion. Not sure about Bellego tho, yes, does go well here but what about anywhere else, also seems to ride abroad quite a bit, Roynon, been there done that handy rider on his day but too injury prone for me? Agree about Rene, definitely needs a spell away just doesn't look happy here, Newky would be my bet for him depending on the Euro commitments for Sunday's? Ricky should be retained if possible as middle order with TJ, potentially good combo that!! You've misread Jenga's post there clambo, it's posted as "make" Wells an asset, it's not stating that he "was" .

No good fetching him to Workington then?

It was, because the straights at DP are so skinny due to the width/length of the rugby pitch? If the stadium was redesigned on the style of the old Odsal Stadium at Bradford where the bends had a natural angle in and out banking wouldn't be that much of an issue? What would help is if the Rugby club would cut out a chunk of the try scoring area on all the corners and fit artificial grass which could be laid/lifted to allow a more flowing entry and exit from the bends, it's that sharp turn round a square edge that causes the problems, it's the track layout which needs addressed rather than just shoving banking on? Think the second bend was pushed back a bit but it was always a bottle neck, remember many riders getting squeezed into the fence down there by an errant route taken by the inside rider, Mick Powell for one? I remember an incident on the first bend many years ago which resulted in an injury to a young lad in the crowd when a bike crashed over the fence and bounced up the terracing, think that was when the standing area all around the ground was pushed back by the H&S executive although it was a bit later when entry to the back straight was curtailed at the exit of bend two, though that could have been through the construction of the viewing platform for the sponsors as much as anything else!!

Yeah, can call it an early Christmas present!!

Never said they weren't, I said take the banking off altogether and get it flat?? As for the "banking has never been changed" why did Keith Denham announce that he had put "extra" banking on to help riders onto the then "narrower straights" that were around at that time, when the track was widened I felt that banking should have come back off as to me it serves no purpose at all, definitely doesn't improve the racing for me!! Agree with the bottom bit though, a tad harsh maybe but pretty much in the ball park, from what I've heard of course!!

Haven't looked at any averages for team building for next year, think I'll wait a bit for that, but my bug bear, and something I would love to see happen during the close season, is the removal of all the banking at DP and take the track back to where it was in 1999, flatter smoother and a lot more racing lines than we have now, something drastic needs to happen to get some racing back and hopefully the missing supporters? Yes, it wont be the only thing required for that to happen but, it would be a start!!

Comets, Over egged at the start, egg on face at the finish?

Absolutely, but the problem for us has been the lack of competitiveness we've shown, especially away against the top sides that has caused that apathy in the play offs? We have simply not gelled as a "team" this year through one thing and another and that constant upset with rain offs, injuries, missing riders, no meetings on good days etc has given people the easy option to write this season off? Agree with workyboy, the riders have their interest's elsewhere also, they may have better chances of success with their other commitments than they do for us so it's to be expected really, it's hard to keep performing when you know your chances of silverware with the Comets have gone for the season, what's left for us are matches that mean nothing bar fulfilling the fixture list, not much interest in those I'm afraid?

Is that why you posted it twice J to make people look? Feel your being a tad over confident about 2016 tho, we ain't done 2015 yet!!

Into first and second place judging by that score?

Is there any chance that George may have been confused into thinking that the 12th October was "this" Sunday, just a thought?

No, that ship sailed long ago, dont get many posters on here thesedays to voice an opinion one way or the other so, your probably right? Still have a fortnight to go after the Berwick matches so should have a couple of Saturday's going free, the problem will be finding one to suit Edinburgh, you guys have some fixtures to fit in? Could have argued the case to make this weekend's match another dble header and saved a few headaches into the bargain, not the best of options for sure but as you say, how many will turn up for a match that means nothing to either side, dare say it wont be good, a lot of fans have lost a lot of interest?

Wasn't good, around 400 mark maybe a little bit more, grandstand was very thinly populated?

Very much doubt it, keeping Stead at No1 another almost 9 average rider would decimate your remaining team especially if the BSPA harbour any plans to tinker with the points limit?

Top two to the semi's by right, then 3 v 6 and 4 v 5 winners to play the top two decided by league placing, winners to the final!! Agreed. +1

My point is fella is that the group would still have "some" meaning to "every" team over the course of the event not dead and buried after one week, shuffling the fixtures "would" have prevented this happening, people can't moan about meaningless fixtures/money spinners for clubs etc and then have this practice as being acceptable? Yes, Berwick/Comets have been pretty crap but at least we could have been crap a little bit longer and make Edinburgh wait for the inevitable!! Exactly, the whole point of a play off group, maintenance of interest for the paying public!! And that quote D says it all, it just takes us back to that same old argument about fixture planning and how we are in Sept/Oct and still not completed a competition from April and one from May!!

And who's fault is that?? What team elected to play home and away one week against the same team then the other team the week after with every possibility that this scenario would happen? Workington had no match last Saturday so why not give us the option of playing a match v E,boro/Berwick and split the matches up, Berwick shot their bolt and lost out so why didn't this seniority bollox get kicked into touch and E,boro, or Berwick for that matter, be made to play us therefore preserving, on paper at least, the possible chance of an upset and keep this group alive just that little bit longer and maintain some interest?

If you click that link at the bottom of Dekker's post just above to the Monarchs chatzone then click the live updates link on that page it will give you the scorers on there, that's where I looked, came through OK!!

Nothing at all up to now on Rene/Kyle, might be gossip on the unofficial forum but nowt at all on the club website, par for the course tho that now? Weather is overcast but dry, not scheduled to rain and supposed to have a splash of sunshine later on so not looking too bad at the moment!!

Just hoping for a win of any sort tonight, judging by some comments here it looks very much like Kyle is'nt fit enough to race and Rene might not be too grand either, could be quite a battered and patched up side later on, who could we get at short notice if either can't ride? Seem to be going through the motions now, not good enough and mentally too tired to be serious contenders but, if we can get a win or two from the home matches it wont look too bad on paper and will give us some cheer at least!!

Another disappointing scoreline, may have been a tad better if we hadn't lost Rene late on but apart from Wells precious little support from anywhere else? Too much too soon for Kyle judging by that performance and not the big score we were hoping for from Kev either, Simon,s looks quite a fair return but little of note from Mason and Ryan? Maybe one day we can construct a team that will take Edinburgh on up there, getting boring now!!

Jenga beat me to it!! and as far as I was aware, Kyle was only a provisional to be riding, he was bashed about a bit last week and I've never known anyone recover that quick from fractures, minor or otherwise?

Quite, the reason quoted was that the "meaningless match" was arranged "before" the vital play off match and despite our best efforts to convince the powers that be that our match was the more important, the first come first served scenario was allowed to take precedence? Strange that Doolan was allowed to ride for us in a group that is still very much alive for all parties, albeit to a certain extent, but that seems to be the way it is so if Kev can knock a few points in and a bit more effort applied than usual from the rest at Armadale I would like to think we can get a respectable result, not expecting anything much by way of points but a face saving excercise would be most welcome to at least keep us in with some sort of chance of qualifying!!