dontforgetthefueltapsbruv

The 'blue groove' on Good Friday appeared at about heat 4 and there was very little outside it worth trying to use. On Monday it didnt appear til about heat 12 and there was a definate outside option used to good effect on a number of occaisions. That was the difference IMO. I think Mondays track prep was as good as is possible given the conditions.

I had to rush off - anything of any real substance come up?

One that both sides will feel they shouldve won. Track held up pretty well and there was genuine racing/passing. For an afternoon meeting it was decent and certainly tension filled. Quite how Rohan was disqualified from the original attempt of Heat 15 I dont know. When the red lights came on he was closest of all 4 to the tapes and ready to go! If the 2 minutes was up as he was still coasting round after his initial problems then why didnt the light and klaxon cone on? Best wishes to Schrammy and Ton Perry. I think you missed a smiley off this Beerhut. It should replace the question mark. Im sure no one will be more gutted than Richie.

Mountains out of mole hills from some on this one IMO. Yes I agree a new draft selection needed to be made immediately. The thing is it seems it was but this rider got injured. If that is the case then Id say a guest for a couple of meetings rather than a permanent signing is perfectly reasonable. Time to have it sorted now though and seems it will be by tomorrow.

Even hotter than Good Friday. Just done the track walk. Seems lots of material on it and well watered. Bob still working hard. Fingers crossed.

whats your printing deadline? wink

In this case what would the alternative be? If a team doesnt qualify for a facility they have to go with a NL rider - thats exactly the same in this instance. Are you suggesting Poole should be forced to go with 6 riders and their No6 be limited to prigrammed rides only?

and Channel 521 or 522(hd) if you have Virgin.

sounds like a metaphor for team changes! No garden centre trip neede for the Witches despite recent issues IMO.

you make it sound all jetset - admit it you were bumming around with a rucksack and a sleeping bag werent you!! wink

Berwick havent been penalised by the decision to allow Sheffield a facilty. Denied the chance to take advantage of a weakened side maybe but I would say that is different to being penalised. Every side should expect to take on full strength opposition.

Or they could be thinking its the best time against a team that could be low on confidence and knowing that they capitulated in their last day meeting. The meeting therefore may be won or lost in the heads of the teams as much as any other factor IMO. For the Witches I think this has dual importance. The result is important to steady the ship so to speak. Another defeat could see a downward spiral set in. The spectacle is also important in respect of crowd levels for the rest of the season. As with any Bank Holiday meeting it attracts those 'part timers' and families that also may attend during the high summer and school holiday weeks. Another blue groove borefest like Good Friday will significantly reduce how many return. I think it will be close but its time to be positive - Witches by 4.

Perhaps you could reproduce the bit about timescales for team line up notifications and protests. IF Sheff were only told of the decision to reverse the facility for Proctor 20 mins before the start this is outside the regulatory timescales. The final decision to allow r/r for Roynon was therefore probably a compromise due to both clubs technically being on the right side of the regulations!

The home team has to declare its side at least 5 days before the meeting and the away side respond with their declaration at least 3 days. Therefore when Sheff declared their original side it wouldve been before the call off on Thursday where Proctor was expected to debut. The written confirmation originally given wouldve assumed this. Once the debut didnt happen its is down to the opposition to protest which Berwick did and permission for a facility fir Proctor was withdrawn. Whether a facility for Roynon shouldve been allowed is a different matter and is likely to be diwn to whether the redeclaration was deemed to have taken place given the Thursday cancellation. Whatever the right answer is once the line ups have been ratified the decision is final - you can no longer ride under protest re a team line up - it has to be resolved before the meeting. (regulation change this year)

you can no longer ride under protest about a team line up. Regulations have been amended for this year. Any protest has to be before the meeting and the official decision nade re elligibilty is final.

Good effort from Adam. Done as well as couldve been expected.

I think the regulations have been altered this year A protest re a team line up has to be made and heard before the meeting. Once a team has been declared legal and the meeting starts no further protest can be made even if the decision us wrong.

The line was drawn at about the 6 point mark for PL average. (Kerr 6.09) Newman and Garrity were under whilst Auty and Birks were above (approx 7) The line had to go somewhere - whether it was in the right place is the question.

Thanks for that.

Somerset by 10.

Very few if any of the Witches fans on here were claiming this sude woukd be a title winning side befire a wheel was turned. Most were hoping for a play off spot (5-6) and on results so far I would say thats still about where we are. The most worrying thing for me is that we didnt seem capable of making the changes whether that be set up or approach to make the slightest difference to be more competitive let alone affect the score in any significant way. One very small positive in the comments from Rebels fans was they picked out Cam as one that did get into the mix a bit at the end. Perhaps having his Dad around will help him get his head right and get back to his true capabilities.

'Mon the Tigers!! wink

I take it you are standing up otherwise you wouldnt be able to make such a comment. We have a perfectly good No1. A bad night tonight but that was the same all round.

What is the track length and what is the shape like?