heathen79

Agree with those comments from HalifaxTiger. Very difficult track to pass on. Heathens riders have been terrible at gating all season but mastered the art of coming from the back brilliantly for such a young bunch of lads. You could see Micky Dyer, Ashley Morris & Tom Perry in particular all trying to battle from the back and just not getting anywhere. Great that the promotion can keep the club going and it's a stunning location, but the racing does leave a lot to be desired in my opinion too.

Ashley Morris had a slow start to the season but I bet his average over the latter half is pretty impressive and he has come on really strong. However, Tom Perry - wow, for a rider (like Worrall & Birks) who had hardly ridden a speedway meeting, his style, skill, ability, entertainment and progress have been fantastic. From an assessed 3.00 average to something like 7.50. Most Improved Rider for me. Elsewhere, great progress from Nick Morris who would have to be another contender.

Kings Lynn v Buxton means something to the visitors. And to Heathens fans too!

As far as local press coverage goes, I echo all of the above. Fantastic coverage in the Express & Star, one of the biggest local evening papers in the country. And BBC Radio WM carries live updates from all meetings, sometimes even live commentary. Some local TV coverage at the start of the season, and possibly to come at the end too. Great stuff from those involved. Very professional job done by all concerned at Dudley Press Office too, as you would expect with the experience of Nigel Pearson & Andy Povey. As for the Council, I think the presence of the Heathens on track, the support, coverage, results etc have all given another edge to discussions. At the end of the day, we either get back on our own track in the local area or we don't and the only true success is that black and white. A slight improvement or softening of attitude is neither here nor there. Still, the options continue to be explored and the ammunition is certainly greater given the success of 2010 on and off track.

Big win. Done. Top of the league. Sorted.

No excuse intended mate. I fully accept we were beaten by a better team. We were outridden and Buxton deserved to win by more - we got off lightly. Any issues regarding the track were the same for both teams and Buxton coped better. However, I stand by the fact that of all the meetings I've attended this season, the racing was poor by comparison. I took a mate with me who I picked up en route in Derby. A big sports fan (and BBC radio presenter/producer) who has only been to one or two speedway meetings. For all of my efforts in waxing lyrical about the entertainment, this one didnt quite live up to previous standards for me, and it wasn't just the result. The track cut up terribly. Riders couldn't get round the bend in some cases and the riders were more spread out than usual throughout many races.

We already brought you your biggest crowd ever just to watch Club CH in a challenge match didn't we I do hope plenty of Heathens fans still make these trips to end the season on a high. You're right though, it is a test given that it's a restaging, it's in October and it's two consecutive weeks. I intend to be there for both though. Scores to be settled on the track! Hope the weather is as kind as can be on Axe Moor at this time of year

Thanks for letting us know on here Jayne. I had sent a message to that Hitmen Text Service this morning as we tried to make the call whether to set off or not. Still not had anything through on there??

How do the Heathens crowds at Perry Barr compare to those for the Brummies' PL matches?

Forecast does not look good. Light rain, turning heavier. Coach due to be travelling from Cradley Heath. So Bethell and Dallaway both riding then? Who can take Morris's R/R riders?

Agree with this. We were lucky to stay so close, only due to Buxton's R/R and the injury early on to Dallaway. On this point, I dont know what the other Heathens fans thought, but my opinion is that the actual racing in this meeting was probably the worst I've seen all season. With a few riders unable to handle the heavy track, it contributed to too many races being spread out affairs. Maybe my standards are pretty high now after some wonderfully entertaining action all year. So looking ahead to the Second Leg, it's a shame it's not as finely balanced as I'd have hoped. Around a 6 point lead for the Heathens would have made for a very tight affair. Psychologically, our boys have a huge task now and will need their best away performance of the year to go and win there. Working on a round target figure of 50 points, then I'd say we need to be looking for something like these kind of scores from our 1-7. Some might perform above their average and some below of course, but let's hope they're all up for it. Smart 10, Dyer 7, Perry 7, Anderson 8, Evans 8, Morris 6, Franklin 4

I am hoping the Heathens can manage a lead of at least 12 points to defend at Buxton on Sunday. The Hitmen will be strong at home against our youngsters, but I think we can take them over two legs. Would have been nice to get someone else in the playoffs, especially as a win against Weymouth next week will see us top the league by my reckoning. Still, Buxton's not far so at least we can take some big numbers on the terraces. Whats the biggest crowd at Buxton, anyone?

Fair point on the Weymouth fixture folks! The point made by 21stCH about all the fixtures being completed before the playoffs commence but not actually counting has just struck me too. So we might beat Weymouth and finish top of the league but wont have got first semifinal pick. Worse still, whoever finishes 5th will miss out on the playoffs, then might move into fourth place before the playoffs are run, and have to sit and watch the team below them in the table compete to win the league!

So to recap on the race for first, Dudley have set the target at 42 and gone above Buxton. Do the Hitmen have no more matches before the cut-off then? If not, it's just down to Newport in their two away matches, who can reach 45 with two big wins? Or even the sufficient total of 43 with two narrow victories!? I use the question marks because I just never feel sure of the rules any more! If Heathens top the league, it seems the bext choice of opponents for us to beat would be those with the furthest distance for us to travel to! Even if Play-Offs are 'scheduled' next week though, there is no way that we can fit our semi-final in until October at the earliest as we have the KOC semi final next week, the pointless league match against Weymouth the following week (does that even need to be run now, with what will surely be a much lower than average crowd??) and then the Golden Hammer on the 28th September.

Newport press office weren't counting on the Heathens big win on Tuesday night then

Correct - even though this one was rained off in June, the rearranged date has been squeezed in at the beginning of September. However, Rye House v Plymouth is listed on the BSPA site for later in the month (25th September). And as the teams in 5th and 6th place at the moment, it could easily have a bearing on the final play-off place.

No, this was not the case at all and there were other riders in the frame. Everything has clicked into place though and Smarty has been brilliant. Thoroughly deserves his place back in the PL at Stoke.

I am terrible at estimating those kind of figures. Certainly in excess of 100 I'd say but not necessarily 'way out'. Best view I had was watching Heat 15 from the 3rd/4th bend (as I was trying to beat the rush out of the car park to catch a ferry back to the IoW). When Jake and Lee went round on their back wheels to celebrate the 5-1, it looked like the whole of the Grandstand were on their feet, chanting 'Heathens, Heathens...' - just wish I had captured it on video or at least taken a pic.

Hi all, A few belated comments from this meeting as I stayed on the Isle of Wight until the weekend and am just catching up. The TRACK - it was slick as a necessity due to the time constraints. Don't know what the track is normally like at Poole, but it seemed fine in the Elite League meeting; there just wasn't time to grade in the NL meeting which was a real shame. The TIMING of the meeting was interesting. I have never seen a meeting rushed through at a pace such as this and at 9:20pm when we were just starting, I was convinced that we would not get to Heat 15. I thought at best a result would be called after 12 heats, so credit for it to be completed, but it just didn't do the teams or the league any kind of justice. I feel sorry for the poster above, who only saw the first four heats as that was so far away from what we have experienced of the National League so far this year. The HEATHENS TEAM deserve praise for digging deep and snatching a point. Lee Smart has shown such mature and intelligent riding in the last few weeks, I can't praise him enough. He seems revitalised and is proving an awesome captain as well as an out and out number one. Ashley Morris had one fantastic ride and a few other good ones, adding up to a quality performance. Micky Dyer also did a job on his first visit. Jake Anderson took a couple of rides to size up the track and then showed real quality in his last two rides to earn us the point. Barrie Evans contributed far less than what Jon Armstrong would havem and even less than what James Sarjeant could have done if he was on our team instead! But fair play to Barrie for his comments after last nights meeting at Monmore where he apologised to the fans for his performance and did cite some ignition problems too. Richard Franklin struggled but by and large has done a good job for us this season in my opinion, hard to believe he had to drop to reserve in fact! Tom Perry has been our rider of the season, but it just wasn't his night and he perhaps wasn't in the right frame of mind as well as the track not suiting him. Regarding his previous experience, I believe he said something like he had about an hours total experience on a speedway bike before this season, so he had enjoyed a brief ride or two. The incident referred to in Heat 3 was exactly as described above. I never even filled in my programme as I kept expecting a correction to be issued. Tom should certainly have had that point after laying down the bike when Jake fell. The only defence for the ref is that Tom ended up sliding on the track past Jake and therefore may have looked like the rider in front. Wrong decision though. Finally, the wonderful HEATHENS FANS - what a turn out all the way down at Poole (and Isle of Wight) on a midweek match. I just wish the home tracks would wake up to the fact that we're bringing a big following. After queuing in traffic for half an hour to reach the stadium, the car park was full and programmes had sold out. Many fans didn't get a programme and lots of Heathens fans are quite avid collectors, so this was a real inconvenience and disappointment.

Just wondering about the guest rule in relation to this match. I understood that guests were only allowed for your Number 1 rider, but Rye House called up both Ricky Scarboro and Ashley Birks last night. My presumption is that this was allowed because Ricky Scarboro is officially unattached now and that Ashley Birks is only named as Number 8 for Scunthorpe?? As for the match, what an awesome performance by the Heathens. Not the greatest entertainment in terms of racing as we were just so dominant, but worth it to get the confidence boost and go top of the league. The rider interviews straight after the match are a great idea and I'm delighted more and more people seem to stay to listen. Huge credit to Barrie Evans for his words and an immediate round of applause from the fans to show their understanding. The team spirit amongst those guys just seems to be fantastic. I have to admit I wasn't sure whether Lee Smart could be an out and out number one for us, but considering he was left on the shelf without a team place anywhere in the winter, he has surpassed all expectations. Not only a genuine Number One, but showing his worth in the Premier League too. And on top of that, he's riding intelligently, he is team-riding brilliantly and he appears to be a very good captain too with his words after the matches recently. Time to barrage Dudley Council with a copy of the current League table Heathens fans!!

Intriguingly, Speedway Star has two articles this week which suggest Barrie was signing for Weymouth. Glad to have him on board though. He keeps us looking strong from 1-7.

Regarding the top four positions for the playoffs, am I correct in assuming that the first placed team chooses their opposition from the next three finishers. But that there is no advantage to be gained for finishing second, compared to third or fourth?

So I'm guessing Buxton are currently looking for a Sunday when Nick Morris is not riding for Glasgow to arrange their semi-final leg? I'd also be interested in how it is decided which club stages which of the two legs. If we can beat Buxton in the semi-final, the final unfortunately fills me with dread! A choice between Kings Lynn's deathtrap fence or Newport's beach-bowl of a track. Here's hoping we can draw Rye House or Bournemouth in the playoffs!

Mighty impressive that there is a Supporters Club coach travelling to both meetings and an awful lot of people also making their own way. I know many Heathens fans who have booked to stay either on Isle of Wight or near Poole next week. The biggest and noisiest away support in the league will be draping our rapidly increasing number of Heathens flags on the South Coast Tuesday and Wednesday! On the track, I'm hoping we can pick up 2 or 3 league points to fuel the charge to top spot. Welcome aboard Barrie Evans for his first Heathens experience. Hopefully Jon Armstrong will still be able to make the trip to gee on the lads from the pits. Ommer 'em!

Not that fence again. We've just got Rich Franklin back after his injury in the Kings Lynn fence and we lose Jon Armstrong whilst on a guest booking there. Well past time that the solid fence was sorted out at Norfolk Arena Practising after the meeting was TOM Armstrong? Maybe we can replace one Armstrong with another at Dudley then! Such a shame for Jon though, as all Heathens fans have said, he has been a revelation this season, not just with his points but with his experience and personality in the pits. Will be sorely missed in our camp.