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Buxton beat Sheffthorpe but a much bigger margain last week, and Stoke won by about 20 last night. It was just one of those meetings where Stoke threw away stupid points with falls that shouldn't have happened. Also, credit to Buxton, the track was a million times better than when I went earlier in the season, so they had obviously done something to it!

He was referring to Simon Nielsen who has signed for Workington...

I can't help thinking that it weakens them. Given that R/R for John meant that Birks, Irving and the Worrals could all take a ride (When they put their full team out)...will Benji really score the 7 or 8 minimum that you would expect from those 4?

Scunny have 8 points to play for this week, Stoke have 7. Scunny need to win both away meetings and hope that Stoke drop points as they are already 5 behind us! But I still can't see them picking us, even if they did finish top!

The race for top spot could be quite close as well. Scunthorpe/Shef have 2 meetings before the cut off date, both away (Hackney and IoW) while Stoke also have 2 (Home to Hackne, away at Buxton) If Shefthorpe secure all 8 points, it would leave Stoke needing to win at home to Hackney and take a point off Buxton to confirm their place at the top of the league. Ironically, the one outstanding fixture for each team would be Newport (At Stoke and Sheffthorpe being visitors to Newport) Given the performance today, I think Stoke would probably choose Mildenhall, but it has the potential to be a very interesting play-offs for all teams involved!

Riding your averages down so that you can fit a couple of top riders around your best ones this season, despicable

I meant at Newcastle...but still...I was very tired.

I think on the updates it was inferred that Stoke did not want to rearrange last nights postponed meeting with Newport for tonight...

Also, Stoke wouldn't have just impacted on Stoke...given that Pickard guested for Mildenhall and Sarjeant guested for Newcastle. Also, Kurtz would have been unavailable... Either way, no idea if there is any truth in the rumour at all!

I'm just hoping that his granny had a pint of Guinness at some point and we can sign him on a 3 next year

Tim's bike looked slow, and he looked a bit rusty to begin with, but got better towards the end. Hopefully he has a better engine for Saturday, but it all costs money!

I'm pretty sure Tom Armstrong is an Aussie? Either way, not the best of meetings up until about the last 4 or 5 heats. R/R scored 0 for Stoke, and Isherwood was about as bad. More annoyed that Reade had to withdraw, just hope he is alright.

I'll be there cheering on the mighty Potters (How I have longed to say that for seasons!)

To be frank, although I enjoyed the win, I took no pleasure in beating Dudley by that amount. Still, such is life, I'm sure Dudley will be stronger next season!

Hmm...no idea who you are, but still! How many clubs use the rules to their advantage? By all accounts, Tim has no machinery, and was on borrowed machinery on Friday. He rode in a challenge and didn't feel right, so is missing a league meeting, and riding in another challenge a week after the previous one. Not quite sure what the problem is! It's not like this is the only meeting he has missed!

Is it in the rules that he can miss tonight? Why yes, yes it is. Therefore, get whatever odd's you want, it makes no difference!

I don't know what Malcolm is thinking, but I would imagine, given previous meetings, Stoke and Scunthorpe would want to avoid each other at all costs!

I know, but they have replaced Greg Blair and Paul Cooper with JLo and Smethills. The only saving grace, if you want to call it that, is that there is very little chance of that team all riding at the same time due to PL commitments.

So, you're full strength team is Irving Oliver Worral Worral Birks Smethills Neilsen That's ridiculous...

So, John has signed for Scunthorpe and makes his debut this weekend. Who is he replacing? Or are they just adding another rider to their "squad"

Maybe he tweaked something? Apparently he is going to ride Thursday in a challenge, but if he isn't 100%, it's sensible to not risk it in an important league meeting!

It's still R/R for Webster...

So, tomorrow see's the top of the table Potters head to Monmore for a meeting that could shape both teams end of season. A win for Stoke and we must be feeling confident of securing top spot, but anything less than a win for Dudley could well see their play-off hopes ended. According to the Stoke website, the teams are as follows: Dudley: 1) Jon Armstrong 2) Darryl Ritchings 3) Tom Perry 4) Ashley Morris 5) Jamie Courtney 6) Richard Franklin 7) Danny Stoneman Stoke 1) Simon Lambert 2) Tim Webster (R/R) 3) James Sarjeant 4) Tony Atkin 5) Jaimie Pickard 6) Ben Reade 7) Gareth Isherwood. Stoke will be high on confidence having won at KL, and I can see them picking up from where they left off. Dudley 41 - 49 Stoke The question is, will the weather hold off given the predicted rain?

A lot for Scunthorpe depends on who is available when they ride in their semi. If, for example, they face Stoke on a Saturday, and Workington v Newcastle is the same day, they are then missing Irving and Richie Worrall. There do seem to be 3 stand out teams in the league though, and it could get very very close at the end of the season!

Based on recent form, Sarjeant should easily be included. Past that, it's hard to disagree with the riders who keep popping up on here.