MrMungo

I think it'll be a case of waiting to see where some of this year's side end up in the PL. I'd expect Nielsen, Jacobs and Blackbird all to find PL spots. If one of them end up at a team who ride on Sundays, that decision becomes a lot easier. Either way, I'd expect 2 out of the 3 to be retained leaving either Halsey or Lewis Kerr (just for you, Dale!!) to fill the other heat leader spot. I can't remember exactly but always got the impression that Aaron Baseby was "promised" a spot in 2013 due to him narrowly losing out on a team spot this year. (Could well be wrong though!) Baseby and Bates as 2nd strings pretty much picks themselves if that's the case, along with Stoneman and another 3 pointer (Ryan Terry-Daley?) at reserve. Has there been any sort of talk about what the points limit is likely to be? I got the impression (a fair few weeks ago now, admittedly) that 40 seemed unlikely and it could go down to 38 or perhaps more. If it does go down 38, Shane Hazelden is one rider who I think could find a move to West Row beneficial. He seemed to struggle this year with a lack of meetings and presumably other factors aswell, but get him into the swing of things, and at a stand alone club, I think he could make a mockery of his average.

I don't know how or why that happened, because Mildenhall were informed earlier in the season that they weren't allowed to use a rival club's number 8. http://www.mildenhallfentigers.co/index.php/news-centre/259-sudden-sam-to-fen-tigers-rescue Based on that, it was the correct call re: Ellis. Not sure about the rules about Fenwick though. Maybe a 8 can be used assuming he has a genuine, and not an assessed average?

J-O-S-H. It's pretty straight forward really.

Dry at the track aswell

8.38.14 onwards.

Iversen was on BikerFM earlier, didn't give much away, but did mention he and KL have been in talks, but no agreement made as of yet.

Isn't it ironic that the team finishing in 2nd won the league title in all 3 leagues? Whilst I sympathise with the teams who finish top of the pile, but ultimately lose out (it happened to my team in '07) the rules were known at the start of the season and teams run their season accordingly. Who's to say that a side would have (or wouldn't have) made team changes if the rules were different? You just never know. I personally think Play-Offs are here to stay for a while. With both Scunthorpe and Mildenhall winning their leagues by a single point, they are the sort of matches that fans will remember for a very long time. That said, the PL Play-Off system was pretty awful and definitely needs some work for '13. There were too many matches, and too many teams. Should be 4 teams - 2 semi-finals over 2 legs, and a final again over 2 legs. Congrats to Scunthorpe - worthy winners in my eyes.

Indeed - big well done to Newcastle. Probably not the trophy they had their eyes on, but a well-deserved trophy, nonetheless. Put a cracking side out this season, and glad they got something for their efforts.

There was definitely no punch. Only thing that happened was that Jolly & Henry went after Morris after what he said to Nielsen.

It's not really all that different from when a team manager phones the referee, is it? They often try and influence the decision-making process. Seems to be a serious case of clutching at straws to me.

Thankfully after last night's fiasco, the right decision was made. They were recording the meeting from near the ref's box, and the referee was able to view the recording several times before making the correct decision. Disappointed for Roynon in that his excellent season has come to such a nasty ending. Best wishes to him for a speedy recovery. Congrats to Mildenhall - awesome display tonight with everyone doing their bit. What a difference a year and a day makes! Fantastic achievement to win the title on 2 away tracks!

Any other "good news" for us, HT? Will "the legs" be out? I imagine it'd be the normal £12, Baggy. An interesting decision, and one I suspect has been a possibility for a little while, hence why the rain-off tickets from the Stoke match aren't valid for this match. It definitely gives the Dudley side the favourite tags. A lot of pressure on Mildenhall to keep it close tonight, I feel.

Indeed, Phil. Bates did pick up an injury at Stoke (were you there? ) on Saturday too, which is bit of a concern. The Play-Offs have gone a bit Pete Tong in the EL and PL. But hopefully the NL can show them how it should be done Looking forward to both meetings.

Dudley are big favourites in my eyes. A total of 54.04 does not lie! It's a scary total! I daren't imagine what their average home score is! I don't know what messrs Roynon, Perry and Morris' home averages are but I reckon they must be pretty immense. All 3 will be fired up and hard to beat. Ritchings should be bit of a trump card at reserve, and if he gets a double figure score from his likely 7 rides (if Bekker is indeed ruled out, unsure of that), then Mildenhall could be in a spot of bother come Wednesday evening. If both sides do have to run with R/R, I do feel that Dudley are better equiped to deal with it. A ride for Morris, and 3 for Ritchings will probably yield more than Jacobs, Halsey + 2 for Bates. Blackbird is a big loss for Mildenhall. He gives the side a better all-round strength. He's also not afraid of getting the elbows out, which may be what is required at the business end of the meeting. Whilst eyes will be on the mouth-watering Roynon V Garrity clashes, I get the feeling the #6 position is even more vital with R/R probably in operation for both sides. If either Ritchings or Bates have an excellent meeting, it would give their side a huge boost. Either way, it should be 2 excellent meetings. Hope they are 2 enjoyable meetings for both sets of supporters.

If you have Fisher in the team, you've got to give Garrity a reserve spot aswell! I imagine both Garrity and Birks will be looking for DU spots next year and both/either would do a decent job, I reckon.

I'd imagine King's Lynn is the more likely venue. They can ride there pretty much anytime as Buster owns the stadium. Ipswich, on the other hand, have some limits imposed on them, plus they still have a few home meetings to slot in.

Chris Louis has a tough task at the moment. If the proposals I heard for next year NL's get the green light, I really can't see Mildenhall (and Dudley for that matter) being in that league. It will be dumbed down far too much for their liking (in my opinion). Whilst I have no doubt Louis will want to take Ipswich back into the EL, based on the crowds I've seen at Foxhall this year, and the expected steep rent rise, I really can't see EL being a viable option at the moment. Would Chris Louis be allowed to be a promoter at 2 different clubs? He's not Terry Russell after all! Or even would he want to? As for Messrs Tresarrieu and Nielsen...a lot of things get said at this time of the year. I very much doubt anything is set in stone quite yet

There has also been talk of Ipswich moving up to the EL again... Don't you just love silly season?

It's a great idea, but it's just a shame there are not some different riders on the scholarship. It might just be me, but seems like it's the same riders most years Whilst not involved within the scholarship, Lewis Blackbird and Joe Jacobs are also off to Australia during the winter from what I've been told, so I guess they might be seen at some of the aforementioned tracks at some point. Almost a full team!

Tresarrieu isn't fit - Sneddon replaces assuming he gets through the first meeting okay

Someone somewhere certainly has, but without having all of the facts, it's virtually impossible to make that call. It could simply be a case of someone in Rugby forgetting to send out the declared 1-7s or similar admin error. Nothing in this wonderful sport would surprise me! Equally, it doesn't mean that Mildenhall were right & Dudley were wrong. It could be a case of Mildenhall winning one of the BSPA's infamous coin tosses Either way, am glad it's all sorted. Trophies should be won on the track, and not in the BSPA offices.

Dreadful day for injuries with Blackbird also breaking his collarbone. Best wishes to Bekker - awful, awful crash, and hope the injuries are not as bad as feared.

Someone has their eye on the ball! I didn't even realise there was a SKY meeting on. Or didn't care. Or a bit of both. Never even occured to me with it being a Thursday. That would actually explain a lot. Shame really, as I thought seeing your own team live would be more enjoyable than watching a one-sided match on TV..but appears the folk of Ipswich do not agree!

Bet he feels loved if he ever gets to read that! That much I do agree with. Edinburgh will be a completly different kettle of fish 'round Armadale. For me, heat 15 was key. A 20 point lead looks a lot more comfortable than say a 14-16 point lead. Over the years, I've seen some huge home wins come at the end of the season, so don't think any chickens should be counted quite yet! Disappointing crowd. And one I couldn't quite figure out. There was a decent crowd i thought for last week's match when Sheffield were the visitors in the other Cup, but in a KO Cup semi, which I would assume was more important to most, the crowd was very sparse indeed. Or maybe, it was just me.

Was told he's had a few laps at Scunthorpe. Definitely a big test for him. The key man for Mildenhall, in my opinion. If he is on it from the go, and bearing in mind he will probably take 2 R/R rides, Mildenhall could be taking a nice lead to Wolverhampton later in the month.