Cliffeboy

Oh bad luck OT mate, you nearly made it,I enjoyed reading your post until you had to ruin it at the end with your usual gripe.I`m so pleased the Rebs have made such a positive start ,and am even more gutted I won`t be there tonight for what I think will be a cracker at Rye. Just hope the track is ok after last weeks carry on,I would hate us to lose a rider because of track conditions.

Regarding Jari`s 5 from 5 he was on the end of three 5-1`s, he beat Tom Perry, and collected a point when Doyle fell.

Gutted I`m missing my traditional Rebels opener,hope it`s a great match and a safe one. Have the reported track problems been sorted. Looking to Doyley to continue his good start to the season,he was brilliant in the rain affected match last time. If Josh and Nick perform I think the Rebels will have a good chance of winning. It will be interesting to see how Alex goes, he has been the stand out rider so far for us imo.

Blimey, that must be a first Dave.,both of us not being there for that fixture.I`m sure Statto will hold our end up.

Cheers Naj, always good to hear from you and get your un biased view ha. Cannot believe I`m not going to be at Rye next week, been looking forward to it , meeting up with all you guys again.I`ve got to go to a wedding..............................My petal has given me the three line whip and a no escape clause.!

Good luck to the Rebels tonight in the reverse fixture from last night.A handy 16 point lead in the bag for the Rebels ,I don`t expect them to lose the overall lead, but tonight should be a lot closer.I think Kurtz will be a key player tonight as he goes well around the Arena, not sure Proctor and Kling will be that effective, therefore Cory and Lemo will have to lead from the front. For the Rebels it will just be a case of carry on I feel, Doyle and Morris will lead the charge again and hopefully Kyle,Alex and Josh can continue their fine form from last night. As usual hope all riders stay safe and don`t take any unnecessary risks.

Got that a bit wrong,I expected it to be a lot closer than that.Good to see Alex and Kyle starting so well against good opposition who know the OTA track well.I make that nine starts for Doyley against Prem opposition so far and no defeats, if he can stay fit he will be right up the top of the averages again this term. I wasn`t sure how he would come back after his nasty injury last year, but it seems like it`s the same old Doyley.I was a bit surprised Tom didn`t do better but Rebelwonderkid reckons he may have been down on power,so maybe a machinery problem to be sorted out before tonight.Well done to Nick for an excellent first return in the Rebels colours, and a steady one for Josh and Stefan(hope he`s ok after his spill). Good luck to the lads tonight in the return, stay safe,and hopefully another victory.

A very entertaining looking opening fixture for both teams, with ex Rebels Gathercole and Lemon in the mix.I expect it to be tight with the Rebels winning maybe by a couple.with Doyle being the deciding factor.The Devils 3/4 partnership of Cory and Lemo looks quite strong, but this is equaled by the exceptional pair of Doyle and Davies.If Alex has his gating boots on , he`ll be on for big points.Can`t see Kling doing much so it will be down to Proctor to keep it tight..Josh and Nick both have good experience of the OTA, so all in all a good match in prospect with no injuries please.

Agree with you BB , very enjoyable, a nice change,gets my vote.

Good signing if the rumours are true, I thought he was unlucky not to be retained by the Rebels. When fit he is an eight pointer plus, does have an unfortunate injury record though.Good luck to him if it goes through,ironic that it is Sam who loses out again.

No reason for it not to now surely.

Interestingly there is no mention of the Morris saga on the Rebels site, so I should imagine it is business as usual.I suppose if it did go pear shaped, and it will only go that way imo if the Batch thing dosn`t happen,there will be a call going out to either Claus or JBM asap.

How sad is speedway again when something like this arises one month before the start of the season. I refuse to believe that nobody new about this.

What a great servant Bish has been to the club,all the best mate in whatever the future holds for you.By far and away one of the most popular guys ever to wear the Rebels colours.Good luck to Gary who will now carry out team matters alone.

What about Travis Mcgowan, he seems to have vanished altogether.

A good balanced side I think, however I can`t see Proctor achieving his average. It will be interesting to see if Lemo can also.A lot will depend on Cory and Ricky,on a good day they are both worth more than their averages suggest.Top eight imo.

Dakota North still not fixed up, Sheffield maybe.

Big 13 points for Doyley in his comeback meeting in Kurri Kurri yesterday,second behind Batch, also Alex won the "B" final beating Tungate and Shields no less.,well done to both of them.

I`m thinking it maybe cost as I believe the whole team is based in England this year. I should imagine the cost of having two commuting riders in the team would be a bit high, that`s assuming they were commuting.However we did start last season with only Claus coming from Europe so I see your point.

I`m surprised, definitely front runners then!

I would say probably, and for that reason I think it would be unfair to expect too much from this years Rebels.For us to be really competitive I feel that at least two of the four second strings will need to be putting on a couple of points on their averages. The obvious candidate for improving is Alex, who finished like a train last season just as he did the season before,but at the beginning of both seasons struggled for form. If he can start like he finishes,a high six/ low seven is not beyond him. Big step up for Kyle into the top five for the first time in his career. He had the luxury of staying at reserve all last term due to the excellent form of the Rebels top five, but made some excellent tactical appearances and regularly won heats 12 and 14.. Tom needs to sort his gating out, on the occasions I`ve seen him , he struggles a bit here, but is rarely off the pace. I`m expecting big things from this year, never gives up. As for the top three, imo we have the best No1 in the Prem. Was there an unluckier rider than Doyley at the end of last season. Comfortably in front in the final of the PLRC, only for the race to be stopped, and then getting injured in the rerun which cost him the title, and probably Somerset the Play offs,as I do not think he would have totalled 12 points over those the two meetings.He is fast becoming a fixture at the OTA,and long may it continue. I always quite liked Josh,not had the luckiest of times with injury and still only 24. He knows how to win and will be good backup for Doyley,as will Nick who came on leaps and bounds last term and imo was the reason Scunny did so well at the back end of the season.I can`t really comment on Stefan except to say welcome and good luck . The vibe from the pits was always positive so if Doyley can keep the team spirit going,you are half way there. Just a quick note to say all the best to Claus, James and Jesper who missed out this season, thanks for the the great effort you put in last time,I hoped you enjoyed your spell with Somerset and I am sure you will be welcomed back whenever you return. I have already wished Sam all the best on the Edinburgh thread.

If they pulled this side together it would be a front runner, I think it may be a bit Ott average wise.

To recap 1. Doyley 2. Alex 3. Josh 4. Kyle 5,Nick 6.Tom 7. ???

Tom Perry is number 6,that`s your lot for tonight folks,the seventh rider paperwork is incomplete so the management are not announcing. Looking good though.

Sensation number two Nick Morris