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Islanders V Stoke 22/05


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Nice to get the win but could have been a lot closer if Richie Worral was riding! Ashley Birks was a pleasure to watch, Ben Reade, Tony Aitkin and Jamie Pickard all rode well and with Richie Worrall fit they could be contenders this year.

The Islanders rode better than last week and all scored well however Ashley Birks made them all look slow!

Danny Warwick and Paul Stark look to be our best 2 at home, I'm still not Sure about Kyle Hughes, he picked up some points but never really looked like winning a race, same with Ben Hopwood, rides well but still seems to be struggling for pace, Aaron Baseby is getting used to the track and scored well and Gary Cottham is going to be very useful at reserve with some good riding so far this year, Danny Stoneman rode a good race to take second in his third ride and looked very dissapointed that he only had the 3 rides!

Another good meeting and good to see the crowd has improved!

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Looks that way, it's a shame, poor lad has had 2 years out, comes back and gets thrown in at number 4, scores in his meetings apart from 1 and he gets dropped, so much for oppurtunities these days!! Don't back them up very much

 

Now official - although only mentioned as an aside in the preview for the next meeting.

 

I know it's supposed to be a league to develop riders, but stand alone teams like Stoke don't see it only that way - these are the only meetings their fans see, so they need a competetive team, which means the teams are a bit harsher on struggling riders.

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On the IoW meeting, we would have won had we had Richie, of that I have no doubt (His rides gained 3 points...) Nice to see Ash step up, Jamie seemed to look good for a couple of rides then tail off when his arm injury flared up, and Tony and Ben were both good. Unfortunately, the two 3 pointers only scored 1 between them, and that was (And will continue to be) our downfall.

 

On the subject of Rhys, it's a shame, but it seemed to have been coming. I wish him all the best as he has a nice style, but needs to get some confidence back. Maybe some rides in the MDL will help that. He is still young and can still go far if he puts the effort in.

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Im gutted to see Naylor go he is a good friend i think it was alway gunna be hard with him at number 4 but i think once he would have gone down to reserve he would have done well but i think he wont get the chance.

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.

 

Im gutted to see Naylor go he is a good friend i think it was alway gunna be hard with him at number 4 but i think once he would have gone down to reserve he would have done well but i think he wont get the chance.

28th March Press Release

Potters team manager Malcolm Vasey said "Rhys has a great deal of potential and is returning to the sport with a considerable amount of determination after taking a year out. I really do feel that Rhys is potentially a steal on a three point average and I'm sure he will add to his starting average.

So he is put in at No 4 position, a tough enough job for any rider, but one who had been out of action for nearly a year and expected to up his average!!

24th May Press Release

"that Rhys Naylor has been dropped and will be replaced by 17 year old Liam Carr who is a very talented rider and come highly recommended. Team manager Malcolm Vasey commented "Liam has come highly rated by people that we have a great deal of respect for in the North East and we are delighted to have him in our side for this weekends matches."

Doesn't this have a familiar tone and isn't the real problem that Stoke have built a team too strong at the top end? Have to say that it is good to see Ben Reade doing so well after his kick back last season. Tony Atkin seems to be doing a good job as well.

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I think we all wanted Rhys to do well, but it wasn't the fact that he wasn't scoring that was the issue, he just looked like a rider who needed some time under his belt, and having it at number 4 in the NL isn't the right way. Given a season riding competitively in the MDL he has a chance to put himself in the shop window, and I wish him the best, but he was half a lap behind at times at Stoke.

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I think we all wanted Rhys to do well, but it wasn't the fact that he wasn't scoring that was the issue, he just looked like a rider who needed some time under his belt, and having it at number 4 in the NL isn't the right way. Given a season riding competitively in the MDL he has a chance to put himself in the shop window, and I wish him the best, but he was half a lap behind at times at Stoke.

I totally agree with your assessment. I have known Rhys for quite some time and saw him ride against Scunthorpe and he didn't look race ready. He was certainly not like he was a couple of years ago. The point that I was trying to make was about the "hype" of the press release. MV must have known that Rhys would struggle even in the reserve berth so why build him up into something he currently isn't. Right now it looks like Rhys has failed and in fact Rhys never stood a chance to succeed without more time in the saddle and Stoke failed to give him that.

With Ben Reade likely to stay in the reserve berth until July, any 3 point rider stepping into a main team slot will struggle.

I hope, like you, that he takes his chances in the MDL or AJL and gets back to the form that I know he can achieve.

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I totally agree with your assessment. I have known Rhys for quite some time and saw him ride against Scunthorpe and he didn't look race ready. He was certainly not like he was a couple of years ago. The point that I was trying to make was about the "hype" of the press release. MV must have known that Rhys would struggle even in the reserve berth so why build him up into something he currently isn't. Right now it looks like Rhys has failed and in fact Rhys never stood a chance to succeed without more time in the saddle and Stoke failed to give him that.

With Ben Reade likely to stay in the reserve berth until July, any 3 point rider stepping into a main team slot will struggle.

I hope, like you, that he takes his chances in the MDL or AJL and gets back to the form that I know he can achieve.

 

Hype is in the nature of press releases. I'd be worried if Malcolm came out and said "We have signed Rider XYZ, but we don't expect him to do anything. He had an injury, isn't ready and we are just throwing him to the lions"

Still, maybe next year after he gets rid of the rustiness!

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I understand half the comments here, but Rhys being half a lap behind at stoke ... Bit strange, although I see he is only been there twice... So understandable if he has had no training or anything at the track, but mostly to be thrown in at number 4?? Surely he should have been a reserve

Edited by RNR2011
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I understand half the comments here, but Rhys being half a lap behind at stoke ... Bit strange, although I see he is only been there twice... So understandable if he has had no training or anything at the track, but mostly to be thrown in at number 4?? Surely he should have been a reserve

 

he has raced there twice, but the track is open for practice most weeks if memory serves. And yes, being thrown in at number 4 would be tough for him, but he knew the position before he was signed. It seems to be a confidence thing at the moment, as his style looked good, but he wasn't quick enough out of the gate, and seemed to shut off very early in comparison with other riders (Including reserves that he came up against)

 

As I said before, a spell riding second halves consistently and amateur meetings would do him the world of good, but its a costly endeavour.

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