With last weeks away meeting at Mildenhall being postponed for the third time, the ‘Wightlink’ Warriors are on the road again this Sunday as they head for the Midlands to tackle the Stoke Potters. With Buxton also riding at Stoke immediately after the Warriors, it adds up to a Super Sunday for those three teams as they scramble to avoid finishing in bottom place in the National League.
Before a wheel has been turned in anger, Warriors have been dealt several body blows with the news that James Cockle, Ben Wilson and Adam Portwood will all miss the fixture. Wilson and Portwood had both provided prior notification of their unavailability for this re-arranged date and sadly skipper Cockle has now had to stand down as he is struggling to recover from a wrist injury sustained at the National League Riders Championship.
Warriors again call on promising Kyle Bickley from Belle Vue Colts to deputise for Cockle, will operate Rider Replacement for Wilson and call up Scottish rider Ryan MacDonald at reserve.
Warriors: Kyle Bickley, Rider Replacement for Ben Wilson, Scott Campos, Chris Widman, Connor Coles, Jamie Sealey and Ryan MacDonald.
Current league standings with two meetings remaining:
Isle of Wight have 15 points with away meetings at Stoke (8th October) and Mildenhall (29th October) to complete.
Stoke have 14 points with home meetings against Isle of Wight (8th October) and Buxton (8th October) to complete.
Buxton have 14 points with an away meeting at Stoke (8th October) and home meeting against Plymouth on (15th October) to complete.
As shown above, the Warriors have re-arranged the ill-fated meeting at Mildenhall for Sunday 29th October and it might be that the destination of the wooden spoon will hinge on that fixture.