2022 vision part six – September/October: the play-off push

With the Bandits’ Championship season done and dusted by the end of August the spotlight switched to the Bullets and their NDL play-offs.

No question their momentum was blunted by a long period with sporadic action while their opponents had more regular track time. Four weeks between their final two league fixtures – losses at rivals Mildenhall and Leicester – gave way to optimism as Luke Crang and Mason Watson engineered a 12-point lead after 10 heats of the semi-final first leg against the Fen Tigers.

But the evening fell apart in a chaotic heat 13 in which Greg Blair suffered engine failure and then skipper Kyle Bickley crashed heavily trying to make up a 15-metre penalty after ploughing through the tapes.

Mildenhall scored a 5-0 – but only because Jack Kingston pushed home for a full lap after falling during an unopposed rerun of the race.

In the end the Bullets were happy to hold even a three-point lead from a night dogged by misfortune against visitors inspired by former Berwick Academy rider Luke Harrison, the 15-year-old scoring 11 points on his professional racing debut.

Not surprisingly the slender margin was not enough as, without Blair whose season ended due to the long-term effects of concussion from a crash earlier in the year, Harrison scoring a maximum this time as the Tigers reached the final against Leicester.

Despite defeat the Bullets once again provided top entertainment over the summer.