Gladiators? We’re ready!

After the crushing disappointment of last night’s cup disaster in Lincolnshire the Jewson Bandits need to immediately pick themselves up and get back to the day job of collecting Cab Direct Championship points when Plymouth visit Shielfield Park tonight (7pm).

There can’t be many black cats leftsunscathed in Devon but despite a crippling run of misfortune the Gladiators continue to make the pre-season forecasters eat their words, non moreso than those keyboard warriors putting the boot in before a wheel was turned at Armadale last night.

Plymouth had been given a 28-day facility to replace the injured Nico Covatti but that ran out this week meaning that their only alternative was to use a guest with an average of  up to 75% of his average – 5.76 if you’re asking. Preferred option Jason Edwards was laid up following his high speed first bend crash here last week and Glasgow’s James Pearson took the booking but had to pull out at short notice.  Rider replacement is deemed a facility so not available so Edinburgh Academy rider and Berwick asset Mason Watson lined up at number one for the Gladiators.

Who promptly won 48-42, taking advantage of an injury which ruled out Monarchs’ number one Josh Pickering as Dan Thompson, 13, led a solid display with, Watson aside, the lowest Gladiator return paid six.

Indeed one of the reasons for Plymouth ripping up the form book all season has been the form of the twin who has grabbed 2024 by the horns and seems determined to make it the Year of the Dan.

Along with twin brother Joe he burst on the scene with Leicester as a 15-year-old but taking the step up after dominating the National League has been difficult, not helped by the fact that they seemed to be the victims of last in first out policies at Scunthorpe, Birmingham and Ipswich in the Premiership.

Poole threw Joe a lifeline last season but Dan’s move to Plymouth never actually made it to the start line because of injury. The twins were reunited at The Coliseum this year and Dan in particular has repaid the Devon club’s faith in him with a string of big scores. He’s added the best part of two points a meeting to his average in both leagues and we saw first-hand last Saturday, guesting for Redcar, just how good he is around here.

Ben Barker was another guesting for the Bears seven days ago and he’s always a handful at Shielfield whether in the colours of Glasgow, the Devils/Gladiators, Newcastle, Peterborough or, even rather too briefly, a Bandit.

A first bend tumble in Tuesday’s home defeat at the hands of Workington left him minus a fingernail or too and adding some unwanted colour to another epic BSN broadcast from the West Country – plus more footage for their planned emergency remedial track work special, available to download soon.

Another ex-Bandit is Jacob Hook who, between injury, had two spells with us in a season which had begun at Edinburgh. The highlight was 9+1 in the last meeting of 2023 at Shielfield, the Plymouth management certainly taking note and signing him during the winter.

Alfie Bowtell is another with plenty of experience in the Borders having ridden here with Lakeside, Eastbourne and Birmingham in addition to Plymouth and also appearing in Kent and Mildenhall colours against the Bullets in the National League.

No meeting would be complete without a testimonial man, in this case Kyle Newman. In one of those quirks that speedway loves his big day, when it comes having been washed out in March, will not be at his current track but at his hometown of Poole, a team he has represented with distinction in both senior British leagues.

Plymouth are still hopeful that Covatti, who crashed heavily in Argentina days after signing up for a return to British speedway in sunny Devon will make it to tapes. Tonight though they call on former Newcastle and current Scunthorpe and Belle Vue form man Connor Mountain, fresh from leading the Scorpions to victory over the Bandits with a paid 13 haul.

Lewis Kerr is back at Shielfield for the first time since he beat Chris Harris three times and led the Bandits to victory over Glasgow but the full strength home side will have be acutely aware of the unease that their cup capitulation caused amongst fans who mostly followed it on Scunthorpe’s livestream.

E-tickets and cash admission is £20, concessions and students £18, accompanied under-16s are free. Buy tickets

Bandits: Lewis Kerr, Danyon Hume, Jye Etheridge, Drew Kemp, Rory Schlein, Freddy Hodder, Bastian Borke

Gladiators: Connor Mountain, Alfie Bowtell, Dan Thompson, Kyle Newman, Ben Barker, Joe Thompson, Jacob Hook

Referee: Seth Perkin