Sedgmen out of Pirates clash

Poole Pirates visit Stellar Monarchs in Group A of the Cab Direct Championship play-offs on Friday (tapes-up 7.30pm) and have already qualified.

The team are very determined not to go out on a low note after such a disappointing year and they have been hit by injury again as booked guest Justin Sedgmen was hurt at Redcar and has withdrawn. Monarchs are forced to use rider replacement as they did at Poole.

Alex Harkes, Monarchs’ team manager, said: “Poole are very good, they finished top of the league, they are the people’s favourites to win. We are the complete underdogs, anything we do will be a surprise to the rest of the speedway world I suspect.”

STELLAR MONARCHS: Rider replacement for Craig Cook, Lasse Fredriksen, Kye Thomson (pictured), Paco Castagna, Josh Pickering (captain), Dayle Wood, Bastian Borke.

WESSEX MARINE PIRATES: Richard Lawson, rider replacement for Anders Rowe, Ben Cook, Zach Cook, Steve Worrall (captain), Kyle Newman, Joe Thompson.