Josh Pickering, Stellar Monarchs No 1, returns to the team after injury for their Cab Direct Championship clash at Armadale on Friday against the powerful Oxford Cheetahs who feature their former skipper, Sam Masters, and top British rider Scott Nicholls.
Teenager Max James suffered a broken rib in a crash in last Friday’s victory over Glasgow Tigers and Max Perry stands in as a guest for Monarchs.
The Armadale combine are keen to build on last week’s BSN Series victory over arch rivals Glasgow which earned them a place in the semi-final. They will face Scunthorpe Scorpions at a date to be arranged.
Focusing back on Friday and it will be a tough night against an accomplished team which also includes with former Monarchs rider Cameron Heeps.
Kye Thomson, who played a big part in the victory over Tigers, said: “Their (Oxford’s) top two are strong and Cameron knows his way around. All we can do is out gate them. It’s all about self-belief and I believe we can do it.”
Oxford beat Monarchs by 18 points on their own circuit last week so the home side would need an exceptional performance to take the aggregate bonus point.
STELLAR MONARCHS: Josh Pickering, Lasse Fredriksen, Kye Thomson, Paco Castagna (captain), Justin Sedgmen, Max Perry (guest), Connor Coles.
MONARCH OXFORD CHEETAHS: Sam Masters, Luke Killeen, Jordan Jenkins, Cameron Heeps, Scott Nicholls (captain), Jacob Hook (guest), Jody Scott.
PICTURE: Josh Pickering
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