Post by coombes on Dec 20, 2019 9:49:42 GMT 1
Let's look at the Tigers in a bit of depth.
TOP
Craig will surely improve on his starting average. He'll definitely claw back the British Riders Allowance and can add to that. Midway through 2019 he was sitting close to 11 before the disappointment of losing out in the GP qualifier and the Eastbourne incident rather upset his momentum. Ricky should provide good back up, possibly not quite to Rasmus's level but better than we've had in recent years.
MIDDLE
Broc should be in for another year of growth and looks to be a good signing. The other two are less certain. Ulrich is in the veteran stage and
it is to be hoped has his bikes sorted out. Some reckoned his bikes weren't great in 2019 while others put it down to getting the set ups right for him. Either way it needs to be sorted. Justin is a bit of a shot in the dark. He's had a few inconsistent seasons and we're looking for him to recapture his form of three or four years ago. Will riding with Craig be a blessing or a curse. In his Edinburgh days they were a really strong pairing but that was when he was at heat leader standard. Will he find it hard to get big scores from the number two slot? He's undoubtedly an upgrade on MBA but it still might be quite a difficult role for him.
BOTTOM
A lot is being made of having Sam at reserve. As we will have two solid reserves, I don't see him getting five rides too often. We need to keep a bit of perspective. Had he not come up with a big score against a Berwick side going through the motions in their last meeting of the season he would have finished with a riding average below four. Riding at number six his races aren't too different from those he got while riding at four - heat 2 ( 6 & 7 V 6 &7) instead of heat 14 (4 & 7 V 4 &7). We need to ensure he doesn't get too much pressure, something he certainly seems to have felt in the playoff final, and gets time to develop. Connor is one for the future and will do a solid job but again we need to keep our expectations in check. Hes young and any improvement is good news.
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TOP
Craig will surely improve on his starting average. He'll definitely claw back the British Riders Allowance and can add to that. Midway through 2019 he was sitting close to 11 before the disappointment of losing out in the GP qualifier and the Eastbourne incident rather upset his momentum. Ricky should provide good back up, possibly not quite to Rasmus's level but better than we've had in recent years.
MIDDLE
Broc should be in for another year of growth and looks to be a good signing. The other two are less certain. Ulrich is in the veteran stage and
it is to be hoped has his bikes sorted out. Some reckoned his bikes weren't great in 2019 while others put it down to getting the set ups right for him. Either way it needs to be sorted. Justin is a bit of a shot in the dark. He's had a few inconsistent seasons and we're looking for him to recapture his form of three or four years ago. Will riding with Craig be a blessing or a curse. In his Edinburgh days they were a really strong pairing but that was when he was at heat leader standard. Will he find it hard to get big scores from the number two slot? He's undoubtedly an upgrade on MBA but it still might be quite a difficult role for him.
BOTTOM
A lot is being made of having Sam at reserve. As we will have two solid reserves, I don't see him getting five rides too often. We need to keep a bit of perspective. Had he not come up with a big score against a Berwick side going through the motions in their last meeting of the season he would have finished with a riding average below four. Riding at number six his races aren't too different from those he got while riding at four - heat 2 ( 6 & 7 V 6 &7) instead of heat 14 (4 & 7 V 4 &7). We need to ensure he doesn't get too much pressure, something he certainly seems to have felt in the playoff final, and gets time to develop. Connor is one for the future and will do a solid job but again we need to keep our expectations in check. Hes young and any improvement is good news.
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