Kent Eagles try again this coming Saturday evening as they travel to Plymouth’s Coliseum Stadium in search of National Development Trophy points as they are set to take on the local Centurions.
Their previous venture to the venue at the end of August met with disappointment as the fixture fell victim to the weather in spite of the intensive efforts of the Plymouth track staff who battled to make the circuit serviceable following days of heavy rain.
Once again the Iwade outfit must seek a little help from their friends as they make the long trek westward, Edinburgh’s Connor Coles, who was also booked as a guest for the previous abortive engagement, and highly rated youngster Ollie Binns have answered the call to step in and stand alongside Kent regulars, skipper Ben Morley, Luke Harris and reserve duo Nathan Hargrave and Charlie Wood. One other absentee for the Eagles is Jacob Clouting who is due in action for his National Development League team Oxford who are due in action at Middlesborough the same evening, unfortunately for Kent the NDL fixtures taking precedence over those of the NDT in which they are involved.
One further change for the visitors sees the introduction of their new number one, Jason Garrad who enters the fray as a new signing. Garrad comes into the side as a direct replacement for Vinnie Foord who is unable to be available for either of the teams two remaining Trophy fixtures due to his commitments for senior league team, the Workington Comets.
Garrad, who began his Speedway career in 2014 with the Kent Kings in the National League, makes his return to the sport following an extended spell of injury. Prior to that misfortune he was a prolific member of the Oxford team at Development level in seasons 2023 and 2024, as well as carrying out double up duties with the Glasgow Tigers last term.
Though the destiny of the title has long been decided with King’s Lynn Young Stars having secured the trophy with that devastating win at Iwade several weeks ago, the runners up spot remains up for grabs with the Eagles and the Centurions finding themselves in direct combat to wrest that honour for themselves.
The current standings see the Kent club holding second place with 8-points from six meetings while Plymouth reside in fourth, behind the Birmingham Bulls who have completed all their fixtures, with 6-points from the same number of matches.
The subtle difference however is that while the Eagles remaining engagements are away from home, the Centurions final two are both around their home circuit. Given that statistic, the two-point disparity can easily be eroded.
Therefore it remains paramount for the Kent outfit to at least secure the aggregate bonus point on Saturday (in order to do that they need to secure 37-points, the corresponding fixture at Iwade ending in a 54-36 victory for the hosts) if they are to continue to hold the whip hand over their Devon opponents. Suffice to say should they run out winners then the job would effectively be done.
Any other result and the contest will extend to the final round of matches both of which feature the Leicester Fox Cub’s who travel to the Coliseum (holding a 53-37 advantage) on October 4th before facing the Eagles at home (Kent triumphed 47-41 at Iwade) on a date as yet to be determined.
On the lead up to the contest Team Manager David Graveling commented ‘So, another foray into the guest bookings for our away trip to Plymouth and we extend our thanks to Connor Coles (who was also present for the rain off) and young Ollie Binns for stepping into the team. Also, we bid welcome to Jason Garrad, our new number one, and hope he enjoys a successful first meeting for us.’
Hopefully the meeting goes ahead this time, our first task is to amass 37-points in order to claim the aggregate bonus and then secondly to win the meeting in order to return home with 3-points and no injuries.’
Teams: (in alphabetical order)
Plymouth Centurions: 1. Joe Thompson, 2. Rider Replacement (for Mickie Simpson), 3. Ryan Ingram, 4. Charlie Southwick, 5. Ben Trigger, 6. Ryan Ashcroft, 7. To be confirmed.
Kent Eagles: 1. Jason Garrad, 2. Luke Harris, 3. Connor Coles (Guest), 4. Olly Binns (Guest), 5. Ben Morley, 6. Nathan Hargrave, 7. Charlie Wood.
For any Kent fans who are unable to attend but do not want to miss the action there will be a live stream available to view. This can be found on the Official Plymouth website or on gladiatorslive.com and will cost £13.99.