Gladiators defeated and frustrated.

It was a disappointing night last night (17th May) for the Plymouth Jarvis Nuclear Gladiators with them suffering their first home loss against the Mildenhall Tigers. 

The frustration started before the meeting had even begun when the Gladiators were deemed unable to use rider replacement facility for the absence of Scott Campos.

Gladiators team manager Mattie Bates said: “unfortunately, this season the regulations have changed regarding the rider replacement rule. This obviously meant we were left without Scott and unable to fill his position for the meeting meaning the team were left lacking in strength.” 

With Scott Campos absent and the Gladiators unable to use rider replacement it meant captain Richard Andrews was left to carry heats 3 and 5 alone as well as Sheldon Davies in heat 12.

Bates added: “trying to take the positives out of what was somewhat a negative meeting, the boys gave it their best shot knowing from the get go they were going to be up against it. We also had a bit of bad luck with Richard coming down in heat 9 and Nathan Stoneman coming down in heat 15, which added to the frustration.

The highlight of the night was definitely heat 8 when it saw the least experienced riders of the team take a 5-1 with an excellent display of team riding from Adam Sheppherd and Adam Extance.” 

The Gladiators are now looking to move forward as they travel to Belle Vue on Thursday (23rd May) to compete in National League action. Bates said: “obviously we will be looking to put this meeting behind us, regroup and move on.

It’s still very early in the season and a lot can happen so it’s extremely important for the team, the management and the supporters to remain positive and continue to support their club. Together we will continue to move forward as the season progresses.”