Holder: 'Dynamite'
(c) Les Aubrey

We all knew that Chris Holder was potentially going to be a star in the league this year, but how he's proved it! He's been in dynamite form in the last two or three months.

Kelvin Tatum
Quotes of the week

LIVE ELITE LEAGUE SPEEDWAY:
Peterborough Panthers v Poole Pirates
7.30pm, Monday, Sky Sports Xtra

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This one looks like a bit of a mismatch on paper - and I certainly won't be betting against the form book.

Peterborough, however, did well last week when we watched them against Swindon.

Admittedly, Swindon lost Mads Korneliussen earlier on in the meeting, which put them under pressure but after a lot of turmoil, the Panthers have got a revamped side, a new owner, and they looked good on Monday.

They didn't look so good on Thursday though! Getting beaten - and comprehensively, too - at home to Eastbourne was a surprise because the Eagles haven't been doing too well of late.

High expectations

Poole are top of the table and flying in the Knockout Cup but they haven't overachieved by any stretch. I think the Pirates have very high expectations. They were definitely one of the four teams that stood out on paper prior to the season beginning.

When they signed Chris Holder, we all knew that he was potentially going to be a star in the league this year, but how he's proved it! He's been in dynamite form in the last two or three months.

And his teammates have certainly clicked. They had some injury troubles earlier in the season, which probably kept them a bit of a low profile and out of the headlines: two of their Polish riders - Karol Zabik, who is now at Peterborough, and Zibi Suchecki - got hurt, and then Adam Skornicki broke his collarbone.

But they've been firing on all cyclinders recently and they're a good looking team.

Slip up

Wayne Swales has warned the Panthers that they can not afford a repeat of the Eastbourne performance if they are going to get out of trouble - and he's right.

They looked really impressive against Swindon, and with plenty of home fixtures to come, their prospects of pulling away were looking rosy but for them to have slipped up against Eastbourne is a shame. They can ill-afford to lose at home but it won't be an easy task against Poole.

Yes, they've struggled but I don't think you can point the finger of blame entirely at their off-track problems; they were a weak looking team when they were put together through the winter.

They had an outstanding No 1 in Hans Andersen and then, with all due respect to the remainder of the riders, they were a young team that looked vulnerable.

The financial dramas just compounded their weaknesses.

Battleplan

But they do have a look about them now that is slightly more experienced and solid with the inclusion of Ryan Sullivan and Lukas Dryml.

If the Panthers are going to have any chance of beating the team with the best away form in the league, their battleplan needs to be: hit hard, early.

These are the sorts of nights where you look to your big performers to perform well. Heat 1 potentially pits Ryan Sullivan against Chris Holder and, psychologically, Ryan Sullivan needs to get off to a good start. Lukas so far has been riding at two so that's a pretty experienced one and two.

If they can get off to a 5-1 in Heat 1, that will be a big boost for Peterborough against an in-form team like Poole.

Some supporters inevitably drift away when their team is not doing so well but I'm sure that with their new owner, Rik Frost, and a rejigged team, they will start to drag a few people back through the turnstiles.

And there is no better opportunity than against the best team in the country. I'm sure there will be a few travelling fans as well but, with an in-form team on show, it's a great chance for the home faithful to show their support for the club.

Kelvin's call

AWAY WIN: I've bigged up the home team but although I'm pleased to see that Peterborough aren't throwing in the towel, I do think that the form of Poole over last couple of months means that they'll be irresistible on Monday night. And I get the feeling that they're really keen to finish top of the table.