Suspected broken ankle for Fritz
NEWCASTLE DIAMONDS 61 SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 31 (PREMIER LEAGUE)
HENDERSON INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions’ Austrian star Fritz ‘The Blitz’ Wallner suffered a suspected broken ankle at Newcastle last night (Sunday), as Scorpions’ season came to an end with a 31-61 defeat at Brough Park.
The 30-year-old came to grief in Heat 8 to sustain the injury, as Newcastle won comfortably to consolidate third place in the Premier League table.
As expected, Scorpions are confirmed to have finished eleventh, above Plymouth and Redcar, having scored 14 of their 26 PL points from August 21st onwards.
Scorpions’ team manager Dave Peet said: “Fritz went into the corner all wrong and lost control. I hope he’s avoided breaking his ankle, while if it is broken, I wish him a speedy recovery. He’s got the winter to get fit and strong again.
“It was the usual uphill battle for us at Newcastle. We didn’t seem to start that badly, but we struggled to keep up with the changes to the track. We battled away, but couldn’t stop them from pulling away.
“Our expectations were fairly low for this meeting, and we won’t let it detract from what’s been a pretty positive end to the season.”
Michael Palm Toft ended up as Scorpions’ top scorer with 9+1, and he was backed by Lewis Kerr (7+1), Josh Auty (7) and guest Josh Bates (6+1).
Both Robert Lambert (full) and Steve Worrall (paid) scored maximums for Newcastle.
NEWCASTLE DIAMONDS 61
1. Steve Worrall 3 3 3 2* 2* (13+2)
2. Victor Palovaara 0 1 3 0 (4)
3. Matej Kus 3 1 3 3 (10)
4. Ludvig Lindgren 2* 3 1 3 (9+1)
5. Robert Lambert 3 3 3 3 3 (15)
6. Ashley Morris 3 0 2* 1 (6+1)
7. Danny Phillips 1 1 1 1 (4)
HENDERSON INSURANCE SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 31
1. Josh Auty 2 2 2 0 1 (7)
2. Josh Bates (Guest) 1* 0 2 2 1 (6+1)
3. Lewis Kerr 0 1* 4# 2 R MX (7+1)
4. Michael Palm Toft 1 2 2 1* 2 1 (9+1)
5. Ryan Douglas R/R
6. Fritz Wallner 2 0 FX (2)
7. Chris Widman (Guest) 0 0 0 0 0 0 (0)
# = tactical ride
1: Worrall, Auty, Bates, Palovaara, 65.0 (3-3) (3-3).
2: Morris, Wallner, Phillips, Widman, 67.0 (4-2) (7-5).
3: Kus, Lindgren, Palm Toft, Kerr, 64.5 (5-1) (12-6).
4: (Re-run) Lambert, Auty, Phillips, Widman, 63.9 (4-2) (16-8).
5: Lindgren, Auty, Kus, Bates, 64.4 (4-2) (20-10).
6: Worrall, Palm Toft, Palovaara, Wallner, 64.1 (4-2) (24-12).
7: Lambert, Palm Toft, Kerr, Morris, 63.4 (3-3) (27-15).
8: (Re-run) Palovaara, Bates, Phillips, Wallner (fell, excluded), 65.9 (4-2) (31-17).
9: Kus, Bates, Lindgren, Widman, 64.3 (4-2) (35-19).
10: Worrall, KERR (TR), Palm Toft, Palovaara, 64.6 (3-5) (38-24).
11: Lambert, Morris, Bates, Auty, 64.6 (5-1) (43-25).
12: Kus, Kerr, Phillips, Widman, 65.1 (4-2) (47-27).
13: Lambert, Worrall, Auty, Kerr (ret) (5-1) (52-28).
14: Lindgren, Palm Toft, Morris, Widman, 65.4 (4-2) (56-30).
15: Lambert, Worrall, Palm Toft, Widman, Kerr (excluded, two minutes), 63.7 (5-1) (61-31).
UPDATE: We believe Fritz escaped without a break. He returned home to Austria on Monday without having gone to hospital. Meanwhile, our thanks go to Josh Auty who rode at Newcastle despite a stomach ulcer (which had ruled him out of the previous three meetings) – a measure of Josh’s commitment to our club.
