Godfrey delighted with progress of Stags

SCUNTHORPE promoter Rob Godfrey is delighted with the progress of the club’s second team, the Scunthorpe Stags, in the National League so far this season.

The Stags are being run as a joint venture between Scunthorpe and Elite League Champions Poole to find possible stars of the future for both clubs; although in terms of the day-to-day running of the side, this is being handled at Scunthorpe.

As chairman of the Stags, it is Richard Hollingsworth who has assembled the side, picking up the best talent on offer from club’s regular Amateur Meetings.

It’s fair to say that the approach of using one experienced rider (Steve Jones) and six rookies has drawn criticism from some quarters. Three heavy defeats were followed by a much improved 37-56 reverse at home to King’s Lynn last Sunday.

But Godfrey insists the club’s approach to the National League is the one that is in the best interests of both the clubs who are financing the venture.

“The Stags are all about rider progression and finding the next Tai Woffinden or Richie Worrall or Ashley Birks or Josh Auty”, says Godfrey.

“And so far, rider progression is exactly what I’ve seen. One week I saw our performance at the Eddie Wright Raceway against Kent, the next week another home meeting against King’s Lynn. In between, the lads had been to King’s Lynn and Coventry.

“They’d learnt so much in just a week. Ryan MacDonald was starting to get out the starts last Sunday and actually set the fastest time of the meeting in Heat 2, while Danno Verge is just looking so steady – and again he is improving all-the-time.

“Young Liam Sanderson is a battler. He’s already got the speed, his dash past Scott Campos in Heat 14 was the highlight of the day on Sunday. Once Liam, who actually comes from Scunthorpe, has got just a little bit more control of the bike, he’s really going to go places.

“It’s a shame we suffered some injuries in our first meeting, because Arron Mogridge was already showing potential, while Reece Downes – who seems to have been at Scunthorpe forever first as a mascot and now as a rider – is another young man going places.”

Godfrey is well aware of the disparity of team strengths in the National League this season. On Sunday, Cradley come to the Eddie Wright Raceway with a power-packed septet of riders.

“We’re on a hiding to nothing on Sunday”, he admits. “The Stags’ boys will battle, and we will celebrate every single point we pick up from the Heathens.

“In some ways, we’re going to be turned over by ourselves on Sunday. The Cradley line-up contains two Scunthorpe assets (Steve Worrall and Matt Williamson), plus a further two riders who started off their careers with the-then Scunthorpe Saints in 2012 (Max Clegg and Danny Phillips).

“Danny is a very good example of what we were all about in 2012 and what we’re even more about this season.

“It’s fair to say he didn’t score too many points in 2012. But we stuck by him for the whole season, because we knew he had the potential. Stuart Parnaby, who was the boss of the Saints, hardly ever took Danny out of a ride – he was given four rides a meeting. We stuck by him in a way that many clubs would not.

“It’s benefited Danny since, and now his career has started to take off.

“It’s ironic that we will be beating ourselves on Sunday. I have no expectations as to what the scoreline may be. Cradley have seven quality riders, and every time we beat one, we will be claiming a prized scalp.

“But once this fixture is out of the way, I’m sure we’ll see real progress once more from the Stags.”

The difference in team strengths in the 2014 National League is one that is going to cause discussion throughout the season (although it should be pointed out that a meeting with a lopsided scoreline can still contain great racing).

It’s not just the Stags involved in such meetings; on Wednesday, King’s Lynn lost 23-69 at Cradley, while Buxton are struggling to find top-end riders. Any future decisions how to level team strengths for future seasons are for the league as a whole to decide, although there will still be many fascinating twists and turns as the 2014 NL progresses.

In the meantime, Godfrey says Scunthorpe Stags will continue their own programme of developing riders.

“We’ve got a bunch of lads who are just starting off on their journeys”, he said.

“Last team we did something similar to this, we unearthed Ashley Birks, Steve Worrall, Richie Worrall and Gary Irving.

“The approach this time is even more dedicated to finding young riders, who will go on to become the Scorpions or Poole Pirates of the future. Richard Hollingsworth is passionate about bringing on riders.

“We are chucking them in the deep end. I’ve seen a few people claim we might be damaging their confidence, but that’s not true at all.

“Instead we’re watching the lads appreciate the opportunites given, grabbing hold of those opportunities with both hands, and starting to move forward. I know a lot of the fans really enjoy watching that happen.

“It is going to be fantastic to watch their careers progress, and I very much hope that both Scunthorpe and Poole will reap the rewards in the years to come.

“The current World Champion (Tai Woffinden) started his British racing career at Scunthorpe. It would be great to unearth another British World Champion”, concluded Godfrey.