IT'S proving to be a hedonistic period for rampant Edinburgh Scotwaste Monarchs, who were today celebrating a glorious weekend win double over local rivals Berwick Bandits and Glasgow Tigers.
The victories qualified them for the second round of the Premier League Knockout Cup and the Premier Trophy semi-finals.
Monarchs' trickiest mission on paper was their trip to Shielfield Park to tackle a Bandits squad who had given their visitors
a bit of a scare in their first-leg clash at Armadale on Friday.
The Bandits trailed by 16 points after that first leg, and were expected to come out with all guns blazing, but they struggled around their own circuit and Monarchs pulled off a thoroughly-deserved 51-42 triumph.
Berwick managed just two heat wins during the first half, a sure sign that defeat was looming.
They had no real answer to the now inevitable solid scoring power of a Monarchs team whose confidence knows no bounds.
Apart from Michal Makovsky and to a lesser degree Norbert Magosi, the beleaguered border squad looked a disheartened unit. And gaffer Peter Waite certainly wouldn't have been pleased with the display of Henning Bager, who was riding his last match for Berwick before joining Birmingham Brummies.
Bager trundled round and didn't appear to have any appetite for a contest.
In stark contrast, Monarchs exuded competitive spirit.
And no-one exemplified this more than Matthew Wethers, who won his first three rides and conjured up two swooping outside passes over Magosi.
Wethers said that while the scoreline suggested Monarchs had it their own way, quite the opposite was true.
"It was really hard work. Possibly a couple of the Berwick riders weren't giving it their all, but the majority definitely were and it was tough against them. Makovsky rode really well, but crucially we had strength in depth."
Although pleased with his overtaking manoeuvres of Magosi, Wethers added: "I would have much preferred to have made the start in both races, it makes things so much easier."
Team-mate Thomas Jonasson also enjoyed a productive meeting picking up eight points from four outings which included combining with William Lawson for a 5-1 in heat ten.
The Swede said: "Things went pretty good for me and the team won. My bike was good and I think I'm in good shape also.
"I was quite pleased with my starts, it's vital to make the start at all tracks, but especially at Berwick.
Although the match wasn't that easy, all the boys did well.
"We all feel we are part of a family. This team is amazing, everybody helps each other out and I'm so pleased I signed for Edinburgh."
Monarchs' two reserves Andrew Tully and Aaron Summers, while outscored by their Berwick counterparts, nevertheless played their part.
Tully struggled and only mustered a single point from his opening ride but a convincing win against Bager later on boosted his morale.
Tully confessed: "I gated shockingly in my first two races but in my final two outings I gated a lot better.
"I thought both teams were pretty even and it came down to gating in the end. But we are so solid right now. Even if somebody starts badly as I did, someone else picks it up, and this takes the pressure off me. You don't feel the need to win your next race because you know another team-mate will get the points. It's a great team to be in."
Monarchs then excelled themselves at Ashfield yesterday as they crushed Glasgow 58-34 to clinch their Premier Trophy semi-final spot-qualifying as northern group winners.
Monarchs simply ran riot. And Summers was the star of the show storming to his first paid maximum for the Capital club.
Seven 5-1 heat advantages underlined Monarchs' total superiority. And when you consider that Glasgow skipper Shane Parker grabbed 19 of his team's total points, you don't have to be Einsten to conclude that the Tigers current line-up isn't strong enough.
Tigers Aussie ace Trent Leverington was injured in a clash with Monarchs' Ryan Fisher in the first race and had to withdraw from the meeting despite scoring two points in the re-run.
Although this was a blow to Glasgow hopes, Monarchs were in no mood to be stopped. And on a weekend which saw warm sunshine break through, Monarchs are enjoying salad days for now.
Berwick: Makovsky 15, Aarnio 9, Magosi 8, McKinna 7 Bager 3, McPhail 0
Monarchs: Wethers 12, Fisher 12, Jonasson 8, Tully 6, Lawson 6, Summers 4, Sneddon 3.
Glasgow: Parker 19, Grajczonek 5, Ksiezak 4, Leverington 2, Davey 2, Dicken 1, Brady 1.
Monarchs: Summers 11, Wethers 10, Jonasson 10, Lawson 10, Sneddon 7, Fisher 6, Tully 4.
The full article contains 800 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
