Troy happy for Swindon to set the mould (From Swindon Advertiser)

Troy happy for Swindon to set the mould

9:35am Thursday 22nd May 2008 in Sport By Anthony Marshall

IMITATION is said to be the best form of flattery, and when Troy Batchelor sees opponents take note of the Robins he knows they are on to a very good thing.

Swindon take on the Poole Pirates tonight in a top-versus-third Elite League clash, knowing that another home win could give them some breathing space at the summit.

Unfancied by many before the start of the new campaign, the Robins have taken the league by storm, attracting many admirers in the process.

And in the fickle world of professional sport, Batchelor knows how quickly one team can go from zero to hero.

The Aussie ace, who rode for Poole last season, said: "There's a lot of competition in the league.

"Everyone's sort of caught us up a little bit, so we just need to keep on track and keep doing what we were doing at the start of the year.

"We need to catch everyone out, catch them off-guard, make good starts and then they're chasing us.

"They've all been looking at what we're doing with our team spirit and everything and they're all trying to copy us now.

"It's quite funny really that one minute we're underdogs and going to come last, and now we're at the top and everyone wants to be like us.

"They're all trying to knock us off our perch, but we'll fight hard and I reckon we'll be up there right to the end."

Tonight Swindon entertain an injury-hit Poole outfit who will be much changed from their previous visit to the Abbey Stadium, when Robins squeaked home 46-44 in a last-heat decider in a Craven Shield tie at the end of March.

The Pirates are sweating on the fitness of star rider Chris Holder, who sustained severe bruising in Poland on Sunday, while Bjarne Pedersen and Zibi Suchecki are also injured, and Karol Zabik has left the club and been replaced by Premier league big-hitter Magnus Zetterstrom.

Batchelor knows the Robins will in for a tough examination of their championship credentials against Poole, but is still confident of a home triumph.

"They have made some changes, sacked a few riders and got a few new ones in," he revealed.

"They won at Eastbourne recently and look really strong.

"It will be a good test for us and looks like it will be a great meeting to come and watch, but I think we can do it again.

"Poole and Swindon are two good teams and there's some great match-ups all down the line-up. It's a real top of the league clash.

"They've got some good riders - Davey Watt, Chris Holder and Kasprzak - they're all flying.

"So it'll be a good test but I think it shouldn't be too much of a problem for us."