Semi Final Week for Pirates and Monarchs

Defending champions Poole have their sights on a sixth successive Championship play-off final appearance

It will be the Pirates 69th play-off fixture on Wednesday and standing in Poole's way of making it 72 by the end of the season are the Edinburgh Monarchs, a club that last reached the Grand Final in 2015, when they won back to back titles with victory that year over Glasgow.

Whilst the Monarchs have reached the play-offs four times since they have been eliminated at the semi-final stages each time - 2017, 2021, 2022 & 2025.

Poole promoter Dan Ford acknowledges that the club's opponents will feel they are long overdue the final and will be pushing the Pirates hard across the two legs:

"We are looking at the play-offs here. Every team that reaches them has to be respected and because it is a play-off you tend to get teams raising their game, but likewise we will be out to do exactly the same. Edinburgh know what is like to be knocked out in the semi-finals and they will be keen to try an avoid that pain after their close aggregate defeat by Glasgow last year. We might have topped the league but we've still got work to do to win the title. I believe there is still more in us and if, as a group the lads can all click together then there is a good chance that we will be in a strong position when we travel to Edinburgh What we will need is good, loud vocal support from our loyal and faithful fans on Wednesday, hopefully as a rehearsal for two more big meetings to follow at Wimborne Road."

The Monarchs have a change at number one for September, as Kye Thomson takes over the mantle from Dan Thompson by a narrow margin of 0.17 of a point.

Teams Poole (TM Neil Middleditch) 1 Richard Lawson 2 William Cairns 3 Lewis Kerr 4 Cooper Rushen 5 Zach Cook (Capt) 6 Slater Lightcap 7 Kyle Newman
Edinburgh (TM John Campbell) 1 Kye Thomson 2 Jonatan Grahn 3 Justin Sedgmen 4 Michele Castagna (Capt) 5 Dan Thompson 6 Mitchell Cluff 7 Jordy Loftus