John Campbell was accused of being barking mad after signing an unknown rookie who rides at Labrador, South Queensland. However, he feels that the eighteen year-old has what it takes to become a top dog in the Premier League. [That's enough dog jokes, Ed.]
Speaking to David Kinvig in the Edinburgh Evening News, Campbell conceded that it was a gamble but that it was one worth taking:
"On the internet there is a magificent site all about Australian speedway. It lists all the good young riders who are cabable of doing a job for clubs in this country. Christian is on this list and is keen to come to the UK. We based our hopes on being told that he was better than Darren Groves. Groves came from absolutely nowhere to finish with an average of more than four points per meeting with Workington last season."
"On that basis, if Christian settles in he will be capable of matching that figure. There aren't many riders, Ross Brady apart, who start on a basic three-point average and get higher than that."
"I've always been keen on Australians. I got the rules changed to make them more widely available to British promoters. And they have always been first rate entertainers for Edinburgh Monarchs in the past."
An important factor in the decision to sign Henry was the recommendation of Ivan Mauger:
"That was a big plus for me, I've spoken to Ivan about Christian and he tells me he has a neat style that is suited to some of our smaller tracks in the Premier League. Ivan has been shrewd enough not to suggest that Christian is a world star and we must have him."
"He runs a series of racing events in Australia and Christian has taken part in a few of them. Ivan could easily have said that he was useless and not to touch him with a bargepole."
Most Australians tend to ride the big UK tracks very well. This is not surprising given the size of most Australian tracks. Monarchs suffered on the big tracks last year. Only Ross Brady performed consistently on the larger tracks. Even some of Monarchs' acknowledged big track specialist such as Peter Carr, Kevin Little and Bliar Scott toiled on occasions. The introduction of Henry may help the team on their travels.