A couple of fixture changes have been announced this week.
The match against Hull at New Craven Park, which was recently brought forward to this coming Wednesday has been switched to Wednesday 13th September. It was expected to revent back to 6th September to form a Yorkshire mini-tour with the match at Sheffield on the Thursday but it is to be run a wek later. This will complete Monarchs away Premier League season. This coming Wednesday, Hull will instead entertain championship rivals Sheffield. The result of this fixture will have an impact on the Premier League championship and could also affect Edinburgh's position in the League.
The postponed fixture at Stoke has now been rearranged for Monday 28th August. This is s bank holiday in England and the match will have an afteroon start at 12.30pm.
Assuming that there are no rainoffs, Monarchs will complete their home Premier League matches with the visit of Stoke on Friday September 15th.
Monarchs had a challenge match against Workington pencilled in for September on the original fixtures but this appears to have been scrapped. Monarchs have two open dates, Friday September 22nd and Friday 29th September. The first appears to be being retained to cover any rainoffs while the second is reserved for an individual event.
October is largely devoted to Young Shield fixtures and the Scottish Cup against Glasgow. Monarchs appear certain to qualify for the Young Shield with a top-eight finish if they can avoid any major slip-ups in their remaining home matches. The target for Edinburgh will be a top-four position. This will ensure they meet a team from outside the top-four in the first round.
[This news item was amended on August 23rd 2000]