THE Elite League play-offs start on Monday when Swindon face a trip to Coventry in the semi final first leg, with the reverse fixture at the Abbey the following Monday.

Surprisingly, table toppers Poole elected to take on second-placed King's Lynn in the other tie.

Without a fixture since September 10 it seems sensible that the Robins are trying to organise a practise session on Sunday at Blunsdon.

With the seasons in both Sweden and Poland just reaching their own play-off finals and things in the Elite League otherwise quiet, heat leaders Troy Batchelor and Peter Kildemand have had limited league racing abroad.

Batch has had nothing since the Vojens Grand Prix on September 13.

Thursday's Elite League Riders Championship at King’s Lynn will help.

Swindon's third heat leader Simon Gustafsson is perhaps going to be the most rusty of the lot with no meeting since September 10. He will certainly benefit from any practice session.

Ring-rustiness is not an issue for the remainder of the team.

Reserve Steve Worrall is still involved in play-off activities with Premier League Edinburgh and National League side Cradley Heath and by the end of the season could well have ridden some 140 meetings.

Fellow reserve Nathan Greaves also has Cradley Heath duties. Nick Morris’s Premier League side Somerset are also in play-off action while he and Dakota North have picked up a number of guest bookings.

It looks a case of last man standing with all Swindon’s rivals having injury problems.

King’s Lynn and Poole are suffering and additionally the latter side is missing Darcy Ward through a ban.

Coventry have two injuries of their own in Ben Barker and Kyle Howarth, but I expect at least one to be back for Monday’s first leg.

I find myself anxiously scanning results involving Robins riders. A low score has me assuming there’s been an injury or perhaps machine problems.

Paranoia maybe, but I’ll still be looking closely at how Greaves, Morris and Worrall get on this week.

Meanwhile Kildemand has just come off a big weekend with the final European Championship round in Częstochowa, Poland followed the next night by the final qualifier for next season’s Grand Prix in Lonigo, Italy.

In the European Championship he came third in the final to finish second overall, but the Grand Prix meeting ended disappointingly when he finished eighth with eight points after two falls.

The GP qualifiers were Chris Harris and Swindon asset Jason Doyle in a meeting won by Belle Vue’s Matej Zagar.