# 2015 National League speedway season

The 2015 National League was the seventh season of the National League, the third tier of British speedway. The Cradley Heathens were the defending champions after winning the competition in 2014.
Cradley finished the 2015 season in third place, as the Birmingham Brummies won the championship title. With 14 wins from 18 matches, the Brummies won the title after a 47–42 victory at the Mildenhall Fen Tigers in September, and ultimately finished 6 points clear of the Eastbourne Eagles.

## Teams

The 2015 season featured 10 teams, one more than in 2014. The Scunthorpe Stags and Devon Demons did not compete in 2015, whilst the Birmingham Brummies, Eastbourne Eagles and Rye House Raiders all joined the league. National League co-ordinator Peter Morrish expressed his excitement ahead of the new season, with the addition of the Brummies and Eagles especially – two teams with extensive Elite League experience – it was expected to be one of the most exciting National League seasons in years.

## Final league table

| Pos. | Club | M | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | F | A | +/− | Pts |
| Pos. | Club | M | W | D | L | 4W | 3W | D | 1L | L | F | A | +/− | Pts |
| 1 | Birmingham Brummies (C) | 18 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 867 | 758 | +109 | 48 |
| 2 | Eastbourne Eagles | 18 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 908 | 726 | +182 | 42 |
| 3 | Cradley Heathens | 18 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 839 | 745 | +94 | 37 |
| 4 | Coventry Storm | 18 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 816 | 774 | +42 | 36 |
| 5 | Rye House Raiders | 18 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 797 | 766 | +31 | 30 |
| 6 | King's Lynn Young Stars | 18 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 797 | 847 | −50 | 24 |
| 7 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 18 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 730 | 879 | −149 | 22 |
| 8 | Buxton Hitmen | 18 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 774 | 862 | −88 | 20 |
| 9 | Stoke Potters | 18 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 765 | 838 | −73 | 19 |
| 10 | Kent Kings | 18 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 766 | 864 | −98 | 18 |

## Fixtures & results

| Home \ Away | BIR | BUX | COV | CH | EAS | KK | KL | MIL | RYE | STO |
| Birmingham Brummies | | 52–39 | 52–40 | 44–46 | 46–43 | 47–43 | 51–39 | 51–38 | 49–39 | 51–39 |
| Buxton Hitmen | 47–43 | | 39–51 | 51–39 | 40–50 | 49–43 | 45–47 | 47–43 | 42–48 | 49–41 |
| Coventry Storm | 42–47 | 52–41 | | 48–44 | 57–32 | 46–42 | 50–43 | 55–36 | 32–19 | 50–43 |
| Cradley Heathens | 40–49 | 61–31 | 47–43 | | 48–41 | 53–40 | 58–35 | 56–36 | 49–41 | 59–33 |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 51–42 | 49–40 | 56–36 | 52–40 | | 58–34 | 64–24 | 66–24 | 54–39 | 65–27 |
| Kent Kings | 40–53 | 47–45 | 48–41 | 38–45 | 37–55 | | 55–37 | 52–41 | 40–49 | 42–47 |
| King's Lynn Young Stars | 40–50 | 56–37 | 43–46 | 46–44 | 57–36 | 49–43 | | 57–33 | 54–38 | 56–35 |
| Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 42–47 | 47–46 | 48–42 | 46–41 | 46–43 | 48–41 | 51–40 | | 46–44 | 44–46 |
| Rye House Raiders | 49–44 | 49–41 | 44–45 | 36–29 | 44–48 | 45–45 | 54–38 | 55–34 | | 57–33 |
| Stoke Potters | 41–49 | 44–45 | 50–40 | 35–40 | 45–45 | 56–36 | 57–36 | 50–27 | 43–47 | |

## Final Leading averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Adam Ellis | Birmingham | 10.14 |
| Rob Branford | Rye House | 10.14 |
| Bradley Wilson-Dean | Eastbourne | 9.83 |

## National League Knockout Cup

The 2015 National League Knockout Cup was the 18th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier three teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 12/04 | Mildenhall | 38-52 | King's Lynn |
| 15/04 | King's Lynn | 54-35 | Mildenhall |
| 06/04 | Rye House | 42-45 | Stoke |
| 19/04 | Stoke | 44-45 | Rye House |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 19/07 | Buxton | 51-39 | Kings Lynn |
| 21/08 | Kings Lynn | 53-37 | Buxton |
| 16/05 | Stoke | 35-43 | Cradley |
| 27/05 | Cradley | 57-33 | Stoke |
| 20/05 | Birmingham | 47-42 | Eastbourne |
| 21/06 | Eastbourne | 50-39 | Birmingham |
| 11/05 | Kent | 52-38 | Coventry |
| 15/05 | Coventry | 45-45 | Kent |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 29/06 | Kent | 28-42 | Eastbourne |
| 01.08 | Eastbourne | 50-40 | Kent |
| 07/10 | King's Lynn | 39-51 | Cradley |
| 14/10 | Cradley | 57-33 | King's Lynn |

### Final

| 21 October | Cradley Heathens Danny Ayres (guest) 9 Arron Mogridge 8 Max Clegg 6 Matt Williamson 4 Jack Smith 2 Tyler Govier 1 Ellis Perks R/R | 30–30 | Eastbourne Eagles Marc Owen 7 Richard Andrews 7 Bradley Wilson-Dean 5 Kelsey Dugard 4 Martin Knuckley 4 Ben Hopwood 3 Daniel Spiller R/R | Monmore Green Stadium |
| 24 October | Eastbourne Eagles Bradley Wilson-Dean 14 Daniel Spiller 7 Richard Andrews 7 George Wood 6 Marc Owen 5 Kelsey Dugard 4 Ben Hopwood 4 | 47–43 | Cradley Heathens Max Clegg 12 Danny Ayres (guest) 11 Matt Williamson 9 Arron Mogridge 5 Jack Smith 5 Luke Harris 1 Ellis Perks R/R | Arlington Stadium |

## Riders' Championship

Ben Morley won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 26 September at Rye House Stadium.
| Pos. | Rider | Team | Total |
| 1 | Ben Morley | Kent | 15 |
| 2 | Danny Ayres | Kent | 12 |
| 3 | Robert Branford | Rye House | 12 |
| 4 | Kyle Hughes | Rye House | 11 |
| 5 | Adam Ellis | Birmingham | 11 |
| 6 | Liam Carr | Buxton | 10 |
| 7 | Ryan Blacklock | Buxton | 10 |
| 8 | Tom Stokes | King's Lynn | 8 |
| 9 | Danny Halsey | Mildenhall | 7 |
| 10 | Zach Wajtknecht | Birmingham | 7 |
| 11 | Marc Owen | Eastbourne | 6 |
| 12 | Rob Shuttleworth | Coventry | 5 |
| 13 | Jon Armstrong | Stoke | 3 |
| 14 | Connor Mountain | Mildenhall | ) 2 |
| 15 | Lee Payne | Stoke | 1 |
| 16 | Ryan Kinsley | King's Lynn | 0 |

## Pairs

The National League Pairs Championship, was held at King's Lynn Stadium, on 5 September 2015. The event was won by Ben Morley and Danny Ayres of the Kent Kings.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Rye House | 28 | Branford 14, Hughes 14 |
| 2 | King's Lynn | 20 | Stokes 13, Bailey 7 |
| 3 | Eastbourne | 15 | Wilson-Dean 9, Owen 6 |
| 4 | Stoke | 14 | Armstrong 14, Payne 0 |
| 5 | Coventry | 13 | Knuckey 11, Baseby 2 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Kent | 23 | Morley 12, Ayres 11 |
| 2 | Cradley | 21 | Clegg 12, Perks 9 |
| 3 | Birmingham | 20 | Wajtknecht 12, Perry 8 |
| 4 | Mildenhall | 14 | Halsey 11, Mountain 3 |
| 5 | Buxton | 12 | Carr 7, Blacklock 5 |
Semi finals
* Kent bt King's Lynn 7–2
* Cradley bt Rye House 7–2
Final
* Kent bt Cradley 7–2

## Fours

Birmingham won the National League Fours, held on 14 June 2015 at Brandon Stadium.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Birmingham | 18 | Ellis 6, Perry 5, Wajtknecht 4, Chapman 3 |
| 2 | Coventry | 14 | Greenwood 6, Ritchings 5, Crang 2, Shuttleworth 1 |
| 3 | Eastbourne | 8 | Wilson-Dean 4, Owen 3, Mason 1, Andrews 0 |
| 4 | King's Lynn | 7 | Kinsley 3, Bailey 2, Sokes 2, Cockle 0 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Kent | 16 | Ayres 5, Morley 5, Baseby 3, Shanes 3 |
| 2 | Rye House | 16 | Hughes 6, Priest 5, Chessell 3, Woods 2 |
| 3 | Cradley | 9 | Harris 3, Perks 3, Williamson 2, Mogridge 1 |
| 4 | Mildenhall | 7 | Halsey 4, Coles 2, Kingston 1, Mountain 0 |
Final :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Birmingham | 15 | Ellis 5, Perry 4, Wajtknecht 4, Chapman 2 |
| 2 | Coventry | 15 | Greenwood 6, Ritchings 4, Crang 3, Shuttleworth 2 |
| 3 | Kent | 13 | Morley 6, Ayres 3, Baseby 2, Shanes 2 |
| 4 | Rye House | 4 | Hughes 2, Chessell 1, Priest 1, Woods 0 |
* Ellis beat Greenwood in run-off

## Riders & averages

Unless otherwise stated, all listed riders were declared at the start of the 2015 National League season.
Birmingham Brummies
Buxton Hitmen
Coventry Storm
Cradley Heathens
Eastbourne Eagles
Kent Kings
King's Lynn Young Stars
Mildenhall Fen Tigers
Rye House Raiders
Stoke Potters

## Development Leagues
### Midland Development League

| Pos | team | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | King's Lynn | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 28 |
| 2 | Belle Vue | 18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 27 |
| 3 | Buxton | 18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 23 |
| 4 | Peterborough | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
| 5 | Long Eaton | 17 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 19 |
| 6 | Coventry | 16 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 13 |
| 7 | Scunthorpe | 18 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| 8 | Milton Keynes | 17 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 11 |
| 9 | Wolverhampton | 17 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 11 |
| 10 | Stoke | 16 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 6 |

### Northern Junior League

| Pos | team | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Northside | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
| 2 | Berwick | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
| 3 | Workington | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 11 |
| 4 | Redcar | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| 5 | Castleford | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 |
| 6 | Newcastle | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 |