SCHLEIN SEALS SHOCK WOLVES RETURN AS MORRIS MOVES UP WITH LEICESTER

Former British champion Rory Schlein has completed a shock return to Wolverhampton for 2023, with Aussie star Nick Morris heading to SGB Premiership newcomers Leicester.

Schlein retired from the sport at the end of the 2021 season, moving from the UK to Adelaide with his family. But the Darwin-born racer recently stunned the sport when he was unveiled as a 2023 signing by SGB Championship club Berwick, and Wolves have now confirmed he will return to Monmore Green, where he raced from 2017 until 2021.

Wolves boss Chris van Straaten admits news of Schlein’s unexpected comeback made it easier to allow Morris to depart for Leicester – the club he represented in the 2022 SGB Championship.

He said: “As I have said on more than one occasion now, Wolverhampton’s participation in the 2023 Premiership was dependant on the addition of a seventh club to the league.

“So we were delighted when Leicester’s application was accepted and of course there’s the added bonus from our point of view that it’s another Midlands club, which can only be a good thing.

“We received early communication from their management, who asked if we would consider releasing Nick Morris so that they could have some form of continuity in their team after he raced for them in this year’s Championship.

“Around the same time, I received a message from Rory saying: ‘I’m on my way back boss.’ At first I was a little confused and wasn’t entirely sure what he meant, but I soon established that he was moving back to England to race professional speedway again. His young family haven’t settled in Australia and they’ve made the decision to return to the UK.

“He asked if there was any way possible that we could fit him into our team plans, so myself and Peter (Adams – team manager) discussed a few things and we decided to bring Rory back to replace Nick, who is an integral part of Leicester’s team plans. We wish Nick all the best and we thank him for his efforts since joining us in 2019.

“But on the other hand, it’s absolutely fantastic to have Rory coming back to British speedway and of course Wolverhampton. He became a very loyal servant to the club in the latter stages of his career and we’re confident he can pick up where he left off in 2021.”

Leicester promoter Stewart Dickson admits Morris was the one rider Lions wanted to keep as they make the move into Britain’s top tier for 2023.

He said: “First and foremost we’re thankful to Wolverhampton for giving us the opportunity to keep Nick at Leicester.

“I’m sure he’d tell you himself that it was a tough decision because Wolves are a very professional club who looked after him well, but we made him clear that we wanted him to stay with us.

“He’s the track record holder around the Paul Chapman & Sons Arena, and with the new ruling in play for the aggregate bonus point, he was one rider that we very much wanted to keep, and we’re very pleased that we’ve managed to do so.

“I looked back to his scores from when he was riding for Swindon, and it’s clear that Nick should not be a six-and-a-half-point rider in the Premiership, and we’ll be working to get him back up. His home form certainly isn’t an issue, and what we’ll be working on is his consistency on the away tracks.

“Nick isn’t coming here to be a second string at Leicester next season, rest assured about that. On the average that we’re getting him at, I think he’s the one that can move up the averages, which is something that all team managers look for.”

Photo: Taylor Lanning