PACO BACK TO LEAD MONARCHS

EDINBURGH’S team for 2026 is complete with captain Paco Castagna signing on for a fifth season with the Monarchs.

Castagna led his side to the Cab Direct Championship play-offs this year only to find himself frustratingly on the sidelines when they suffered a narrow semi-final defeat at rivals Glasgow.

He said: “We have many things to achieve. I think the team is strong and I think we played it perfectly with team building and the new rules.

“Looking around the league I think everyone is strong though, so it will be a great season for the fans as all teams look good. I think the play-offs are the absolute minimum we can achieve, but I think with this team we can go further than last season and I am super-hungry for glory.

“Fitness-wise it’s all good, I would say my shoulder is back to as good as it can be and I am happy with it. I will need to keep working on it constantly but that is part of speedway. I have been back on the bike testing and it doesn’t affect my riding at all.”