Teenage Australian rider Tom Hedley quickly won the hearts of the Newport Wasps' fans yesterday when he top scored in a heavy defeat in their opening Premier Trophy meeting against the rampant Rye House Rockets in what could not have been a tougher start for the Wasps.

The 18-year-old Hedley was the only home rider to get double points, helped by a tactical ride in heat ten which he won from Steve Boxall and Adam Roynon. He finished with 11 points from five rides.

Fellow newcomer Michal Rajkowski was not so fortunate. He got off to the worst possible start, leading Chris Neath in the opening race when the Rye House rider dived underneath the Pole who took a fall, giving Neath, a frequent Newport guest, the first of three heat wins. However, he was extremely fortunate not to have been excluded, a fate he suffered in heat 13 after tangling with Phil Morris.

And, later in the meeting, Rajkowski was left at the gate when the tapes went up for heat ten and that was another setback for the number one who only arrived at the track on Friday.

Chris Schramm was not so fortunate as Neath when he was excluded in heat eight which was awarded to the sensational Tai Woffenden. Schramm made a similar move to Neath against Luke Bowen and referee Chris Durno made the exclusion.

Woffenden, riding at reserve, had an eye-catching meeting with a paid maximum from five rides - including the final heat where he was tailed all the way by Morris - making him the meeting's top scorer. He is one young rider who looks to have the speedway world at his feet - or should it be hands!

Morris gained points from all his rides to finish on nine and Nick Simmons had a good return at reserve with a paid seven from five rides, only failing to scoring once and gaining two second places.

It was a disappointing meeting for skipper Tony Atkin after winning his first race in heat three, picking up just one point from his next three rides. The Rockets had four maximum heat wins in the space of five races and that made the outcome of the meeting a foregone conclusion.

Although it was a major blow for the Wasps to lose by such a big margin - 21 points - there were a number of encouraging features, not the least the two new riders who must be given a few more meetings before judgement is passed.

Wasps: Michal Rajkowski 2 (4), Chris Schramm 4 (4), Tom Hedley 11 (5)), Tony Atkin 4+1 (4), Phil Morris 9 (5), Nick Simmons 6+1 (5), Karl Mason 0 (3).

Rockets: Chris Neath 9 (4), Luke Bowen 4+1 (4), Steve Boxall 6+2 (4), Tommy Allen 8 (4), Stuart Robson 10+1 (5), Adam Roynon 6+2 (4), Tai Woffenden 14+1 (5).