By Adam Summers - Dorset Echo

Andrew Bargh is a more than adequate replacement for the departing Lee Herne according to Weymouth Doonan Wildcats' manager Jem Dicken. The Premier League rider, who turns out for the Isle of Wight Islanders, stepped in for the Australian at Sittingbourne yesterday and top scored with 13 points as the Wildcats moved to third in the Conference table with a comprehensive 60-31 victory.

Dicken said: "Lee is in Denmark with the Australian World Cup side. As for his proposed move to Birmingham, I am not entirely sure what is happening at the moment. If he does indeed end up going then Andrew will step in until Jon Armstrong returns. Jon is hoping to be back in the middle of August but I do not see it myself. Andrew is more than adequate in the meantime and I am very happy to put him in the side. He was one we were after in the winter but he ended up deciding that he only wanted to do Premier League. However, he did also say that he would help us out and that he is exactly what he is doing now."

The Wildcats absolutely blitzed the Crusaders in Kent. Jay Herne (11+1) grabbed a paid maximum from his four races while Karl Mason (10+1), Luke Priest (9+2), Tim Webster (7+1), Brendan Johnson (6+2) and Kyle Newman (5+1) all chipped in with superb scores of their own.

Dicken added: "We started off slowly and it just built up in was a great performance by all the boys. They all scored well and we dominated the meeting pretty much throughout. That result has now taken us up to third in the table with three or four meetings still in hand so it is looking good. We are definitely on course for a play-off place and we will just have to see what happens after that."

Jerran Hart was absent for Sittingbourne due to injuries he sustained in a horrific coming together with Scunthorpe's Byron Bekker in the NatWest Bronze Individual Meeting at Weymouth the previous night. Both men were catapulted into the fence and had to leave the Wessex Stadium in ambulances. Dicken said: "Byron has broken his collarbone while Jerran has suffered muscle damage in his legs. Apparently his muscle has come away from the bone but other than that both riders are fine which is good news because it could have been a lot worse."

Full heat details are available here and photos here .