Academy (PL1), Hucclecote (PL2) and Team Bath Toucans (PL3) have been crowned 2023-24 Premier League champions in their respective divisions after the regular season concluded.
Over 475 athletes have taken to courts across the county to represent their teams in the highest level of club netball underneath the Netball Super League with more games than ever before having been shown via leading live video streaming platform Joymo, including all Premier League 1 games.
After 17 action-packed rounds full of drama, energy and entertainment, there was still plenty to play for with gripping promotion and relegation battles to be decided on the final round.
Here’s how the crucial last round of matches played out.
Premier League 1
Settled before the final weekend, Academy won their fourth top-flight title, losing just two games over the course of the season.
After narrowly missing out on first place to Oldham in 2022-23, they stormed the league with consistent impressive displays finishing 18 points clear of their nearest challengers West Park Blades in second.
At the other end of the table, relegation was already confirmed for The Downs who had only won promotion as Premier League 2 runners-up on the final day of last season.
Heading into Round 18, four other teams were still in danger of the drop: Grangetown (6th, 47 points), Charnwood (7th, 47), New Cambell (8th, 46) and Tameside (9th, 43).
Grangetown narrowly beat Charnwood (67-65) in their final game to secure their safety. Although Charnwood still avoided the drop alongside New Cambell, who also lost to Oldham, seeing the teams finish in 7th and 8th respectively. Tameside was unable to avoid relegation after taking a final loss against Turnford and finished 9th.
View the final Premier League 1 standings here.
Premier League 2
The Premier League 2 champions were decided ahead of the last round with Hucclecote securing an immediate return to the top tier.
The title winners enjoyed an outstanding unbeaten campaign – the only side to complete such a feat across all three divisions – and finished their 2023-24 season on a high with a 91-30 victory over Telstars.
After winning Premier League 3 last season, Eagles have made it back-to-back promotions, recording 14 wins and just four losses as they took second place.
With Exeter already destined for Premier League 3, it was a winner-takes-all decider between Worcester Reds (8th, 41 points ahead of the fixture) and Oaksway (9th, 39).
Both teams battled it out from the start, however, securing ten goals the difference by the final buzzer, it was Oaksway who took the crucial win and Worcester Reds that are now relegated for next season.
View the final Premier League 2 standings here.
Premier League 3
The race to win promotion to Premier League 2 was wide open going into the final weekend with Team Bath Toucans (1st, 71 points), Trafford (2nd, 69) and Northants Storm (3rd, 68) in contention for not only the two spots, but the Premier League 3 title.
Both Team Bath Toucans and Trafford took wins over Premier Romans (62-45) and BSV Billericay (40-35) respectively, seeing Team Bath Toucans become Premier League 3 champions and both teams securing promotion for next season. Northants Storm drew with Leyton (46-46) in a nail-biting final match, finishing in third place overall.
At the opposite end of the table, it was between Ryland (7th, 50) or Premier Romans (8th, 45) to decide who would be the last team to join Thoroughbreds and Leyton in the Play-Offs to take on the nine regional league winners and determine the make up of next season’s Premier League 3. After a standout performance from Ryland against Thoroughbreds (60-45), they moved up the table to 6th, meaning Premier Romans will join the other teams (Thoroughbreds and Leyton) in the Play-Offs.
The Premier League Play-Offs take place on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 April 2024 at the EIS Sheffield. More details on the teams that will be taking part will follow.
View the final Premier League 3 standings here.
