Vital games at both ends of the table | Super League Preview 28th Feb and 1st March

MAAREE Women's Super League

A huge weekend of Super League action kicks off this evening (Friday 27th February) with a double header for the Essex Rebels as they take on Newcastle Knights.

With plenty of action in the North East this weekend, Essex will look to build on their win over Malory Eagles last week in the MAAREE Women’s Super League in style.

They travel to a Newcastle side who have firmly put their name in the hat for the Final 4 in April. A string of impressive results has seen them climb to fifth in the table, just one point behind Team SideOut Polonia, who currently occupy the final Final 4 spot.

However, it was SideOut who handed the Knights their first defeat in three games. Prior to that, Newcastle had secured home and away wins over Lionhearts, as well as a statement victory over Essex Rebels during a thrilling Super League Live event that sent shockwaves through the league.

The Knights will also have to contend with fatigue after a busy week in BUCS, where they faced UEL, and they will take on Malory Eagles later this weekend as well.

Women’s Captain Jodie Amore said, " It’ll be a busy and challenging weekend for the team. We know we can push Essex and doing it at home on Friday night we know there will be a good atmosphere, which the girls love.

We played Malory in our first game of the sason and the team has grown and developed massively since October so we are hoping to put up a real fight against last years champions.”

Newcastle will also be keeping an eye on other results, with Malory facing league leaders Durham on Saturday before Essex travel to the Palatinates on Sunday.

It’s a busy weekend in the North East, with Durham hosting both the Rebels and Eagles. All three currently occupy Final 4 spots, but with just two points separating second and fifth, a single slip-up could see teams fall out of the play-off places.

Head Coach for the Essex Rebels, Alex Chinery said “last weekend was a tough fight against a really strong Eagles side who made us really work for the points”

We’ve had BUCS mid week and now a busy weekend up north which is always hard but I have faith in my team being able to claim some valuable points on the road ahead of a massive game next week against SideOut”.

We are still struggling with some injuries and the games keep coming thick and fast, so athletes' load is something I’m very aware of leading into such a crucial time in our season.”

Team SideOut Polonia host the penultimate Super League Live of the season at Score Leisure Centre in Leyton as they take on Leeds Gorse.

When the sides met at the Ruth Gorse Academy last month, Mark Kontopoulos’ team claimed a 3-0 victory, a result they will be aiming to replicate in front of their home crowd.

Mark said, "Staging an event like Super League Live at such a busy point in the season has been a significant challenge, but as a club we’ve come together brilliantly. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone - staff, volunteers, players and partners - who has contributed behind the scenes to make it happen. It’s especially exciting to be bringing Super League Live to our new home at Score in Leyton for the first time and we believe it will provide a fantastic setting for the occasion.

It’s a crucial week in the Super League, with the teams around us all in action. Our focus is on delivering a disciplined, high-level performance, securing three valuable points and strengthening our position in the table. We know every team in this league competes hard, so our emphasis is on controlling what we can and performing at the standard we expect of ourselves."

Leeds head into the weekend at the bottom of the table but still harbour hopes of survival. With Darkstar and Lionhearts facing each other, a maximum points win for Leeds could see them move to within two points of both sides.

Lionhearts will look to bounce back from their 3-0 defeat to Newcastle last week when they host Darkstar Derbyshire in another crucial clash. Both sides will be aiming to secure valuable points to maintain distance from the bottom side.

Dynamik Men’s Super League

In the Dynamik Men’s Super League, it’s another busy weekend for Malory, Durham, Essex and Newcastle, with all four teams involved in double headers.

Sunday sees a rematch of Wednesday’s BUCS quarter-final as Essex take on the Durham Palatinates. Durham will be looking to reverse the midweek result, which saw Essex progress with a tight 3-0 victory, each set decided by just two points.

Head Coach Euan Fraser said: “Wednesday was a big moment for the boys, especially after a couple of tough Super League results. It gave everyone a lift, but our focus has to stay forward, we can’t get carried away by the emotion of it.

Friday night in Newcastle will be a real test. We know the gym will be loud and hostile, but we’ll embrace that challenge and look to cause an upset.

As for Durham, having faced them on Wednesday, we know exactly what they’re capable of. There’s no danger of us taking it lightly; they showed their quality. It’s a vital game for us, and a positive result could create some valuable breathing space between us and the playoff places.”

As part of Super League Live, Richmond Docklands face the University of Nottingham. Docklands have struggled for results so far in 2026 and sit bottom of the table, but they are just one point behind Leeds Gorse and two behind Durham. A couple of positive results could dramatically change their position.

Assistant Coach Ryan Murphy said: “Nottingham are always a tough and unpredictable side to face, especially with Freddie at the helm. We know they have a solid passing unit and positive defensive attitude, so we’ll have to battle hard.

We need to be fearless not reckless, ensuring we are clinical and terminal in attack if we want to come away with a positive result. We are also looking forward to being featured on Super Laegue Live, we’ve watched a few this season and it really shows where the league has started to move to.”

We’re fully aware of the position we’re in at the moment, but being at the bottom means there’s only one direction we can go. We have real belief in this squad and confidence that we can secure our place in the league, although we know it won’t come without a fight.

This weekend is absolutely vital for us, and while we’ll be hoping some of the top teams can do us a favour by taking points off Leeds and Durham, our main focus has to be on controlling what we can and delivering a performance we can be proud of. It’s about showing resilience, sticking together, and proving we deserve to be here.”

Leeds face a tough test against league leaders and reigning champions London Giants. Sunday sees the Giants host the Yorkshire side, who have enjoyed an upturn in form recently, with impressive wins over Essex and Richmond lifting them off the bottom and reigniting talk of Super League survival.

Pete Makowski, Leeds Gorse Head Coach, said: “We know exactly what Giants are capable of, we’ve seen that throughout the season. They’re powerful, physical, and tall, but they’re also a very smart side who can adapt well to whatever opponents put in front of them.

That said, the boys are feeling good. We’ve had a couple of strong results recently, which has given us a real boost of confidence heading into this weekend.

We still firmly believe we can stay up. It’s a tough run-in for us, with Giants this week, Notts in a couple of weeks, and then Durham to finish, all challenging fixtures. But our focus is on controlling what we can control, and that starts with our mentality. The belief and determination within the squad will be crucial between now and the end of the season.”

Knights also face Malory Eagels this weekend, with the teams seeming to always go to five sets in the times they've met before. Similar to the women's side, they haven't faced each other since Opening Weekend, but both come into the weekend eyeing the top spot in the league with Malory just one point behind them.  

Knights, Giants and Malory can all finish this wekend top of the men's table, depending on the results of the others but all three know a win this weekend will help them take a step closer to the Super League Final 4.

This weekend promises to be pivotal at both ends of the Super League tables, with significant implications for the Final 4 race and the battle for survival.

You can watch all the action from Leyton on the Volleyball England YouTube channel, with coverage starting from 13:15.

Keep up to date with all Super League matches across our social media accounts.

View all fixtures here.

Images by Jon Cornish, Noelia Fernandez Perez, Evelyn Lee and Andy Sainter.