Super League Review (28th and 29th March) - Final 4 places set as Palatinates men relegated 

MAAREE Women’s Super League 

Malory Eagles clinched the last available Final 4 spot by finishing fourth, pipping Team SideOut Polonia in the process. 

Darkstar Derbyshire’s concession of their game against Newcastle Knights meant the league newcomers were already guaranteed a spot in the end-of-season play-offs to decide who would be champions, as were runaway leaders Durham Palatinates and Essex Rebels. 

But the remaining place was very much up for grabs, with the Eagles and Sideout separated by just a point going into the final matches. 

Mark Kontopoulos’ side needed victory at Essex and for Malory to lose at Lionhearts Vinarius to sneak above their rivals and extend their season. As it was, neither happened. 

Firstly, last season’s champions emphatically took care of business in straight sets in Shoreditch (25-19, 25-23, 25-14) to keep hopes of defending their title alive. 

The match included an incredible 75-second rally won by the Eagles, one of the longest of the season, and saw the London club move on to 27 points, the same as Newcastle but with a slightly inferior set quotient. 

Alongside that, Polonia were beaten in five sets for the second week in a row – the other by Durham in the National Cup semi-final – as the Rebels held off a strong home side fightback. 

Alex Chinery’s side forged two sets in front, but Sideout hit back with the next two and looked as if they could pull off a reverse sweep. 

However, Essex were able to arrest the slide and turn momentum back in their favout to seal a two-point win in the decider for a confidence-boosting success heading into Final 4 (25-20, 25-20, 24-26, 21-25, 15-13). 

MVP for the victors was Heidi Bright on her Super League debut, while Sydney Busa took the honours for Polonia as she continues her welcome return from a long-term ACL injury.  

The weekend began on Saturday lunchtime with Durham Palatinates, somewhat inevitably, completing their 100% record for the regular season with their 14th consecutive victory against already-relegated Leeds Gorse in a Super League Live broadcast – watch back here. 

Paul Welsh’s side have been untouchable so far this season and though the young Leeds side had their moments and got better with each set, Palatinates’ quality shone through (25-9, 25-12, 25-16). 

Marianna Payne was MVP for the Palatinates and Lauren Thorn picked up the award for Gorse. 

As a result of this weekend’s matches, it can now be confirmed that number one seeds Durham Palatinates will take on Malory Eagles (fourth) and Essex Rebels (second) will face Newcastle Knights (third) in the Women’s Super League Final 4 semi-finals. Get your Final 4 tickets here. 

DYNAMIK Men’s Super League 

Durham Palatinates have been relegated out of Super League after Leeds Gorse were victorious in the two teams’ crucial final league match of their respective seasons at the Ruth Gorse Academy on Saturday. 

Going into the match, Leeds sat bottom of the table, a point behind the North East side, but knew that a maximum points win would lift them out of the immediate drop zone. 

And so it proved, as those in orange handled the pressure the better in front of a live Super League Live audience to evetually prevail. Watch the match back here. 

The first set was always going to be vital and saw the hosts nick it by two points and then quickly double their advantage. 

Durham briefly threatened a fightback as they won the third, but Gorse regained controlled and closed out a 25-23, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22 triumph to spark the celebrations – though they still have plenty of work to do yet. 

Finishing sixth, it sets up a play-off against seventh-placed Richmond Docklands, with the winners remaining in Super League and the losers relegated to NVL Division 1. 

For Durham, it is a dramatic fall from grace for the team who were touted as potential winners at the start of the season following their two NCAA signings and a club who were champions of the inaugural Super League Final 4 in 2023-24. 

The outcome is also in sharp contrast to the women’s team, who are eyeing a Super League, National Cup and BUCS treble, having already won the latter of those three competitions. 

MVP for Leeds was the talismanic Nelson Murangwa, while Dexter Thomas was picked out for the Palatinates. 

At the other end of the table, it was London Giants who won the match-up between the league’s top two sides to finish the regular season at the summit by virtue of a superior set quotient (2.250 to 2.167). 

Trailing Newcastle Knights by three points going into the match, the capital side recorded a four-set victory to leap above their rivals on set quotient. 

The Knights claimed the first set in the match played at Crystal Palace in what has the possibility to be the forerunner of the Super League Final 4 gold medal match in two weeks’ time. 

But Mihail Stoev’s men reeled off the next three in what will be a reassuring result for them going into the play-off games (22-25, 25-13, 25-22, 25-17).

Just a point further back, finishing third, are Malory Eagles, who rounded off their campaign with a straight sets success at Richmond Docklands. 

While being made to work hard in the third set to close out the match, they were largely in control in clocking up an 11th win from 14 matches (25-20, 25-15, 28-26). 

Notably, Richmond had three England Juniors among their number – Ollie Harrison, Ryan Wartnaby and Jelani Conteh – as they continue to give experience to home grown players. 

Pearson Stiller was MVP for the hosts and Dylan Cohan selected for Malory. 

University of Nottingham, already secure in fourth spot, lost their final regular season encounter at home to Essex Rebels, who ended just one place below them. 

A tight first set went the way of the visitors and they also claimed the second by just two points before pulling away in the third to complete a 27-25, 25-23, 25-19 victory. 

Rebels’ MVP was Asher Miller, while George Ruddick was chosen for the Green and Golds. 

As a result of the weekend’s matches, the Men’s Super League Final 4 semi-finals will see number one seeds and defending champions London Giants take on University of Nottingham (fourth), while Newcastle Knights (second) will face Malory Eagles (third).

Images by @callm3pa and @_evelyn.pov.

For all the latest Super League fixtures, results and info, click here.

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