Weekend : 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Warley replaced Caledonia as leaders of Division Three thanks to a 10-8 victory when the sides clashed during the National League’s first weekend at the splendid new pool at Marlborough College, Wiltshire.

Delegate in charge was international referee Andy Allen who, after travelling tens of thousands of miles on behalf of the NWPL over many years, finally experienced the luxury of a “local venue” – he lives in the nearby village of Collingbourne Kingston.

As Andy pointed out, refereeing at the top level can throw up some very different challenges. “Montenegro last week for the LEN Trophy, Croatia for another LEN competition next weekend – and NWPL Division Three at Marlborough in between to keep me on my toes!”

Caledonia edged Warley 3-2 well into the second period, but the Midlands side recovered to lead 8-6 by the end of the third and, after that, were mainly content to play out time. Adam Whitehall scored six for the winners and there were additional goals by Paul Martin (2), Dave Lane and Nick Covington.

Warley made sure of maximum points from the weekend by defeating Bedford 9-4 and then overcoming Otter 1869 in an entertaining and competitive match. The third period decided the game with the new league leaders racing from 5-5 to 9-6. Martin (3) and Gareth Cheadle (3) led the scoring with Ollie Holman (3) and Greg Pienaar (2) the main marksmen for Otter.

Caledonia’s slick counter-attacking game proved more than adequate in their other matches – Callum MacGregor and Steve Adams both scored four in a thumping 23-9 success against Newton Abbot; then Calum Fraser netted five in a 19-8 defeat of Reading.

Biggest surprise of the weekend was probably Otter 1869’s convincing victory over South Derbyshire, whose promotion ambitions were severely dented in the process. South Derby beat Otter 8-3 on the opening day of the Division Three season at Nottingham but this time the result was exactly the reverse – 8-3 to the Londoners!

Otter, whose squad include players from France, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Mexico and Canada, grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first period and were 7-1 up before South Derbyshire showed glimpses of their usual form. The Otter goals went to skipper Yannick Gaudio (2), Leon Estrella (2), Bruno Fabre, Pierre Cerri and Chris Eden.

Invicta Marlins remain in third place, despite losing 15-7 to South Derbyshire in their opening match. Young Rob Simpson then scored nine and Mark Cheetham seven in a 21-12 defeat of Newton Abbot; and there were three more goals for Cheetham in a 15-12 victory over Reading.