The Winter Leagues have now reached the halfway stage, and here is an update on the latest position in each division.

Men's Premier: Northern 1 lead the table at the halfway stage, having edged above reigning champions Tynemouth 1 by 3 points, courtesy of Tynemouth's 5-point deduction for a top-5 player playing insufficient first-half matches. Both teams have only one defeat from 8 matches and it's all to play for in the second half. Newcastle University 1A remain in touch, 10 points behind Tynemouth, followed by Northumberland 1, Westoe 1 and Newcastle University 1B. Northern 2 collected their first win of the season against bottom team Tynemouth 2 but both teams are well adrift of safety in the form of third-bottom Sunderland 1.

Division 1: Northumberland 2, who are looking to bounce back to the Premier at the first attempt, are well clear at the top with 9 straight wins. Primrose 1 have moved into second place with an 8-point gap over Benwell Hill in third, with Chester-le-Street 1, Sunderland 2 annd Newbiggin 1 still in contention. At the other end, Tynemouth 3 and Northern 3 with only one win each are somewhat adrift of Westoe 2 and Eldon 1.

Division 2: Hexham 1 have emerged from the pack to forge a 17-point lead at halfway, leaving three teams vying for second spot, currently occupied by Northumberland 3 who are 4 points ahead of Primrose 2 with Boldon 1 a further 3 points behind. In parallel with the situation at the bottom of the Premier, Northern 4 collected their first win of the season against bottom team Tynemouth 4 but whereas Tynemouth are completely adrift, Northern will have Primrose 3 in their sights.

Division 3: Sunderland 3 have won all 8 matches but 5 of them have been by a 3-2 scoreline, so they are only 5 points ahead of Consett 1 and Eldon 2, who are level on points in second and thrid places, with David Lloyd Sunderland a further 15 points behind. Tynemouth 5 moved off the foot of the table courtesy of a 20-0 walkover against Westoe 3 who have yet to win, but both teams have a big gap to make up on Newbiggin 2.

Division 4: There may need to be a steward's enquiry as at halfway Boldon 3 lead Boldon 2 at the top. Both teams are level on points, but Boldon 3 have won one more match, having lost only to Boldon 2 so far! Consett 2 are the only realistic challengers, 10 points behind the leaders. Ashington and Chester-le-Street 3 occupy the bottom two places.

Division 5: Northern Juniors completed the first half unbeaten and top by 18 points from Newcastle University 3, with Tynemouth Social and Northumberland 5 trailing a further 16 and 18 points respectively off the pace. Consett 3 remain bottom despite recording their first win against second-bottom Alnwick, whose earlier 20-0 walkover against Hexham 3 remains their only 'victory' so far.

Ladies Division 1: At the halfway point, Northern Ladies 1 still lead the table but only by the narrowest of margins (fewer points conceded), having lost for the first time this season in their final match of the half to rivals Northumberland Ladies, who are now level on points at the top. Newcastle University Ladies are only 5 points behind in third place, with the second half looking likely to be very competitive between these three teams, who have each won one and lost one against their rivals. Tynemouth Ladies 1 eased into fourth place and Northumbria University Ladies grabbed the final second-half Division 1 place with a 16-6 victory over Northern Ladies 2, just enough to overtake their opponents by a single point and consign Northern Ladies 2 to Division 2 for the second half, along with Northern Ladies 3, Tynemouth Ladies 2 and Primrose Ladies.