We are over three-quarters of the way through the season now and it’s all to play for across the divisions with most relegation, promotion and playoff spots still up for grabs! Let’s see how each division is looking:

Men's Premier:

With four matches remaining, it's absolutely neck and neck for the title with reigning champions Northumberland 1 moving to level points with Northern 1 following their narrow 3-2 win over Northern to gain revenge for their 1st half defeat by a similar scoreline. Northumberland lead only on fewer games conceded. Westoe 1 are well behind the leaders but comfortably in 3rd, ahead of a resurgent Northumberland 2 with Sunderland 1, University 1A and Tynemouth 1 trailing in the contest for the two remaining Northumbria Cup places.

Chester-le-Street 1 remain winless at the bottom, and University 1B stil have a lot of work to do to avoid the end-of-season relegation playoff place.

Division 1:

Northumberland 3 remain unbeaten and lead the table 29 points clear of Eldon 1 who have played a match more but look to have the second promotion place in their sights. The promotion playoff spot looks to be between Northern 2 who are a further 17 points behind Eldon in 3rd, and Boldon 1 who are 13 points behind Northern but with a match in hand, with Primrose 1 having an outside chance.

Down at the bottom, Westoe 2 remain winless and look certain for the drop, but Benwell Hill 1's narrow 3-2 win over Primrose 2 has moved them 12 points clear of Primrose in the battle to avoid the relegation playoff position.

Division 2:

This season three go up automatically, and with three matches to play it's congratulations to Newbiggin 1 who have already wrapped up promotion and look certainties for the title with a 49 and 59-point lead respectively over Tynemouth 2 and Northern 3 (albeit Newbiggin have played a match more) at the top of the table. There are no other real contenders for the automatic promotion places, leaving Eldon 2, Northern 4 and Hexham 1 to fight for the promotion playoff place.

Primrose 3 remain bottom despite registering their first win, a 4-1 defeat of their nearest relegation rivals Concordia 1 who now have a 20-point cushion over Primrose but have also lost ground on Boldon 2 who beat them 3-2 to leave Concordia firmly in the relegation playoff spot.

Division 3:

Again three go up automatically this season and leaders Northern Juniors 1 and 2nd-placed University 3 are well clear at the top. Sunderland 3 currently occupy the 3rd promotion place but Northumberland 4 are only 4 points behind Sunderland with a match in hand, having gained revenge on their rivals with a recent 4-1 win, so Sunderland may have to settle for the 4th-place promotion playoff position, with no other realistic challengers.

Hexham 2's convincing 4-1 defeat of Northumberland Ladies moves them 10 points above their opponents at the foot of the table with a match in hand, giving Hexham every chance of avoiding automatic relegation in favour of the playoff.

Division 4:

In another division where the top three will be automatically promoted, Northern 5 currently lead Tynemouth 3 by two points at the top, but Tynemouth have a match in hand. Even a repeat of Northern's narrow 1st half 3-2 win over Tynemouth on 8th March may not be enough to deny their rivals the title. Eldon 3 look comfortable in the 3rd promotion place, with a 14 and 15-point lead respectively over Northumberland 5 and Chester-le-Street 3 who will battle it out for the 4th-place promotion playoff spot.

Hexham 3 remain at the foot of the table with little hope now of escaping the drop with the relegation playoff place between Boldon 4 and Sunderland 4. Sunderland are 9 points ahead of Boldon but the teams meet in their final match of the season on 27th March.

Division 5:

With four matches remaining, University 4 lead the table by 9 points from Concordia 2 with Benwell Hill 2 a further 5 points behind, and these three teams have the three automatic promotion places sewn up with Newbiggin 2 the only team in contention for the 4th-place playoff place. Concordia still have to play both of their rivals so will have a big influence on the Division 5 title.

At the other end, Primrose 4 are trailing Tynemouth 4 and Consett Development, but these teams have yet to play each other in the 2nd half so things could change.

Ladies Division 1:

University Ladies 1A remain unbeaten and with a 41-point lead over Northern Ladies 1 (who have only one match in hand), it looks like the University will retain their title, although the rival teams do meet for a final time on 21st March. University Ladies 1B and Northumberland Ladies 1 are both out of contention for the title, but look to have secured their 3rd and 4th places for the Northumbria Cup.

Meanwhile Northern Ladies 2 have slipped to the bottom of the table, 3 points behind Tynemouth Ladies 1, and these two teams meet for the final time on 20th March to decide who will occupy the automatic relegation and playoff places at the end of the season.

Ladies Division 2:

Northumberland Ladies 2 have closed the gap at the top on previously-unbeaten Northern Ladies 3 after gaining revenge for their only defeat of the season in the second round of fixtures. Northumberland are now 15 points behind Northern with a match in hand, and their final encounter on 10th March will determine who secures the automatic promotion place and who has to settle for a playoff spot.

Last-minute entry University Ladies 4 have struggled against experienced opposition but will have gained good experience for the future.

End-of-season playoffs - Last season saw the successful introduction of end-of-season playoffs between the teams finishing immediately outside the automatic promotion and relegation places in each division. This extends interest during the season run-in, as a number of teams will remain in contention for a playoff place right up to their final fixture. Although no challenging teams were victorious last season, there were a couple of really close matches which gave the higher-placed teams a nervous evening!

The playoffs will again take place at Northern as follows:

Tue 16th April: Divisions 4 and 3

Wed 17th April: Divisions 2 and 1

Thu 18th April: Premier Division and (new for this season) Ladies Division 1

More details will be provided nearer the time.