In forty-two years of the modern ringball league, the championship has never been decided on the final day with three teams still in contention. It will be on Saturday 22 March.
The arithmetic, after the most dramatic Round 25 in memory:
| Team | Pts | Final fixture |
|---|---|---|
| Thornbury Lancers | 51 | Away to Dunmore Eagles |
| Caravel Harriers | 51 | Home to Fernwich Falcons |
| Ashwick Stoneflies | 50 | Home to Millhaven |
Caravel, who led the table by three points a fortnight ago, have been caught. The Stoneflies’ victory at Ashwick Oval on Saturday — their fifth consecutive win — has turned a two-horse race into a three-horse stampede.
The Permutations
If Caravel beat Fernwich at home — which they should; the Falcons have been poor away — they finish on 53 regardless of other results. They would be champions for the third consecutive year. Wil Sørensen’s side remains the most complete in the league, even in defeat.
If the Lancers beat Dunmore away — a trickier fixture, but they have the best away record in the league — and Caravel drop points, the title goes to Thornbury. Jens Aldric, who scored three rings on Saturday, has been the most consistent centrist in the league this season.
If the Stoneflies beat Millhaven at home and both Caravel and the Lancers lose or draw — the least likely but not impossible scenario — the title goes to Ashwick Oval. Dov Marsden would have his championship at thirty-six.
The most probable outcome is a Caravel title. The most romantically compelling is an Ashwick one. The Lancers, characteristically, would be content with any outcome that involves them winning.
What Saturday Proved
Ashwick’s victory over Caravel proved that this Stoneflies side has something beyond talent: it has nerve. To trail at half-time, to change system, to claw back, and then to produce the decisive moment through a twenty-two-year-old in his first full season — that is the mark of a team that believes.
Fen Barlow has scored in six consecutive matches. Maren Thatch’s nine clearances on Saturday were the most by any keeper in a single match this season. And Marsden — old, slow by his own admission, and tactically brilliant — continues to orchestrate the side with a calm that belies the weight of his sixteen-year wait.
“One more week,” Marsden said after the match. He was still kneeling when he said it. Barlow had to pull him up.
One more week.