Guernsey Panthers well placed

GUERNSEY PANTHERS will go into their long Christmas break in buoyant mood after their weekend in Division Three South went even better than expected.

While the table-topping Sarnians were crushing bottom side Abingdon Centre 70-19, there was good news from elsewhere as big promotion rivals Meon lost 46-41 at Brize Jets.

It means that the title battle has been blown wide open into a genuine six-horse race, with three sides having lost twice, including Panthers, while a further three teams have lost three times.

By virtue of having played more games, Panthers are arguably favourites and with their scheduled December game against Brize Jets being put back to March, they are next in action on 12 January.

That is away at Meon, where the winners will be in the driving seat to secure the sole guaranteed promotion spot, with Panthers captain Nena Copperwaite already relishing that forthcoming battle.

'We have a long break, but we will be training every Thursday except Boxing Day because that is a game we have to win, as simple as that,' she said.

'For us, it was a perfect weekend because every result went the way we wanted, with Meon, Sussex NRG Pumas and Eagles Two all losing to sides below them in the league.

'We can't wait for that Meon game and then four home games out of five to finish the season, so we will keep ourselves motivated.'

More in today's Guernsey Press.