Undefeated Manchester, the reigning champions, and Sheffield Sharks go to the final weekend of women's Division 1 matches - at Glasgow Tollcross and Haberdashers on 23/24 November - with Super 5s places already secured.

There will be fierce competition for the other positions, with the 2018 champions, Otter, needing a big improvement after winning only one of their four matches so far. The latest setback was a 13-4 defeat by Liverpool Lizards, who were always in charge after building a 6-1 lead in the opening period. Molly Boniface-Ashton topped the scoring for Lizards with four.

Manchester defeated Hucknall 13-4 after being made to work hard by the Midlands side in the first half, when Manchester led only 4-3. Izzy Howe netted four for the champions.

Caledonia recovered from 6-3 down to beat Birmingham 9-7, with Nicola Tate scoring five. Sheffield Sharks and Coventry were all square at 6-6 after three periods; then goals by Bernice Cowton (2), Nicole Reynolds and Ameila Peters swept Sharks to a 10-6 victory.

Photo (Trevor Hyde): Katie Bowater, of Liverpool, attempts to block a shot by Otter's Peggy Etiebet at Haberdashers today.

Spare a thought for the girls of City of Bristol! After going down 8-7 to English Roses in their first game at Northampton, they lost again in Division 2 by a single goal - 14-13 to undefeated Tyldesley.

The winner for Tyldesley came just 28 seconds from the end - by Bethan Grimes. Bristol had just fought back bravely from 8-4 and then 10-7, managing to level at 13-13 with 57 seconds remaining through Diana Teggi.

The final weekend of competition in Division 2 takes place at Newport and Lancaster on 30 November/1 December. There will be much checking of phones for results at the two venues because currently only Tyldesley - five wins from five games - are guaranteed a place in Championship 1 in the second phase of the season.

Mid Sussex Marlins improved their chances of a top five spot by defeating Liverpool Liver Birds 16-12, including seven goals from Liv Henderson. Marlins were 7-4 in arrears after two periods but then absolutely dominated the third, netting eight times.

Hucknall grabbed their first win in women's Division 1 at Haberdashers today. They were only 6-3 ahead against Birmingham after three periods. Then the floodgates opened - Hucknall scored seven times in the last quarter through Rachael Lewin (3), Anna Lord (2), Emily Pilkington and Madeline Brown to finish with a 13-3 victory.

At the top of the table, Sheffield Sharks made it three wins out of three, edging out Liverpool Lizards 9-7. Four goals in the second quarter - from Bernice Cowton, Shannon Moran, Lauren Richardson and Danielle Elliot - proved crucial, taking the score from 1-1 to 5-2. Liverpool rallied briefly to 5-4 but Sharks had the better of the later exchanges.

​Champions Manchester won again - 10-6 against Coventry - including hat-tricks by Steph Whittaker and Annie Clapperton. With Super 5s qualification very much in mind, Otter made sure of their first points of the season - a whopping 21-3 victory over Caledonia.  

Photos (Trevor Hyde): Top, Steph Whittaker scores past Coventry goalkeeper Charlotte Noble at Haberdashers today. Below: Liverpool's Alice Byrne (white cap) battles with Nicole Reynolds, of Sheffield.
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 Tyldesley stay top in women's Division 2 after beating Otter Lutra 13-10 at Northampton today. The goals were shared by three players - Holly Toone (6), Honor Grimes (4) and Jordan Parsons (3).

Liverpool Liver Birds claimed their first win - 12-9 against Sheffield Stingrays. It was Sheffield's first defeat. The game was close for much of the time, Stringrays briefly leading 6-5 before starting the last period at 8-8. Then Liverpool broke clear with goals by Gina Lay, Rebecca Scott-Davies, Hannah Gilbert and Charlotte Hopwood (Photo: Trevor Hyde). 

English Roses and City of Bristol were tied at 6-6 at the start of the last period, goals by Andrea Norris and Jenny Braddock then taking the score to 8-6 for Roses - and eventually an 8-7 win. Welsh Wanderers were five goals up in the opening six minutes against Liverpool Liver Birds and went on to triumph 9-5. Leah Clark scored three of the Welsh goals and Faye Warren two. 

Later, Tyldesley made sure of a place in Championship 1 with an 18-10 victory over English Roses, featuring six more goals by Honor Grimes. 

Swim England today published this new statement regarding LEN International Transfer Certificate regulations:

The European Governing Body for the aquatic disciplines has for some time required water polo players to follow a clearly defined transfer process when moving between two LEN-registered federations.

The process, applicable to players of all ages who have been registered with LEN-recognised federations within the last three years, requires clubs and athletes to fulfil these obligations during two designated transfer windows.

Following a recent review, Swim England will be introducing changes to its membership registration system to support the International Transfer Certificate process. Players who have transferred will be assigned an attribute on the membership system confirming their successful completion of the process. In addition, when renewing player memberships, clubs will be asked to confirm that their players have complied with the process.
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With regard to any disciplinary action against players and/or clubs who have not complied with the process, the LEN Dispute Panel is the recognised body for dealing with any issues arising. Complainants should refer all matters directly to LEN with the accompanying fee.

For more details and Swim England contact, see Information page.
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Penguin dropped their first point in men's Championship 3 at Haberdashers when late goals by Luke Roche and Lewis Daly earned Manchester Hawks an 8-8 draw. Lorenzo Cacciola's fourth goal two minutes into the final period had put the Londoners 8-6 ahead.

Consolation for Penguin is that they are already assured a top five spot and a place in Championship 2. So are Otter, who made it five wins from five matches with a 16-13 defeat of Birmingham.

Rob Parker, star of GB's 2012 Olympics team, turned out for Cheltenham Spartans against Southampton and played a huge role - eight goals - as his team snatched a very late 13-12 win. Spartans were 11-8 behind at the start of the final period but then scored five quick goals through Parker (2), Mehmet Ali Arat (2) and James Willis. Charles Roberts' fifth goal 26 seconds from the end came too late to save Southampton.

Castleford beat Croydon 13-10 but were looking shaky at one stage as Croydon hit back from a 9-3 deficit to trail 10-9. Late goals by Matt Lawtey (2) and Alex Graves made the game safe for Castleford.

Photo (Trevor Hyde): Great save . . . Otter's Konstantinos Gartagabis in action against Birmingham today.

Cambridge were never once in the lead against Coventry in men's Division 4 at Marlborough until 1.38 from the end - but Nick Ludford's goal, making it 7-6, was enough to ensure their first points of the season.

It was a scrappy game in which Cambridge (and Coventry) somehow failed to find the net in a four-minute period during which Coventry played a man down due to a brutality offence. It all got very tense in the final stages, when a splendid, top-corner save by Cambridge's ex-GB goalkeeper Andy Knight, proved crucial just before the winner from Ludford (Photo: Trevor Hyde).

York made a dazzling start against Rotherham Metro. Before the end of the first period, they had raced into a 6-0 lead - only for it all to go horribly wrong. Just 26 seconds into the third period, Rotherham had fought back to take the lead for the time at 8-7 thanks to a fine long shot from Neil Swainson. From then on, Rotherham dominated, eventually winning 19-12, including five goals from Dan Hunt.

Rotherham are now guaranteed a top five place - and a move up to Championship 3 - along with Hucknall, who maintained a 100 per cent record after five games by defeating the Army 14-7. Tyldesley beat Bridgefield 19-12, featuring another nine-goal haul by Addison Brown.

London rivals Otter and Penguin remain joint top of men's Division 3 after completing further wins at Haberdashers today.

Otter edged out Castleford 11-9, with Daniel Shunn, Tim Chambers, Mate Nyaka and Omiris Pantazis all contributing two goals. Penguin beat Cheltenham Spartans 16-9, Giampaolo de Rosa adding another eight to keep him at the head of the division's top shots list.

Lewis Daly was on target five times as Manchester Hawks defeated Southampton 14-7. Birmingham's fast start set up victory over Croydon Amphibians, 12-10. Nathan Wilkes (2), Drazen Videc (2), Jason Culloo and Hamish Scott were the marksmen as Birmingham raced into a 6-1 lead by the start of the second period.

Photo (Trevor Hyde): Croydon's Kevin Steele (left) takes on David Lane, of Birmingham, who won 12-10.

Junior Ben Naish scored scored six as Hucknall easily maintained a 100 per cent record in men's Division 4 with a 20-5 victory over Cambridge at Marlborough today.

Hucknall are now virtually assured a top five place, ensuring progress to Championship 3 in the second phase of the season. The other places are very much for grabs.

Rotherham Metro worked out a method of shackling the division's top marksman, Addison Brown (21 goals in his first three matches) in beating Tyldesley 11-6. There were three goals for Paul Gregory as Rotherham went from 2-2 at the start of the second period to lead 8-3. Brown still managed three for Tyldesley.

Coventry defeated the British Army 9-7 - their first win. The Army led 5-3 early in the third period but then struggled as Coventry claimed goals by Luke Rostron, Dave Lambie, Remmy Gorton and Matt Elliott. Bridgefield were too strong for York, 13-7.