
City of Manchester, Otter and Liverpool Lizards were guaranteed their places early on and so the focus was on two matches staged 170 miles apart - Coventry against Sheffield Sharks at Coventry and Hucknall v Otter at Exeter - to determine fourth and fifth places.
Coventry beat Sheffield 10-8 to put themselves in the clear. Down at Exeter, that was brilliant news for Hucknall because they had started the day level on points with the Sharks - but with a vastly superior goal difference. So barring an unlikely deluge of goals against, Hucknall could be sure of going through.
However, they were in no mood to go out with a whimper. After trailing early on to Otter, India Wilkinson (Photo: Trevor Hyde) netted with two fine back-handers as they gradully went clear - eventually triumphing 12-7
In Division 2, Rotherham outplayed Caledonia to finish on top with a 100 per cent record. Penguin Emperors were second, rounding off with a 14-7 win against City of Bristol, including five goals from Niki Reynolds. At the other end of the table, Mid Sussex Marlins and Caledonia face the prospect of a play-off against the two leading teams in Division 3.