After a brief parenthesis, during which the BOV KO semi-finals in both divisions were played, the action will shift back to the National League between today and tomorrow with leaders Neptunes Emirates again expected to extend their unbeaten run and consolidate their position at the top of the standings.
In their last championship outing, second-placed San Ġiljan Sir Alex cut the leeway with Neptunes to three points with a comfortable 17-10 win over Sirens Ritter Sport.
The two league pacesetters have now played six matches each with the Reds on 18 points and en-joying a 100 per cent record as San Ġiljan conceded one defeat.
The Saints will not be in action until next Friday so Neptunes will be determined to beat Sirens tomorrow to open a six-point gap at the summit.
There was only one team in it in the corresponding first-round clash between Neptunes and Sirens as the champions, who secured their place in the KO final after beating Exiles Ferretti in Saturday’s semi-final, romped home to a clear 18-6 win over the northerners.
So far, this was not a good summer for Sirens who are languishing at the wrong end of the table with only one win to show from five matches. They are also out of the cup competition after a 15-6 upset to Sliema Frank Salt Real Estate last Friday.
Sirens are through a transition period with Italian coach Marco Risso handed the challenging task to introduce more young players into his senior squad and develop a strong team that could see the club achieve long-term goals in future.
Today’s Premier Division match sees KO finalists Sliema playing bottom-placed Exiles with the latter still without a win having already played one match from the second round of the BOV League.
The Blues beat Exiles 14-9 in their previous head-to-head en-counter last month.
Sliema are practically out of contention for the league but Peter Decesare’s men should make it a double over Exiles this evening, also buoyed by their fine showing in the cup semi-final which kept alive their hopes of landing some silverware this summer.
Programme
Today: 18.00 Marsaxlokk vs Marsascala. 19.15 Exiles vs Sliema.
Tomorrow: 18.00 Valletta vs Otters. 19.15 Neptunes vs Sirens.
Premier League
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Neptunes | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 47 | 18 |
| San Ġiljan | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 79 | 72 | 15 |
| Sliema | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 60 | 69 | 6 |
| Sirens | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 44 | 63 | 3 |
| Exiles | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 43 | 67 | 0 |
Division One
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Valletta | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 86 | 58 | 15 |
| Marsascala | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 65 | 70 | 12 |
| Ta’ Xbiex | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 72 | 74 | 7 |
| Otters | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 51 | 57 | 7 |
| Marsaxlokk | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 50 | 65 | 0 |