Results 2009-2010 League Week 08

It's tight at the top, and if anyone needed proof of this, it arrived in the shape of a 48-all draw between Broken Hearts and Pericardium. A 9-3 scoreline in round 6 looked to have given the league leaders the advantage, but an 8-4 in the last round pulled things round for the twice champions. Broken Hearts got a 'four-by-two' bonus point and probably emerge the happier. Over at the Old Star Nomads struggled in the early stages against Allsorts, but pulled clear with a 33-point second half in which they answered all but two of their two-pointers - obviously a bonus point was secured. Atletico matched that second half against the Five Bells, but were already comfortably ahead, following an 11-1 opening round – it finished 59-40. Old Itonians kept up the pressure, beating Waterloo Sunset 44-37, while Telstars cemented their solid mid-table position with a 46-36 win over Barb. High scores were shared around this week: 18 was the division's top mark, shared by Andrew Frazer (Nomads), Brian Wright (Atletico) and William Barrett (Telstars).

In Division Two the Gray Monks juggernaut rolls on, with Paul Sinha's 19 leading a bonus-point win over Sons of the Dessert. The division's tightest game came at the Sheephaven, where The Banana Splits hung on in the last round to beat Eclectics by two. Accies secured a good win at Rosslyn Park while Ovalytes secured a bonus point in a strong performance against Outcasts. The 20 points registered by the Ovalytes' Duncan McDonald would be top score in Division two most weeks, but was firmly second this time round, though Colin Kidd's 25 could not prevent his Wharfside team from going down to Mealy Bugs.

Two wins going first, seven going second, and a tie this week (incidentally, for the one of you who is interested in such matters, I got my 5-4 split the wrong way round last week). Division One averages were 91.6 (aggregate), 42.0 (first), 49.6 (second). In Division Two the corresponding figures were 81.2, 36.4 and 44.8. With 126 points scored in 10 games, including four full houses, Round 5 this week was the highest scoring round of the season so far. The friendly came from London Scottish, and produced a wide range of scores.

With Pericardium resting their brain cells, Broken Hearts could take top spot in Week Nine, if they secure a bonus point and beat Old Itonians – no easy task. In Division Two, hardcore out-of-towners the Gray Monks make the longest short trip in the QLL: the Calthorpe to the Fitzroy, to take on Outcasts. The friendly comes from Eclectics.

With two weeks to go before the Experimental Double Header Week, you can expect an email later this week with some revised playing conditions that your committee has decided upon for this. Nothing major, just addressing some of the practicalities.