Forecast your Division 10 winners & losers

Winter League

Today we are starting our preview of each of the 10 Divisions in the Winter League to see who are the main title contenders and which teams are going to be fighting off relegation into a new Division 11 (?) next season. Then we give you the opportunity to pick your favourite teams, in all ten divisions (but just Division 10 today), to go up and down. It's all a bit of fun although I will be keeping records of all of your selections and publishing them at different times throughout the 2026-27 season.

Me first then, and we start with Division 10 and work our way downwards (or upwards depending on where you are standing).

Division 10 Preview

Let's start with looking at last year's final Division 10 table and the 2026-27 line-up.

The Pts Column shows the number of points won last season

A new season and a new host club, one of three new host clubs joining the League for the 2026-27 season. Skel Central have done a lot of work on their green surrounds in providing extensive and expensive covered areas which the eight teams will be grateful for, no doubt over the coming months. Last year Lindley Lib and Netherton Con hosted half a season each for the Division 10 teams, whereas this year they will be based at Skel Central for the full duration of the season.

With three teams from Brockholes starting the season in Division 10 what are the chances of them finishing in alphabetical order? B, C and D is the logical running order but will that prevail, and more importantly, will any of them fill the two promotion places at the end of the season? Are the C team bowlers really better than their D and E team counterparts, or maybe they are about to embark on a freefall run? Your call.

If that is the case then what does that say about the Almondbury BC C team who finished below the Brockholes C team in Division 9 last season? But that was at Paddock which we all know is a unique green and that set of results cannot be readily compared with starting the new season on a very different green. Life is never that straightforward is it?

Then take into the account the fact that the two Skelmanthorpe Central teams (last year they were named Skel Windmill) who finished behind the two runaway Division 10 leaders from last season and are now playing on their own green and must be strong contenders.

Holmfirth B would have been relegated from Division 10 last season if we had a Division 11 for them to drop into. Maybe we will have one at the end of the coming season and maybe they have only delayed the inevitable. That just leaves the new boys from Marsh Lib C who will have the longest journey time commuting to the new host's green. Judging on the Marsh Lib's other two teams in the League, I would expect them to be sniffing around the top of the pile at this level as well.

If there are sufficient entries in the forcasting game I will put them into a table with periodical publications on the HuddWeb website. You get 3 points if your top selection is top of the Division table: 1 point if they are in 2nd place. Same for your selected bottom of the table team: 3 points if your selection is in the bottom place and 1 point if they are 2nd to bottom. Just for fun this year but maybe we will attract some sponsorship to dish out some prizes next year. Up to you if you want to play, the entry form is below.

Coming Next: Division 9 Forecast Game

Entries are open until the day before the Division 10 opening round of fixtures are scheduled. Entries are only accepted from bowlers in the Winter League.

My two tips for the title and to be relegated have already been entered using the form below.

So what are your top and bottom selections? ENTER NOW.

Submit your best guess for both the top and bottom positions. Then click on 'see previous responses' to see all the previous best guesses submitted so far.

If you have any problem using this form please use this online link instead