Opening Weekend day one review - University of Nottingham stun champions Giants

Mihail Stoev’s capital side stormed through in the back half of last season to earn their maiden top flight title at the very first attempt. 

But if they hoped to get off to a flyer in their title defence, those hopes quickly evaporated as the university side firmly laid down a marker for the rest of the season. 

Both sides showed plenty of changes to their roster after summer recruitment drives, but it was Freddie Fairbairn’s Green and Golds who quickly clinched the first two sets with a fixture of strength and guile. 

The Giants showed their fighting qualities to pull a set back, but it was to be Nottingham’s day and they ensured the short trip back up the A60 would be a happy one by closing out the match 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 25-17) and spark raucous celebrations.  

“It felt like on the day we were the 'teamier’ team,” said England Outside Rob Morgan. “We were great for each other, working hard for each other. 

“Our goal is to get into the top four and go the Final Four weekend. That’s what we’re working towards. 

“We got some freshers coming in and some experienced guys coming in and I think the key has been to blend them with the core guys who were here last year. I think we have done that really well, as you can see today. 

“I don’t think anyone coming to watch would have expected that (to beat Giants), but we showed what we have come to do.”

Richmond Docklands – who needed a play-off win over NVL Division 1 Black Country to stay up – almost sprung a surprise in the day’s final clash against Durham Palatinates. 

Much talk up in the lead up had been about those in purple signing two NCAA winners title in the shape of Matt Edwards and Sean McQuiggan, as well as other new imports. 

But it was Richmond’s new addition, former University of Cambridge player, Russian Artemii Solodukhov (20 kills, four blocks, three aces), who proved to be the trump card early on as his hard-hitting inspired his side to surge into a 2-0 lead. 

But unlike Nottingham, Docklands were unable to push on after losing the third set and the Palatinates gradually edged their way back into the game to square it at 2-2. 

Richmond took an early 5-2 lead in the tie break, but hit Durham hit back with six points in a row and from then on had few issues in completing a reverse sweep (202-25, 23-25, 25-11, 25-22, 15-9).  

After last year’s five setter between the two sides, Newcastle Knights played out another dramatic match that went the distance – but this time it was the Londoners who came out on top. 

Sam Shenton’s north easterners looked well placed as they edged the first and third sets to lead 3-1. 

But Jefferson Williams’ Malory, who took the bronze medal at Final 4 at the end last season by beating the Knights, somehow find a way to turn things around, claiming the fourth set to square things up before securing the two points they needed from 14-14 in the decider to claim a 24-26, 25-15, 23-25, 25-17, 16-14 success. 

The day began with what turned out to be a relatively comfortable victory for Essex Rebels, who hope to go one better after claiming the silver medal at last year’s Super League Final 4. 

Women’s Head Coach Alex Chinery stepped in on the sidelines because of new men’s Head Coach’s Daryl Tay’s continued absence as he waits for his work visa documentation to come through. 

And the Singaporean coach would have been delighted with what he saw via the live stream as his side brushed aside newbies Leeds Gorse, who had won Division 1 in style in the spring. 

Although the Yorkshire side had their moments and showed promise for the rest of the season, the Colchester-based side had too much on the day to ease to a 25-20, 25-17, 25-14 victory.

Images by Sky Park, Ari Greenberg and Keeran Marquis

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