BAFA Premiership Power Ranking Week 9
- Tom Kinney
- Jun 6
- 6 min read
What better time to check in on the BAFA Premiership after a few weeks away than at the halfway point of the season? Let’s jump straight into it with a refresher of every team from top down.
1st. London Warriors
Still leading the pack is the only undefeated team left at this level, the London Warriors. A notoriously difficult team for journalists to cover, they prefer to let the results speak for themselves rather than publishing stat lines or individual accolades. Who can blame them when the results speak this loudly? Dominant wherever they go, a comeback home victory against their closest competitors in the Bristol Aztecs has been the cherry on top of this exceptional start to the season. Clearly the strongest team in Britball right now, it is difficult to see where a defeat this season would come from.
2nd. Bristol Aztecs
Since their last campaign saw the Bristol Aztecs end the Manchester Titans’ three-peat hopes before ultimately falling short in the final, they have been Britball’s favourite underdog and after an off-season of incredible recruitment, there was a lot of belief that this version of the Aztecs would finally get it over the line. But after getting knocked out of the CEFL only a week after falling to a remarkable Warriors 4th quarter comeback, it would be easy to think that the wheels had come off. That was, until they went on the road and found their feet against a hungry Blitz team, securing their control on the 2 seed position and playoff qualification. Heavily favoured this week against the Cats, they will no doubt be looking to get stronger through the second half of the season, knowing that a 2-touchdown victory over the Warriors on the final day could see them steal that all-important 1 seed position.
3rd. London Blitz
The Blitz may currently sit 2nd in the Premier South table by way of having played an extra game (and their truly outrageous points scored total), but having lost to the Aztecs at home, and still having to face the unenviable task of seeing the Warriors twice in quick succession during the run-in, it is difficult to see the Blitz as actually being in control of that #2 spot at this point. That being said, the point differential in their head-to-head with Bristol is only 13 points, so to suggest it isn't still all to play for would simply be spreading misinformation.
4th. Coventry Phoenix
Will I ever get used to writing Coventry and not Tamworth? Probably not. But does it seem like the rebrand came at exactly the right moment? Absolutely. Admittedly, in this year's version of the Premier North, where everybody is struggling for offensive consistency, Coventry are no different: QB Olly Sweeney has proven to be quite reckless with the ball at times and is on track for a worryingly high interception count come the end of the season. However, you don't need a stellar offense when the defensive unit is as effective as theirs. The only question is will that formula stand up to a return trip to Manchester on the final day of the season?
5th. Manchester Titans
The 2025 Titans may have responded to their 9-7 loss in game 1 by taking no mercy on a struggling Newcastle Vikings team, but since then, their offense has been uncharacteristically erratic. Seeming to rely too heavily on their receivers busting coverages and hoping new QB Charlie Martin can find them deep. On the other hand, George Foster's defense has been nothing short of stellar, conceding only 18 points across 4 games, so there is definitely signs that the back-to-back champion Titans are in there somewhere. If the offense can become more consistent in the 2nd half of the season, then I see no reason why they can't shoot up this ranking, and even steal the 1 seed in the North.
6th. East Kilbride Pirates
Scotland's only Premier team, the East Kilbride Pirates are currently proving my week 1 prediction right, that their geographical distance to the rest of the league is both their biggest defense and their biggest obstacle to overcome. Currently sitting at 2-2, the Pirates are yet to win on the road, and know that failing to win-out from here would see them almost certainly slip out of playoff contention. This weekend sees the Pirates cross the border again to face the Coventry Phoenix at Butt's Park, in what could prove to be their biggest challenge of the year, especially considering that they're coming off two tough losses against the Caesars and Titans respectively (three, if you count the 66-0 blowout loss in their friendly fixture against the visiting Centre College Colonels).
7th. Newcastle Vikings
If I had been told prior, how much the Vikings would struggle this season after a playoff appearance last season, I simply wouldn't have believed it. So far, their lone victory is way of a 10-6 road win against the Nottingham Caesars in week 1, and while their statistics are skewed by a shocking blowout loss to Manchester, it is difficult to overlook the fact that the head-to-head over Nottingham is the only thing keeping them off the bottom spot in the North. Just as they did last year, the Vikings squad is very reliant on scholarship players from the nearby Durham Saints, and while that strategy worked last season, this class is yet to show much life at all. It is only because of the quality of players that they have, and hope that they can get it going before it's too late, that they aren't lower on this ranking.
8th. Rushmoor Knights
In complete contrast to the Vikings, the Knights seem to be just getting going. Their first season at this level was always going to have a rocky start, especially after losing QB Calvin Stitt to the Marburg Mercenaries in the offseason. But their commitment to developing their young squad is beginning to pay off with not just club performances, but with an ever-growing list of Knights receiving call-ups for the GB Lions. This growing comfortability with playing in the top flight has paved the way for some excellent individual performances like star RB Harvey Macey rushing for 335 yards across their last two games, and while inexperience means they will no doubt continue to struggle against the “big-three” at the top of the Premier South, I believe that there is simply too much quality on this side for them to be in any real danger of relegation this year. I am more than intrigued for the future of the Knights at this level, as they have all the makings of a program who could become real contenders in the not-too-distant future.
9th. Nottingham Caesars
The other newly-promoted team adjusting to life in the Prem is the Nottingham Caesars, but unlike the Knights, I'm struggling to see where the progression has been since the start of the season. I'd argue that nobody's offense has really found their feet yet in the Premier North, but the Caesars’ struggles with scoring points has to be a concern for HC Vanden Werner. It's not all bad news though, their defense has largely performed exceptionally well; most recently holding the Manchester Titans to only 17 points. The biggest reason why they have dropped a spot in this ranking is simply because they only have one home game left (vs the Phoenix in the 22nd of June) in a tough 2nd half of the season, and the next time I can see them potentially getting a result is in their return trip to Newcastle on the final day of the season, by which time it may be too late. They are absolutely in control of their own survival, but it's going to be a tough task.
10th. Hertfordshire Cheetahs
After a 14-9 defeat to the Rushmoor Knights, it looked like the Cheetahs may be in trouble, but after hanging on at home for a narrow victory over the Cats this weekend, the Cheetahs are now in complete control of their own survival. Points have been hard to come by, and defensive stops even more so, but the biggest concern the Cheetahs will have down the stretch is their ever growing injury list, especially considering that their 10-8 victory over the Cats doesn't give them much room for error. They will certainly need to pick up another win before the end of the season to feel especially confident. If the Cats can overturn this head-to-head, the Cheetahs’ return visit to the Knights on the final day could prove to be incredibly consequential.
11th. Cambridge Cats
After a 35-point defeat to the Knights, it now appears that the Cats’ only feasible path to survival is by hoping that the Cheetahs don't pick up another win, and then winning the rematch on the 20th of July by at least a field goal. While both of those things are incredibly plausible, the Cats’ 14 total points scored over 5 games doesn't exactly fill me with confidence, and that's before I mention the 191 points that they've conceded in that time. However, a 2 point buffer means that the Cats are in no way outmatched by the Cheetahs, and their opposition’s worsening injury situation will definitely give them hope. The end of the Premier South season is promising to be exciting until the final day, at the bottom of the table as well as the top.
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