TITLE-CHASING New Earswick All Blacks will definitely be promoted this season, the Evening Press has learnt.

Confusion reigned in the White Rose Avenue camp as the club tried to find out whether they had already won the Pennine League division two title and/or promotion with a game to go after league bosses arranged a promotion play-off between their rivals.

And after speaking to various members of the league's committee, the Press finally found out that promotion is practically assured, although they still need a result in their last game to secure the title.

The situation is a complicated one due to the Pennine League rule of using a play-off rather than points-difference to decide title, promotion and relegation issues should sides finish level on points. The argument behind using a play-off is based on the idea that if a side, for example, needed to win by 40 points in their last game but then saw their opponents fail to turn up, they would be awarded only a 30-0 walkover.

As it stands at the top of division two, All Blacks are on 34 points with one game to go, ahead on points-difference of two teams, Kippax Welfare and Newsome Panthers, who have both completed their fixtures.

The York side are guaranteed to finish top - barring an unrealistic 89 points defeat in their last game at lowly Queensbury 'A' on Saturday - but if they fail to get a result against Queensbury, they will finish level on points with both Kippax and Newsome, thus requiring the need for a three-way play-off.

However, the league has confirmed to the Press that they will not stage a round-robin play-off between the top three, but rather the teams in second and third will play-off for the right to meet the leaders in a play-off final which will decide the title, with the two teams in that final being promoted.

And the league, in the fair assumption that All Blacks will indeed finish top, has scheduled a play-off between Kippax and Welfare on Saturday to decide who gets promotion along with All Blacks, and who should meet All Blacks in the play-off final should the York side lose their last game.

All Blacks chairman Charles Rollinson, delighted on hearing the news that his club had been promoted, said: "Hopefully we'll just win our last game and win the title, and that will be the end of it. It's been a bit complicated - the league must have a system but we're not sure of it - but at least we now know we're promoted."

Updated: 10:47 Tuesday, May 03, 2005