Premier League Week 2 Preview

Published Thu 26 Mar 2026

Premier League Round 2 Preview

Round 2 in the Women’s Premier League competition is headlined by a Grand Final rematch, as DiamondBacks take on North West Graduates. Last year's decider was a tight battle, settled by a solitary goal from Nicole Geeves. Both sides started their season with victories in Round 1 as DiamondBacks cruised past Derwent 8-0, whilst the Bulldogs were forced to dig deep to overcome University, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 victory with a pair of late goals. The two sides were the cream of the crop in 2025, and both appear set to be amongst the chief contenders in 2026. This Saturday offers a chance to make an early statement of intent for both.

The day will begin as Canterbury and Derwent look to bounce back after both suffered opening day defeats. Their clash provides an opportunity to get some early points on the board, after both sides were overwhelmed by their opponent’s offensive firepower in week 1, as Derwent fell to DiamondBacks and Canterbury to OHA.

In other action, OHA’s will be eyeing a chance to continue their strong start to the season as they take on University in a battle of two sides who look to have taken strides in 2026. The students will rue not taking any points from their opening day efforts against NWG, but it was a promising performance to push last year’s runners-up. OHA, meanwhile, jumped out of the blocks with a blistering display as they look to establish themselves as premiership contenders.

The Premier League Men’s competition action gets underway with Canterbury looking to make it 2 wins from 2 games to start the season as they take on Derwent. The Lions were defensively solid in week 1 against OHA and will look to bring similar grit to shutting down the Strikers this weekend. It may be early in the season, but this could shape as an important three points for both sides top four aspirations come the end of the season.

University, meanwhile, will look to keep rolling as they take on OHA in the first match of the day. The Students looked in good touch as they accounted for NWG on opening day and will be expecting to make it 2 from 2 as they look like the side to beat in 2026. OHA need to be more clinical in attack if they are to cause the upset, as they had their chances against Canterbury in week 1, but simply couldn’t convert territory and scoring chances into goals.

In the final clash of the day, DiamondBacks will get a chance to make an early statement as they take on North West Graduates in a rematch of last season’s Preliminary Final. There is a sense that the DiamondBacks may have the potential to leap past the Bulldogs in 2026 and this shapes as an interesting early-season marker as to where both sides stand at this early point of the year.