WHAT are the chances of Plainmoor Gulls soaring from Division Three to Division One in successive seasons?

It's the $64,000 question being asked in the Torbay Winter Netball League after the promoted Gulls swept to the top of Division Two this week following the 46-10 victory over Caterfood.

There's still a long road ahead, but they've already established a three-point cushion over second-placed Loxton Ladies with a performance that was strong in defence and decisive when pushing the ball down court to their shooters.

Caterfood are having a tough time of it right now, their new shooter still finding her feet, but the Gulls really meant business as GA Jenny Page took the Player of the Match plaudits.

Pink Panthers are another side with back-to-back promotion aspirations having risen from Division Three this season, though they were their own worst enemies when fielding only five players for the game against My T Design B.

With only two players able to take the centre pass, it meant Panthers were easily picked off to lose 42-26 in spite of the Player of the Match award going to their C, Grace Cameron.

To their credit, Panthers at least made it on court, even though two of the five had not played for them before.

Divas were another Division Two side struggling for numbers this week, borrowing two players yet still facing a red hot Loxton Ladies one short.

The result was one-way traffic as Loxton coasted home 45-9, albeit Player of the Match in the umpires' eyes proved to be Divas GK/GD Cindy Moody.

Also in Division Two, Latham beat basement side Shout for an Electrician 49-10 in what was described as a 'nice friendly game'.

Shout have had problems raising teams this season, with the endless changes to the side costing them points, but they keep working for one another and certainly never gave up in this one.

The Player of the Match award went to Latham GS Denise Stickley.

Meanwhile, Manor Building's supremacy continues in Division One after a convincing 73-31 victory over the team at the very bottom of the table, Boathouse.

The defending champions don't seem to put a foot wrong whoever they play, though there was no POM award on this occasion for any of their star-studded line-up. It went, instead, to Boathouse WA Rachel Kelly.

Second-placed My T Design A were also emphatic winners in the top flight, beating a six-strong WKD 65-19 to cling to the coat-tails of Manor Building.

My T struggled to find a rhythm at first, but ran away with it after the first quarter. The Player of the Match award went, not to a My T player, but C Maddie Close for WKD.

The two early games on Monday were a lot closer, starting with the fixture between Mount Stuart and Denbury Diesel that saw Denbury trailing at the halfway stage before recovering to win 39-31.

The Mounties did their best to hold the opposition once Denbury broke into their stride during the third and final quarters, but had to settle for second best with Player of the Match Lauren Embury in such good form at C/GD for Diesels.

The other game saw PC Smiths beating Team TVS 49-30 to sound a warning to the teams above that their fight to avoid relegation is now underway.

It helped that they were able to field a full side this week, while there was no way back for the opposition once they opened a 10-goal interval lead. Smiths also had the Player of the Match in GD/GK Chloe Culpan.

There was no shortage of goals in Thursday's Division Three programme, with both Wellswood Ceramics (third in the table) and Fubar (top) passing the 50 mark.

Wellswood did so with only six players, eclipsing Hyde Park Tornados 54-22 with GD Anna Eagling named Player of the Match.

Despite losing their eighth game in a row, it was a morale booster for Hyde Park to start with a full complement. It will need time for the new players to bed in and find their true positions, but it's a start and things can only get better.

Meanwhile, Fubar's 51-21 victory over Shelley Construction meant they moved above overnight league leaders Muppets.

The winning platform was built during the opening two quarters in which they established a 25-13 lead, though the umpires' choice for Player of the Match was Shelley GA Kirsty Frazer for typifying her side's fighting qualities.

The fact that Muppets dropped to second in the table was all down to Westerly BMW's powers of recovery to draw the match 34-34 having trailed 28-19 going into the final quarter.

It really was one of the comebacks of the season, with the Player of the Match award going to Westerly WD Emma Collins.

Also in Division Three, Tornado Pumas beat their house-mates Tornado Tigers 35-22 after a slow start in which both teams managed only four goals during the opening 15 minutes.

The pace picked up for Pumas to lead 17-9 at the halfway point, and they were never in danger of losing the match after that. The Player of the Match award went to Pumas GS Heather Barratt.

FIXTURES

Division One (Monday): Boathouse v TVS, Manor Building v PC Smiths (both 7.10pm); Denbury Diesel v My T Design A, Mount Stuart v Applebys (both 8.30pm).

Division Two (Tuesday): Shout for an Electrician v My T Design B, Argos Fire Protection v Plainmoor Gulls (both 7.10pm); Devon DJ Devils v Pink Panthers, Loxton Ladies v Latham (both 8.30pm).

Division Three (Thursday): Muppets v Fubar, Tornado Tigers v Wellswood Ceramics (both 7.10pm); Westcountry Belles v Westerly BMW, Tornado Pumas v Hyde Park Tornado (both 8.30pm).