DESPITE there still being another four rounds of matches remaining to be contested in the local Geelong Region Senior leagues, the composition of next year’s Men’s and Women’s Divisions are becoming somewhat known even now.

PHOTO: One of the earliest team photos of the inaugural FC Leopold Men’s squad. The Greens will bounce back to next season’s Division 1 after being relegated in its inaugural season in 2017...

In Men’s Division 1, bottom side Breakwater Eagles are assured of relegation to Division 2 while second last placed Barwon Heads trails the third last placed Drysdale by a mammoth eight points and is likely to join the Eagles in the second tier in 2019.

The situation in Men’s Division 2 is just as definitive, with the top two teams Bell Park and FC Leopold securing promotion to the top tier with just four rounds remaining.

FC Leopold will bounce back to the elite competition after just one year’s absence, having been relegated from Division 1 in its inaugural season in 2017.

Bell Park, on the other hand, has had a phenomenal first up season entering the Division 2 competition after a vacancy was created prior to the season and the All Whites stepped up from an initial Division 3 placement, due to an extremely high calibre squad.

In Men’s Division 3, Corio Bay Cobras and Bellarine Sharks have likewise guaranteed themselves promotion to the higher grade at the expense of the two lowest placed teams in Division 2.

Currently those teams are Surf Coast (Reserves) and Drysdale (Reserves), but both Corio Bay Gold and Deakin Ducks Gold are still under threat. Both are just four points clear of the drop zone.

IN THE WOMEN’S competition, the Division 1 league currently boasts just seven teams, while Division 2 comprises of nine.

The hope is that next year at least two - if not three - teams will make the jump to Division 1, which would enable the elite women’s division to ensure a 10 team structure.

The current top three teams in Division 2 that could potentially earn promotion to the top division are leaders Lara United, second placed Geelong and third placed Surfside Waves.

That would be on the proviso that the second tier would not be detrimentally affected and would comprise of the minimum six teams that is required to constitute a workable league competition.