BOCKING Poachers were crowned as the Essex Invitation Petanque League division one winners after their rivals, Billericay Meadows, lost 3-0 at Thorley.

The title is a fitting reward for Poachers' Mark Williams, Paul Griffin and Pat Brown after a great season.

Meanwhile, the win for Thorley has given them a chance of avoiding relegation to division two and it is now a battle between Bocking Boules, The Cock and Thorley to avoid the drop.

The fight will go to the last game of the season but other teams could still be dragged into the relegation places.

Billericay Lakes overtook their Meadows team-mates with a 2-1 win over Bocking Boules to go into third place.

In division two, Wethersfield Jetts need a point from their local derby with the Hopps to take the title, while the Hopps need a big win to try and make second place their own.

A 3-0 win for Broomfield FC at Bardfield has given them an outside chance of the runners-up spot.

The home side had no answer to the form of David Bird, Trevor Blows and in particular, Nikki Parrish, who had an excellent night on the terrain.

ESSEX INVITATION PETANQUE LEAGUE

DIVISION ONE

P W L F A Diff Pts

Bocking Poachers 12 10 2 25 11 79 25

Three Elms G 10 5 5 16 14 50 16

Billericay Lakes 11 6 5 16 17 -6 16

Billericay Meadows 9 5 4 14 13 9 14

Thorley 9 4 5 11 16 -71 11

The Cock 8 2 6 10 14 -12 10

Bocking BAH 9 2 7 10 17 -49 10

DIVISION TWO

P W L F A Diff Pts

Wethersfield Jetts 11 8 3 23 10 91 23

Blackwater U3A 12 7 5 21 15 31 21

Broomfield FC 10 6 4 17 13 56 17

Wethersfield Hopps 10 6 4 16 14 11 16

Swan 11 4 7 14 19 -9 14

Bardfield 11 4 7 13 20 -37 13

Three Elms Q 11 3 8 10 23 -143 10