New Earswick All Blacks and York Acorn's hopes of avoiding re-election have been plunged into turmoil following the withdrawal of fellow strugglers London Skolars and Blackbrook from the National Conference League, writes Dianne Hillaby.

Both London and Blackbrook had been struggling to fulfil fixtures and were forced to call off their games last weekend.

London were unable to raise a team for their game against All Blacks while Blackbrook had just five players for their scheduled fixture against Cottingham Tigers.

It has prompted both teams to resign with immediate affect, putting a different complexion on the second division standings.

All the results involving the two clubs will be expunged from the records, which could lead to a dramatic change at both ends of the table.

Skolars and Blackbrook had occupied the bottom two places, with New Earswick just above the latter on points difference.

Acorn, sixth from bottom and six points clear of the re-election zone, thought they had done enough to guarantee their safety.

However, they could now find themselves back in the thick of it at the bottom once the tables are revised. While New Earswick will be no worse off as they had lost all their games against Blackbrook and London, Acorn will drop two points as they beat London in October.

Their new position in the league will now depend on how the other clubs around them fared against London and Blackbrook.

NCL chairman Terry Parle confirmed that, despite the withdrawal of the two clubs, the bottom two teams would still have to apply for re-election.

He said: "It is a requirement of the league that the bottom two clubs in the second division seek re-election. That doesn't give us any leeway."

The NCL committee will also consider six applications from new teams to join the league next season. They are Huddersfield YMCA, Clayton, Victoria Rangers, Upton and Hunslet Warriors.

Updated: 11:47 Friday, April 13, 2001