Neptunes won their 21st league title, their third consecutive one, after beating arch-rivals Sliema 3-1 in a best out of five final. Once again, the Reds proved to be the best team in the competition, and lifted the cup triumphantly, reaping the fruit of the investment they have made in the last years.

It can be argued that Neptunes have the advantage of having a third foreigner in their ranks, considering that their homegrown player Steve Camilleri has been playing professional waterpolo in Italy for several years. With two other foreigners, Camilleri makes up half of Neptunes’ outfield team, and this makes it hard for any opposition to contrast.

Neptunes dominated from start to finish, ending the first phase on top and improving their lead by the end of the round-robin phase. Their automatic qualification to the final gave them some breathing space and they could prepare for the showdown with more tranquility.

Sliema made the choice of bringing a goalkeeper as one of their two foreigners this season. It was a bold move, but this meant that they could have only one outfield foreign player in the water, and this was somewhat of a disadvantage. It had been quite some time that clubs were thinking of making the choice Sliema made, considering the fact that excellent goalkeepers are hard to come by these days. But whether they will repeat the experiment is far from a foregone conclusion, seeing that a second outfield player was sorely missed by the Blues.

With Clint Debono and Paul Privitera both calling it a day after an illustrious career, Sliema will probably be reverting to have two outfield players next season to try to bridge the gap with their opponents.

It was on the whole a season that, while on the one hand confirming what waterpolo enthusiasts have become used to – that is a battle between Sliema and Neptunes – on the other hand it also registered some progress from the so-called second-tier teams, in particular San Ġiljan. The Saints beat both Neptunes and Sliema in the round-robin phase, a feat they will be proud of. They also came close to forcing a decider against Sliema but lost the second semi-final match on penalties.

Sirens and Exiles will be disappointed for not having made it to the top three. But Sirens had their very positive moments during the championship, and could use this season as a stepping stone for a better future. Exiles found the going very tough this year, and once they lost contact with the others they seemed to let go.