Demon Knights seal minor premiership

Norths United held first place on the ladder for most of the season but a a loss and a draw before the final match saw their position under threat.

A loss to East Armidale in the final match of the regular season on Saturday saw Norths drop to second and DK’s victory over Namoi United put them in top position to finish the season as minor premiers. 

DK coach Evan Quaife said while it was good to finish the regular season in first place, it will be a tough finals series to secure the major premiership. 

"It was unexpected in a way, going into the last game,” he said.

"[We were hopeful] Easts might have done something over Norths and they did so we were all very happy. 

"They were seven points clear and only had to win one of their last five to clinch it but they couldn't do it. It isn't done yet but we are happy to be minor premiers for the first time.”

The side were far too good for wooden spooners Namoi on Saturday and handed them an eight-nil thumping. 

Cal MacGregor scored four goals in the first half and Reece Burton earned two. Naran Singh finished it off with a second half double.

"They travelled three and a half hours to get here,” Quaife said.

"They tried hard but we outclassed them on the day. It was one-way traffic to be honest.”

Demon Knights now have a week off and will take on lowest ranked winner from this weekend’s elimination finals. 

Quaife said the side will enjoy the break with no players under an injury cloud ahead of the preliminary finals. 

"We are good for injuries. There are probably more selection headaches for me more than anything else,” he said. 

"We are looking forward to having the week off actually.”