They must be among the strangest names in football, but the Seals, Thistle and the Bogans have all won their respective football leagues, along with the more appropriately named Tahuna FC.
Suburbs Seals were the main talking point of a busy Saturday afternoon for Nelson Bays Football. The defending division two champions stepped up into the top tier this year and remarkably won it in their first attempt.
Stacked full of former Mainland League players, the Seals deserved the title, although it may have left a few red faces among the grade’s more established teams.
In the second division, Tahuna FC claimed the title several weeks ago, after challenges from FC Nelson Locomotive and Motueka faded late in the season.
In a congested third division, Richmond Thistle sneaked ahead of clubmates the Hornbills, FC Nelson and Tahuna FC to claim the title. Thistle beat Tahuna FC, on Saturday to take top spot. There were four possible winners going into the final weekend of the season.
In the newly-created Masters division, the Bogans took an unassailable lead with still one game remaining. The Richmond-affiliated team beat Wakefield 3-1 on Saturday to claim the title.
The Bogans held off a strong challenge from FC Nelson for the title, with Mapua in third.
In the womens division, Nelson College for Girls top the grade with FC Nelson and Suburbs one point behind them. NCG and FC Nelson play each other this weekend in a game that could decide the title. NCG have two games in hand though.
Nelson Bays Football general manager Clive Beaumont says, with the leagues now out of the way the foucus turns to the cup competitions. “It’s been another great season and the leagues are the barometer, everyone can have an off-day during a cup game but usually the best team comes to the top over three months.”
He says there was plenty of excitment across the grades and says the secret to success is keeping the divisions competitive. “The one great success of my time here is the increase of senior footballers. In 2008 only 23 senior teams, we now have 30. If you give people good competition for a long time you get good numbers.”
Cup games for the three top divisions start this Saturday, with the Masters starting the following week.
