Thumping victory gives Brethren title after seven- year itch Brothers celebrate

BROTHERS 4- 0 thumping of Burdekin FC at the weekend has delivered the club its first NQ Football Premier League title in seven years.

The Brethren were far too strong for Burdekin at International Park in Ayr on Saturday night, with goals to Caleb Hobson, Matthew Richards, James Artis and Michael Eisnehut sealing the coveted premiership for the club with two rounds remaining in the regular season.

Brothers coach Paul Daly has been involved with the club for over a decade, including the past three seasons as premier league coach, and he said it was a wonderful feeling for his playing group after years of near- misses.

“It’s been seven long years since we last won it and in football it’s the trophy that everyone wants to win,” he said.

“We were six points clear with three games remaining and with the win over Burdekin we’ve done enough that we can’t be caught in the last two weeks.

“This team has come so close in the past few years and we’ve been in situations where we had one hand on the title but let it slip so it’s a great sense of relief for all the boys.

“It also gives us a chance to play in the Crad Evans Shield at the end of the year against the winner of the Cairns Premier League, which is a great honour for the club.”

Brothers weren’t the only big winners this round, with Townsville Warriors putting five goals past Rebels to leapfrog them in to third place in the standings.

Adam Sheen bagged a double for Warriors while Ant Venitis, Masi Omari and Sam Onazi Jnr also got on the scoresheet in the rout of their hosts Rebels at Greenwood Park.

It was a tough weekend for defending champions MA Olympic, who were held to a 1- 1 draw by bottom- placed Saints Eagles Souths at Aitkenvale Park.

With the title in hand and two games still to play Brothers coach Daly said it was important he found the right balance of resting players with niggling injuries while not losing steam ahead of the finals.

He said the hard work was far from over, naming MA Olympic as the team he thinks will give his side the most trouble in the finals while also praising the competitiveness of the 2017 season after it was cut to six premier league teams.

“Olympic have been the standout team for the last four, five years, they’ve played in a lot of big matches and their coach Michael Brooks will have them up for the challenge,” he said.

“The way the league has worked this year, if you don’t turn up ready to play you lose and we won’t take any team lightly.

“With the Northern Fury taking more players from the league it’s reduced the number of premier league level players and by reducing teams it’s made everything more competitive.”

Next up for Brothers is the North Queensland Cup final with Saints Eagles Souths on Wednesday night at Brolga Park, with kick- off from 8pm. MICHAEL Voss ( above) the vacant Gold Coast coaching job is irrelevant to him as he helps prepare Port Adelaide for an AFL finals campaign.

The Power assistant coach and ex- Brisbane head coach says the Suns job hasn’t crossed his mind.

“It’s even more irrelevant right now,” Voss said yesterday.

“We’re at the pointy end of the season and all your energy goes into the team you have got.

“We’re really pleased with the year we have had, we’re not satisfied.

“We still feel like there’s a lot of work to be done, a great opportunity in front of us. And that is where all the energy lies.” Port secured a finals spot with a gallant win against the Western Bulldogs last Saturday.