Northampton Demons
This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2007) |
Club information | |
---|---|
Full name | Northampton Demons Rugby League Football Club |
Colours | Yellow with black and white trim |
Founded | 2007 |
Exited | 2018 |
Website | www.northamptonrl.co.uk |
Former details | |
Ground(s) |
|
Competition | Midlands Rugby League Men's South |
Northampton Demons was a rugby league club based in Duston, Northampton. They played in the RFL Midlands Rugby League Men's South Division.
History
Background - Nene Valley and Northampton Knights
Nene Valley were set up in 1989 and they trained twice weekly at Rushden Sports Centre. The club joined the Midlands and South West Amateur Rugby League Association (MASWARLA) and the Eastern Counties Rugby League (ECRL). Nene Valley became Northampton Knights.
In September 1994 Northampton Knights team entered the National Conference League Division 2 having finished mid-table in the old East Midlands League. The team was coached by Paul Johnstone. The club started off playing at Dallington Park but moved to the then council-owned Sixfields Stadium. The club played 21 games from its fixture list of 22 but lost them all. They scored 185 points and conceded 1,170.
In line with talk of mergers in the professional game moves were afoot to create a regional side based on Peterborough and
In 1998 an application to the Rugby League Conference was made but they withdrew before the season started on the basis that the club's organisation was not up to scratch. In 2005 another application was made from a group that included ex-students from the town's university but they never made it onto the playing field, despite being accepted for the 2006 season.
Northampton Casuals
In late 2006 a number of articles were placed on various websites about the formation of the
As soon as the rugby union season ended, training began for the newly formed team with 18 players attending the first session from local union clubs and the University of Northampton rugby league side.
The club was accepted into the
The club played its first fixture on 13 May 2007, after four training sessions, against a development team from Bedford Tigers losing 56-12. This was the first time rugby league had been played in Northampton by a non-university side since the mid-1990s. Indeed one of the players from that era, Mick Bryant, had joined the newly formed team. Two weeks later the team recorded its first victory over St Albans Centurions second team. The club went on to play a further six fixtures in 2007. A victory, a draw and four defeats were the results of those games but the club had been established in the town.
The club joined the Eastern Division of the 2008
They won the division in 2009, beat
In 2010, Northampton linked up with Super League side Harlequins RL and adopted the name, Northampton Demons to create a separate identity.
Since 2010, the clubs has won the Midland Premier twice, played in the Conference South and moved home to Duston Sports Centre in the town.
Ben Messmer went on to win shovel hands of the year at the 2010 Player of the Year awards after finger banging his pray in the toilets of the Fever nightclub.
Juniors
Following the distributing of the leaflets at the Northampton Saints rugby union game, a parent whose child plays rugby union, contacted Andrew to see if his and other children could play rugby league. Junior development wasn't in the original remit of the club but seeing a great opportunity to grow the club the children joined the club.
As a result 20 juniors are now training and playing rugby league in Northampton. The culmination of this was their entry into the Birmingham Junior rugby league festival in July 2007 where teams at the under-11 and under-13 age groups played against teams from
.Northampton now enter teams in the Midlands Junior League and the Chilterns Junior League under the name Northampton Knights and Northampton Patriots. Northampton Knights have under-11, under-12, under-14 and under-16 teams whilst Northampton Patriots are second teams at under 14 and under-16 level.
Developing Midlands Rugby League
Far too often teams in development areas fail due to the distances involved in playing matches. The Midlands has a large number of teams: Coventry, Derby,
Future
The Junior section did not have any teams for 2014 but there are firm plans in place to field a u17 and u15 teams in the Midlands Junior leagues. These leagues are Merit based so the club can play teams from other regions.
In 2018 the club folded due to low player numbers.[1]
Club honours
- RLC East Division: 2009, 2010
- RLC Regional: 2009, 2010
- Midlands Rugby League Premier Division: 2012, 2014 and 2015
References
- ^ "Open letter from community club "highlights serious problems"". Love Rugby League. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2024.