Northampton Demons
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| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Northampton Demons Rugby League Football Club |
| Colours | Yellow with black and white trim[1] |
| Founded | 2007[2] |
| Exited | 2018 |
| Website | www.northamptonrl.co.uk |
| Former details | |
| Ground(s) |
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| 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[edit]
Background - Nene Valley and Northampton Knights[edit]
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 Leicester with the aim of creating a stronger side. However, due to administrative and travel issues amongst players and staff the plans for the East Midlands Knights were shelved. Northampton Knights played 5 games in the 1995/6 season before dropping out of NCL Division 2 in November 1995 and subsequently folding.
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[edit]
In late 2006 a number of articles were placed on various websites about the formation of the rugby league team in the town and offers of assistance were received from Coventry Bears and three other rugby league enthusiasts in Northampton. The founding members met in March 2007 and put in place a plan to set up a team based at the nearby Casuals rugby union club. The name Northampton Casuals was taken from the rugby union club they were based in.
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 London League which operates on a Merit League basis. Geographically Northampton is some distance from the London teams and due to this fact played fixtures against teams from the RL Merit League, for example Nottingham Outlaws.
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 Rugby League Conference. In March 2008, Chris Ashton, current Northampton Saints and ex-Wigan Warriors player, hosted a training session for both the adult and junior players. This event helped to further raise the profile of the club and the event was featured in all the local press and the regional news programmes on BBC and ITV.
They won the division in 2009, beat Devon Sharks in a semi-final held at the Stoop and went on to win the RLC Regional title by beating Jarrow Vikings.
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 club has won the Midland Premier twice, played in the Conference South and moved home to Duston Sports Centre in the town.
In 2018 the club folded due to low player numbers.[3]
Club honours[edit]
- RLC East Division: 2009, 2010
- RLC Regional: 2009,[4] 2010[4]
- Midlands Rugby League Premier Division: 2012, 2014[5] and 2015[6]
References[edit]
- ^ "Demons undergo big off-season changes". RFL. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ "Demons unveil new sponsor". RFL. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ "Open letter from community club "highlights serious problems"". Love Rugby League. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Roll of Honour". Rugby League Conference. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011.
- ^ "Demons take title". RFL. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ "Demons retain title". RFL. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2024.