Cruickshank Pryde Lawyers Old Boys AFC have lifted the Fletcher Cup in Dunedin after securing the league title by one point from Dunedin City Royals.
The Dunedin side went down 1-0 to Mosgiel AFC Reserves in their final game of the season.
A draw would have been enough to see Royals lift the title on goal difference, but instead, Old Boys secured first place by beating Otago University AFC Men's Reserves 5-2 to take the trophy outside of Dunedin for the first time in four years, when Queenstown won it back in 2020.
The league is the Dunedin equivalent of the Donald Gray premiership in Southland but is arguably more competitive with eight teams, opposed to the five in Donald Gray. The standard is arguably slightly higher, although not across all teams, with Grants Braes amassing only 2 points throughout the whole campaign, I would be confident in saying Gore, Thistle and Queens Park would have fared better than that.
Had Old Boys remained in the Donald Gray, they would have won it, but as Old Boys club president Nic Popham pointed out, he is not sure they would have been able to retain the body of the squad had they not offered a more competitive environment than the Donald Gray was capable of offering as they built towards a shot at a Southern Premier League berth in 2025.
The main purpose of the season was to be competitive and ensure they placed in the top three to guarantee a play-off place. The title was the icing on the cake, but time will tell if the move to the Fletcher Cup has prepared the team for the SPL as they prepare to face a playoff with SPL basement club Queenstown.
While Old Boys enjoy a league title, technically the job hasn’t been done yet. The season will only be a success if the Waverley Park side can beat Queenstown and secure that SPL place for the 2025 season.
The only warning I would give to Old Boys, is you can never write off an SPL side. The standard is a big jump from the Fletcher Cup and Queenstown won’t give up their SPL status without a fight.
I spoke with Popham on Saturday night, and although I had to decline his very kind offer of a free bar at Waverley Park, as the club celebrated the title, I congratulated the side on what is a good title win. Popham feels the Fletcher Cup run has been key in preparing his side for the play-off run and believes they would not have been ready had they stayed in the Donald Gray league.
I did quiz Popham on the play-off draw, but he was comfortable with what has been decided and stated Old Boys were aware of what possible hurdles they would need to negotiate to earn a shot at an SPL place.
He advised me the scheduled playoff game against Donald Gray winners Queens Park has been cancelled due to the league win. I think this is common sense, I don’t think Old Boys should have been playing Queens Park as, despite being the Donald Gray champions, they are not the next eligible team as they already have a team in the SPL. That honour falls to Gore, and from my understanding, Gore has no ambitions to challenge for an SPL spot in 2025, so Old Boys have arguably earned the right to go straight to the play-off against Queenstown.
Even if Gore had wanted to challenge, I’m not sure this would have been entertained as they were not league winners, regardless of Old Boys' title win. It looks like Southern Football agree, and we await a date for the play-off fixture in Queenstown.
