The Redbacks defeated Lake Macquarie 4-0 in a dominant display at Weston on Sunday to claim the Northern NSW Football First Division grand final.

Redbacks head coach Darrel McAllister said it was a proud moment for the club, who have turned around their fortunes in recent seasons.

“The club is over the moon,” McAllister said.

“There are blokes that have been there for years, who have seen all the ups and downs, so for them to see that sort of success was very satisfying.

“It wasn’t all that long ago that no teams made semi-finals and first grade only got one point all year.

“The club has come along way in three years and the boys deserved the win.”

Thornton took the lead in the 15th minute and never looked back, netting another three as they turned around the disappointment of last year’s under-23 grand final loss.

“We touched on that in the lead-up to the game,” McAllister said.

“There were a number of players that were part of the grand final loss and we made a point of doing all that we could to not have that feeling again.”

Kyle Duncan opened the account for Thornton on the quarter-hour mark with a smart finish after a handy ­passing passage.

James Purazeni then headed home the second in the 32nd minute after Jason Bonmeding flicked on a set piece from a throw-in.

Half-an-hour later, Purazeni made it a double when a corner sailed past the goalkeeper and inside the back post.

Redbacks skipper Mitchell Kiczynski sealed the deal five minutes later with excellent execution in a one-on-one situation.

“Sometimes the score doesn’t indicate how the game actually was, but in this instance it did,” McAllister said.

“Our keeper didn’t make a save until the last 10 minutes, so we were pretty dominant.

“We knocked it around really well and controlled the game.”

This follows the Redbacks signing of Weston Bears striker Jamie Subat for next season and a junior grand final win for the Thornton under 14s in the Women’s Premier League last weekend.