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There was success at the other end, too, as bottom clubs CQFC Energy and the QAS both recorded victories.
Brisbane City 1 (Murray 79')
Sunshine Coast FC 6 (Barlow 14' Dywer 17', 41', 57' Verdin 27' Henslee 35')
Sunshine Coast delivered the knockout blow to Brisbane City's premiership hopes on Saturday evening by powering six past their hosts at Spencer Park.
Sunshine Coast's potency against a side beaten three times in just 18 matches is perhaps the most ominous warning fired to the established order ahead of finals as Kevin A'Herne-Evans' team, the league's hardest to score against, climbed into second.
Attacking midfielder Leon Dwyer, positioned as a central striker, was Fire's most lethal danger, scoring two of the five the visitors managed before the break and completing his hattrick prior to the hour mark with a sweet volley.
City must aim to find form on this weekend's trip to Townsville, while their conquerors can officially sew up a finals appearance at home to Brisbane Strikers.
Redlands United 0
Northern Fury 0
After 220 completed matches of the NPL Queensland season, the league endured its first goalless draw on Friday night when Redlands United hosted Northern Fury at the Cleveland Showgrounds.
The game carried finals importance for both sides but neither were able to break the deadlock, the best chance coming for Fury's last start four-goal hero Gareth Edds; the midfielder player/coach having his 20th minute penalty saved by Mitch O'Brien after Robin Edwards was fouled.
In addition to mathematically bringing a close to the Townsville team's finals hopes, the inability of either side to convert looks likely to also cost Redlands a top four finish as the better-positioned teams above enjoy superior form ahead of their visit to Olympic on Sunday.
Brisbane Strikers 3 (Taylor 65' Hews 67' King p.87')
Palm Beach Sharks 0
Brisbane Strikers made it five wins in five on Saturday night by defeating the downtrodden Palm Beach 3-0 at Perry Park, almost finalising their finals spot in the process.
The Sharks' loss extends a run of their own to five; unfortunately for the Gold Coast club it's a tally formed by losses as they conceded all three goals after the break.
Forward Josh Taylor, veteran Chay Hews and winger Greg King were on the scoresheet for the hosts, long-time servant Hews' goal the pick of a match in which he almost upstaged himself with a chip onto the crossbar from just inside the visitors' half.
Strikers host Brisbane Roar on Wednesday in another of the A-League club's pre-season friendlies, and coach David Large will need to be wary of the adverse fate suffered by neighbours City following their fixture.
CQFC Energy 4 (Miller 22', 60' Hardwick 42' Fraser 64')
Western Pride 2 (Munn 48' Rule 78')
Young striker Jordan Miller's third and fourth goals in four games, and CQFC Energy's eighth in two weeks, fired the Rockhampton outfit to just their third win of the season on Saturday night.
Central Queensland hosted Western Pride on their second trip north in as many weeks at Rugby Park and the reign of coach Ray Wood netted another boost following last weekend's one-goal, comeback loss away to Moreton Bay.
Miller again proved his potential by bagging a brace to go with goals against the Jets and Far North Queensland, aided in the success by good finishes from Joel Harwick and Kevin Fraser.
Scoring has not been Energy's concern this season having found the net more than the four sides immediately above them, though they have conceded a whopping 105 times - 45 more occasions than the nearest worst defence.
FNQ Heat 2 (Morrison 54' Fernandez 84')
QAS 5 (Bladen 12' Sibatuara 38', 68' Ronto 71' OG 88')
The QAS made it a weekend double for the bottom two with victory over FNQ Heat in Cairns, finally hitting form to notch five goals at Barlow Park.
The Academy were a finals proposition in last season's Queensland State League but have taken longer to mature into their NPL Queensland campaign, though they snapped an eight-game losing streak against Far North Queensland for a second win of the season.
Midfielder Jack Bladen was gifted an early opener for the QAS when Heat 'keeper Mickel Breckenridge spilled a tame cross and the youngsters' delight was doubled before the break, Sam Sibatuara with a neat run and finish down the left.
Sibatuara later restored the Academy's two-goal lead by sneaking in behind the hosts' defence to tuck away a tidy finish, and from there the visitors added another two to ensure Heat's second through Simon Fernandze meant little.
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| Campeones, ole, ole, ole. Well, Premiers. (Credit: Olympic FC) |
Olympic FC 3 (Byrne 44', 71' Smits 47')
Moreton Bay Jets 1 (Brownlie 50')
Olympic FC secured the inaugural NPL Queensland premiership and their first top-division title since 1967 on Sunday, defeating Moreton Bay at 3-1 at Goodwin Park to become premiers with two games spare.
Captain Danny Byrne spearheaded his side's recovery from the disappointment of a 6-2 loss in Townsville the previous week with an assist to go with his brace.
Byrne broke the deadlock late in a first-half which appeared to be heading to a goalless close after the Jets escaped a few close shaves, finishing low from Matt Byrne's right-side cross.
League top-scorer Tim Smits doubled the advantage within two minutes of the restart, powering in a header from his skipper's cross, though Moreton Bay front-man Royce Brownlie quickly countered Olympic's emotional high by lobbing a classy chip over Mario Aparicio to reduce the deficit.
It was the hosts' day, however, as Byrne got in behind to drill a bouncing ball into the far corner and secure the premiership ahead of the penultimate round.