The visitors struck first with a goal in the 13th minute, but that immediately snapped the Devils into action, as they piled on the goals to remain undefeated with just two regular season rounds remaining.

A final round bye will give the squad an opportunity to rest any niggling injuries, and first grade coach Ross Jones says he will also tinker with the side for their clash with Wolumla this coming Sunday.

“There are a few guys sitting on yellow cards, and we don’t want them getting suspended and missing out on the first week of the finals,” he said.

“There are also players carrying niggling injuries, and now that the minor premiership is all done and dusted, we can give them a rest.

“Tathra have been pretty close all year, so it’s good to get that wrapped up and get ready for the finals a few weeks early.”

Jones said conceding an early goal had served as a ‘wake-up call” for Bega, who responded in fine fashion by netting four of their own before the halftime whistle.

Dylan Douch equalised just two minutes after Merimbula’s opener, and it was only a further three minutes before a Dale Roberts strike gave the Devils their first lead of the afternoon.

Luke Oliveri and Simon Jones also put their names on the scoresheet to go into the break with a 4-1 advantage.

The interval did little to stop Bega’s momentum, as playing-coach Jones found the back of the net just eight minutes into the second stanza, before Blake Grant made it 6-1 just two minutes later.

A goalless final 35 minutes wasn’t without scoring chances.

“Once they got ahead of, we were under pressure a bit and realised we had to wake up,” Jones said.

“We played well to get the six goals, but we missed a lot of chances at the end.

“It could’ve been a lot more than it was.”