minutes. A spirited second-half fightback from Bristol saw them outscore their opponents, but it wasn't enough to pull off a famous upset. Marauders won 38–20. The Sonics' success in winning the West Midlands Division and reaching the national Grand Final earned them a record number of nominations at the annual Rugby League Conference Awards. At the ceremony in November, Bristol were named Rugby League Conference Team of the Year 2008. In December, the Sonics were invited by the Rugby Football League to enter the 2009 Challenge Cup. On 18 October, Bristol Sonics were drawn at home in the preliminary round against British student champions Leeds Met Carnegie University. The game was played in January 2009 at Aretians RFC in Little Stoke, Bristol. Bristol opened the try scoring, but ended up losing 52–8 to the students. 2009 saw Bristol Sonics move up a division for the first time. Following their success the previous year, they were granted a place in the Rugby League Conference Midlands Premier division. They enjoyed an unremarkable debut season, finishing mid table. 2010-2011: RLC Midlands Premier success In 2010, Bristol Sonics finished second in the Rugby League Conference Midlands Premier Division table. After winning a play-off semi-final against Leicester Storm 16–8 at Aretians, they travelled to Old Coventrians to take on Minor Premiers Coventry Bears in the divisional Grand Final. After a topsy-turvy game in which both sides led for periods, Bristol went into the last 10 minutes trailing by four points. A try five minutes from time by substitute Dan Wegryzn levelled the scores. At full-time, the teams were drawn on 20 points each. A period of golden point extra time was played. Bristol's captain Dom Swann saw a field goal attempt drift inches wide before Coventry's Luke Watts scored to give the bears a narrow 24–20 extra time win. In August 2010, it was announced that Bristol Sonics head coach Karl Fearnley had been named Coach of the Year at the Rugby Football League's National Volunteer Awards. With Champions Coventry Bears having stepped up to the Rugby League Conference National, Bristol Sonics found themselves favourites for the 2011 Rugby League Conference Midlands Premier division title. After a slow start to the campaign, including losses to Northampton and Leicester, the Sonics eventually finished top of the table, earning a "home" Grand Final against Leicester Storm at Aretians. The Sonics led 16–8 at half time and eventually