Gosford Kariong Storm
The Gosford Kariong Storm (formally known as Gosford Giants, Gosford Townies, Kariong Kookaburras) is a rugby league club based on the Central Coast, New South Wales region of Australia.
 | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Gosford Kariong Storm |
| Nickname(s) | Storm, Stormers, Storms, GKS |
| Colours | Purple, Gold, White |
| Founded | 1947 |
| Website | http://www.sportingpulse.com/club_info.cgi?client=7-2377-21200-0-0 |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) | |
| Competition | Central Coast Rugby League |
Known as The Storm, wearing Purple, Gold and White, it is the oldest running club and member of the Central Coast Rugby League having been originally formed in 1947.
History
Gosford Storm were formed in 2000 as a result of the Gosford Giants and Kariong Kookaburras merging.
In 2010 the club entered its first seniors team [1] who were successful in their first season [2] although knocked out in the semi finals by Umina.
In 2011 the club hoped to submit three teams in the seniors competition with under 17's, Open Age and a Second Grade team but was only granted inclusion for an Open Age team. The Open Age team finished the season equal 5th but failed to qualify for the semi finals due to an 8-point difference in for & against.
2012 saw a number of new recruits join the club which the club had hoped would be enough to be accepted in fielding both a reserve grade, and open age team although this was rejected by the Central Coast Division of Rugby League with only an open age team being granted inclusion. However, only weeks out from the beginning of the season on 21 February the club was told that they along with Central Wyong Razorbacks had been excluded from entering any teams into any grades of the central coast competition,[3] despite a number of appeals from both clubs the decision was not reversed and both clubs were forced to close their senior clubs. Both clubs still remain fully active in junior rugby league competitions.
Home ground
Gosford Giants originally played all home games from Grahame Park which also played host for all Central Coast Rugby League finals games up until the late 1990s when the ground was redeveloped to be the new home stadium of the North Sydney Bears rugby league football club. However, as the Bears never made the move to Gosford the stadium has since become home to the Central Coast Mariners Football Club who compete in the A-League.
Following their move from Grahame Park (aka Central Coast Stadium), the team's home ground is now Carrington Street Oval, Narara.
Season summaries
| Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Byes | Position | For | Against | P | R | M | F | W | Coach | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||||||||||
| 22 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 4 | |||||||||||
Notable former players
- John Carlaw (1997-04 Hunter Mariners, Melbourne Storm, Warriors, Wests Tigers & St George)
- Matt Orford (2000-11 Northern Eagles, Melbourne Storm, Manly Sea Eagles & Canberra Raiders)
- Chris Finneran (Melbourne storm
- Matt Ikuvalu (2018- Sydney Roosters)
- brett Mossman (Newcastle knights)
Team Numbers
Team numbers obtained and compiled from competition tables and match results published in the newspapers, Central Coast Express, Wyong Shire Advocate and Central Coast Express Advocate. Numbers for 2003 and 2011 taken from copies of the Central Coast Division Junior Rugby League Yearbook of those years, supplied by Toukley Hawks RLFC. Age groups Under 9 and younger not included as team numbers from 1985 to 2011 not known to the author.
References
- ""Storm Whips Up Interest"". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011., Express Advocate
- ""2010 Competition Results"". Central Coast Sports.
- "CLUBS DUMPED FROM CENTRAL COAST LEAGUE COMP"". BN News. 24 February 2012.
4. Here Come The Townies: The Early History of Gosford Rugby League by Andrew Stark (published 2020)