Newcastle & Hunter Rugby League

Newcastle & Hunter Community Rugby League is the governing body of Second Tier Rugby League in the Newcastle and Hunter region. Formed in 2006 after a merger between the Maitland & Coalfields Rugby League and Lower Hunter Rugby League Competitions. It is now the largest senior Rugby League competition in the world. Newcastle & Hunter Community Rugby League or NHCRL consists of five senior men's divisions, A Grade, B Grade, C Grade, Northern Conference & Southern Conference. In 2016 Ladies League Tag was introduced and in 2018 Ladies Tackles was introduced. Currently there are 18 Ladies League Tag teams and 8 Ladies Tackle teams.

Newcastle & Hunter Rugby League
SportRugby league
Formerly known asLower Hunter
Instituted2006
Inaugural season2007
Number of teams55
Country Australia
PremiersThornton-Beresfield (2020)
Most titles Windale Eagles 2007,2011,2016,2018 (4 titles)
Website
Broadcast partner
  • Bar TV Sports (Australia)

History

The inaugural season of Newcastle & Hunter Rugby League was 2007 after the amalgamation of the Lower Hunter Rugby League and the Hunter Valley Rugby League. 23 clubs (24 teams) entered 3 grades in the first season.

On the 19th of September 2020, an ugly incident took place after a match between the Dora Creek Swampies and West Wallsend Magpies. During the match West Wallsend players had been subjected to racial abuse by a group of Dora Creek supporters. After the full-time whistle was blown, a West Wallsend player got into an altercation with the group of supporters, resulting in punches being thrown with players and officials from both sides, as well as numerous Dora Creek supporters getting involved. A video was uploaded to Facebook, which then became viral and gained national attention in the mainstream media.

As a result of this incident West Wallsend, who were sitting in 4th on the ladder and primed for a finals berth, were kicked out of the competition, with Dora Creek being allowed to see out the season. Due to the perceived inaction of the NSWRL in combating racial abuse in community Rugby League games by allowing Dora Creek to remain, the majority of the Newcastle and Hunter Rugby League board vacated their positions on the 25th of September, a day before the final round and a week before finals were meant to commence. This left 3 board members to effectively run all 7 competitions run by the Association.

A Grade Premiers
Season Grand Finals Minor Premiers
Premiers Score Runners-up Venue
1990 West Wallsend Magpies 23-10 Raymond Terrace Magpies Raymond Terrace Magpies
1991 Hexham Swansea-Caves Beach Swans Swansea-Caves Beach Swans
1992 Hexham 31-8 Windale Eagles Windale Eagles
1993 Raymond Terrace Magpies 20-18 Hexham Hexham
1994 Windale Eagles 18-16 Hexham Windale Eagles
1995 Windale Eagles 24-20 Raymond Terrace Magpies Raymond Terrace Magpies
1996 Woodberry 30-20 Dora Creek Swampies Harker Oval Woodberry
1997 Cardiff Cobras 19-16 Raymond Terrace Magpies Raymond Terrace Magpies
1998 Raymond Terrace Magpies 21-16 Cardiff Cobras Passmore Oval Raymond Terrace Magpies
1999 Lambton Kingfishers 20-16 Raymond Terrace Magpies Lambton Kingfishers
2000 Lambton Kingfishers 13-4 Cardiff Cobras Lambton Kingfishers
2001 Dudley Magpies 22-0 Cardiff Cobras Cardiff Cobras
2002 Dudley Magpies 36-14 University Dudley Magpies
2003
2004
2005 Dudley Magpies 32-2 Dora Creek Swampies
2006 Dora Creek Swampies 31-24 Shortland Devils Shortland Devils
A Grade - Newcastle & Hunter Rugby League
2007 Cardiff Cobras Mallabula Panthers Cardiff Cobras
2008 ? ? ? ? ?
2009 Wyong 42-22 Cardiff Cobras Wyong
2010 Wangi Wangi 38-18 West Wallsend Magpies Harker Oval Wangi Wangi
2011 Windale Eagles 20-16 Mallabula Panthers Lakeside Ground Windale Eagles
2012 Wallsend-Maryland Tigers 44-16 Windale Eagles Cahill Oval Windale Eagles
2013 Wallsend-Maryland Tigers 35-16 Belmont South Rabbitohs Harker Oval Wallsend-Maryland Tigers
2014 Cardiff Cobras 16 - 14 Windale Eagles Kurri Kurri Sportsground Belmont South Rabbitohs
2015 Belmont South Rabbitohs 34-10 Tea Gardens Hawks Lakeside Ground Belmont South Rabbitohs
2016 Windale Eagles 18 - 10 Shortland Devils Harker Oval Windale Eagles
2017 Fingal Bay Bomboras 31-26 Shortland Devils No1 Sportsground Dora Creek Swampies
2018 Shortland Devils 36-4 Stockton Sharks No1 Sportsground Stockton Sharks
2019 Dora Creek Swampies 44-4 Belmont South Rabbitohs Waratah Oval Dora Creek Swampies
2020 Thornton Beresfield Bears 22-18 Dora Creek Swampies St John Oval Dora Creek Swampies

B Grade Premiers
Season Grand Finals League Premiers
Premiers Score Runners-up
2007 Windale Eagles 20-16 Morisset Bulls Windale Eagles
2008
2009 Tea Gardens 26-24 Wangi Wangi Central Wyong
2010 Mallabula 16-12 Raymond Terrace Woodberry
2011 Tea Gardens 30-28 Raymond Terrace Raymond Terrace
2012 Stockton 44-18 Raymond Terrace Raymond Terrace
2013 Shortland 22-14 Morisset Bulls Morisset Bulls
2014 [1] Cessnock Cutters 34-26 Tea Gardens University
2015 [2] Mallabula 16-6 Waratah Mayfield Lambton Kingfishers
2016 [3] Fingal Bay 28-24 West Wallsend West Wallsend
2017 Dudley 14-10 Kotara Kotara
2018 Woodberry 46-10 University Woodberry
2019 West Wallsend 18-16 University Morpeth Bulls
2020 Waratah Mayfield 8-4 Aberglasslyn Waratah Mayfield

C Grade Premiers
Season Grand Finals League Premiers
Premiers Score Runners-up
2009 Thornton-Beresfield 32-16 Hinton Thornton-Beresfield
2010 Dungog 28-20 Dora Creek Dungog
2011 Swansea 24-18 Paterson River Swansea
2012 Dudley 17-16 Fingal Bay Fingal Bay
2013 Gateshead Zebras 28-24 Stroud Gateshead Zebras
2014 [4] Raymond Terrace 18-12 Waratah Mayfield Waratah Mayfield
2015 [5] Paterson River 24-4 Morisset Bulls Paterson River
2016[6] Carrington Pirates 24-18 Dungog Warriors Carrington Pirates
2017 Waratah Mayfield 42-28 Abermain-Weston Hawks Abermain-Weston Hawks
2018 Windale Eagles 24-16 East Maitland Griffins East Maitland Griffins
2019 Tall Timbers 30-12 Aberglasslyn Ants Aberglasslyn Ants
2020 Budgewoi Bulldogs 22-12 Hamilton Ducks Budgewoi Bulldogs

D Grade Premiers

The competition was split into Northern & Southern Conferences in 2018 and 2019.

Season Grand Finals League Premiers
Premiers Score Runners-up
2009 Gateshead 19-18 Fingal Bay Fingal Bay
2010 Stroud 32-18 Clarence Town Stroud
2011 Gloucester Magpies 38-24 Morisset Bulls Gloucester Magpies
2012 Abermain-Weston Hawks 34-26 Hinton Abermain-Weston Hawks
2013 Carrington Pirates 22-18 Thornton Beresfield Carrington Pirates
2014 Williamtown 25-18 Karuah Williamtown
2015 Clarence Town 30-20 Kotara Bears Kotara Bears
2016[7] Karuah 24-20 Hinton Hinton
2017 Glendale 44-30 Cardiff Cobras Glendale
2018 Paterson River 42-16 Gloucester Magpies Gloucester Magpies
2019 Dungog 22-16 Stroud Clarence Town
2020 Kearsley Crushers 18-12 Kotara Bears Kotara Bears

Southern Conference
Season Grand Finals League Premiers
Premiers Score Runners-up
2018 Abermain-Weston Hawks 18-6 Cardiff Cobras Kotara Bears
2019 Hamilton 26-14 Kotara Swansea
2021

Women's Tackle Premiers
Season Grand Finals Minor Premiers
Premiers Score Runners-up Venue
2019 Berkeley Vale Panthers 32-4 Waratah Mayfield Cheetahs Waratah Oval Berkeley Vale Panthers
2020 Berkeley Vale Panthers 24-14 Aberglasslyn Ants Lakeside Sporting Complex Berkeley Vale Panthers

Ladies League Tag Division One
Season Grand Finals League Premiers
Premiers Score Runners-up
2016 Umina Bunnies 20-0 University She Horses Umina Bunnies
2017 Aberglasslyn Ants 18-0 University She Horses Aberglasslyn Ants
2018 Aberglasslyn Ants 18-4 University She Horses Aberglasslyn Ants
2019 Aberlgasslyn Ants 20-0 University She Horses Aberglasslyn Ants
2020 Aberlgasslyn Ants 14-2 University She Horses Aberlgasslyn Ants

Ladies League Tag Division Two
Season Grand Finals League Premiers
Premiers Score Runners-up
2017 Cardiff Cobras 8-6 West Wallsend Magpies No title
2018 Mallabula Black Cats 8-0 Swansea Swans Mallabula Black Cats
2019 West Wallsend 32-0 Wangi Wangi Tea Gardens
2020 Shortland Devils 10-6 Dungog Warriors Shortland Devils

Ladies League Tag C Grade
Season Grand Finals League Premiers
Premiers Score Runners-up
2019 Stroud 12-4 Dungog Stroud

Current Clubs
Club Year Entered City/Region Ground Teams
Aberglasslyn Ants 2017 Maitland McKeachies Paddock 3
Abermain-Weston Hawks 1910 Cessnock Kurri Kurri Sportsground 1
Awabakal United 2018 Lake Macquarie Walters Park 2
Belmont South Rabbitohs 2011 Lake Macquarie Leneghan Oval 1
Budgewoi Bulldogs 2019 Central Coast Hallakulani Oval 1
Cardiff Cobras 1934 Lake Macquarie Cardiff Oval 3
Clarence Town Cobras 1975 Dungog Clarence Town Park 2
Dora Creek Swampies Lake Macquarie Neville Thompson Oval 2
Dudley Magpies 1981 Lake Macquarie Dudley Park 1
Dungog Warriors 1930 Dungog Bennett Park 2
East Maitland Griffins Maitland King Edward Park 1
Fingal Bay Bomboras Port Stephens Fingal Bay Oval 2
Glendale Gorillas 1967 Lake Macquarie Bower Oval 1
Gloucester Magpies Mid-North Coast Bert Gallagher Oval 1
Hamilton Ducks 2019 Newcastle Learmont Park 1
Hinton Hornets Maitland Stuart Park 1
Karuah Roos Port Stephens Lionel Morten Oval 2
Kearsley Crushers 2017 Cessnock Jeffrey Park 1
Kotara Bears Newcastle Hudson Park 1
Maitland United 2017 Maitland Coronation Park 2
Mallabula Panthers Port Stephens Vince Woodman Field 2
Morisset Bulls Lake Macquarie Gibson Oval 1
Morpeth Bulls Maitland Ray Lawler Reserve 1
Paterson River Maitland Paterson Showground 1
Raymond Terrace Magpies Port Stephens Lakeside Complex 2
Shortland Devils Newcastle Tuxford Park 2
Stroud Raiders Mid North Coast Stroud Showground 2
Swansea Swans 1967 Lake Macquarie Parbury Park 2
Tall Timbers Timber Cutters 2019 Central Coast Bill Sohier Oval 1
University of Newcastle Seahorses Lake Macquarie Bernie Curran Oval 2
Wallsend Maryland Tigers Newcastle The Grange 1
Wangi Wangi Warriors Lake Macquarie Wangi Oval 2
Waratah Mayfield Newcastle Waratah Oval 2
West Wallsend Magpies Lake Macquarie Les Wakeman Oval 2
Windale 1962 Lake Macquarie Mick Bird Oval 1
Woodberry Maitland Fred Harvey Oval 1

Former clubs
Club First Season Last Season Home Ground Region
Belmont Lake Macquarie
Belmont North Sharks Lenaghan Oval Lake Macquarie
Bolton Point 1997 ? ? Lake Macquarie
Booragul Bears ? 1996 Tulkaba Park Lake Macquarie
Bulahdelah Woodchoppers ? Mid North Coast
Carrington Pirates Newcastle
Cessnock Cutters 2014 Cessnock
Elermore Vale Miners 1995 1998 Newcastle
Gateshead Zebras 1972 2013 Alan Davis Oval Lake Macquarie
Hamilton
Lakeside Port Stephens
Lambton Kingfishers 1998 2016 Ford Oval Newcastle
Mt Hutton Mountain Lions Lake Macquarie
Merewether Storm 1998 1998 Empire Park Newcastle
North Newcastle Blue Bags 1989 2018 Passmore Oval Newcastle
Thornton Beresfield Bears 2010 2020 Maitland
Warners Bay-Mt Hutton 1997 1997 Mt Hutton Oval Lake Macquarie
Williamtown/Hexham Jets Hexham Oval Port Stephens
West Maitland Wallaroos Coronation Oval Maitland
Westlakes Wolves 1998 2002 Tulkaba Park Lake Macquarie
Other

References
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