Illawarra Rugby League

Illawarra Division Rugby League
Sport	Rugby league football
Instituted	1911
Inaugural season	1911
Number of teams	9
Premiers	Western Suburbs (2010)
Website	Illawarra Carlton League

The Illawarra Rugby League is a rugby league competition in Wollongong, NSW. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1911 with five clubs (Dapto, Helensburgh, Mount Keira, Unanderra and Wollongong).[1]. Due to sponsorship rights, the Senior competition (First Grade, Second Grade and Under 18s) is named the Illawarra Carlton League, and the Second Division competition is known as the VB Cup. The Under 13 to Under 16 competitions are merged with the South Coast Group 7 Junior Rugby League, with the Under 6 to Under 12 competitions being run solely by the Illawarra Division. The area provides a nursery of juniors for the St George Illawarra Dragons. The season is contested by nine teams and concludes with a finals series involving the top four teams.

History

Only the Northern parts of the Illawarra have traditionally been included in this competition, with teams further south playing in Group 7. However, Shellharbour's decision in 2009 to field a team in the NSW Cup was coupled with a decision to play in the Illawarra Carlton League as well, blurring the boundary between the two competitions. Other Group 7 clubs are fielding teams in the lower leagues of Illawarra competitions and there's a possibility the two competitions may merge.

The Illawarra Division is one of the strongest, along with Newcastle, local competition in New South Wales. The Carlton League features many former and current NRL players and also Toyota Cup players. The Illawarra Division Senior representative team are two-time National Country champions and have won the Country Rugby League championships consistently. The Division also supplies players to the NSWRL Harold Matthews and SG Ball Cup competitions.

2011: The Centenary

On 21 July 2011, whilst celebrating their centenary, Illawarra Rugby League announced their "Team of the Century". Immortals Graeme Langlands and Bob Fulton featured at fullback and five-eighth respectively, as well as Harry Wells at centre. The entire team follows:

Teams

Firsts and Reserves

In 2011, nine clubs fielded teams in the First and Reserve Grade competitions:

Berkeley Eagles Berkeley, NSW Ground: Berkeley Sports Ground First season:	Collegians North Wollongong, NSW Ground: University Oval First season: 1922	Corrimal Cougars Corrimal, NSW Ground: Robert Ziems Park First season: 1912	Dapto Canaries Dapto, NSW Ground: Dapto Showground First season: 1911
Helensburgh Tigers Helensburgh, NSW Ground: Rex Jackson Oval First season: 1911	Shellharbour Workers Shellharbour, NSW Ground: Ron Costello Oval First season: 2009	Thirroul Butchers Thirroul, NSW Ground: Thomas Gibson Oval First season: 1913	UOW Titans Wollongong, NSW Ground: University Oval First season:
150x150px Western Suburbs Red Devils Unanderra, NSW Ground: Sid Parrish Park First season:1949

Former clubs

• Mount Keira
• Unanderra
• Wollongong Bulls
• Wollongong Glebe

Thirds

The Illawarra District Rugby League runs a "third grade" competition known as the VB Cup featuring eleven (11) teams from both the Illawarra and South Coast regions (Group 7 does not run their own third grade competition):

Club	Group	Homeground
Albion Park Outlaws	Group 7	Des King Oval, Albion Park
Avondale	Illawarra	Reed Park, Dapto
Jamberoo Superoos	Group 7	Kevin Walsh Oval, Jamberoo
Helensburgh Tigers	Illawarra	Rex Jackson Oval, Helensburgh
Mount Kembla	Illawarra	Mt. Kembla Oval, Mount Kembla
Norths	Illawarra	Jim Allen Oval, Wombarra
North Wollongong Surf	Illawarra	University Oval, Wollongong
Shellharbour Workers	Illawarra	Ron Costello Oval, Shellharbour
Wests Red Devils	Illawarra	Sid Parrish Park, Figtree
Windang	Illawarra	Boronia Oval, Windang
Port Kembla Blacks	Illawarra	Noel Mulligan Oval, Port Kembla

First Grade Premiers

Season	Grand Final Information			Minor Premiers
	Premiers	Score	Runners-Up
1911	Wollongong
1912	Unanderra
1913	Wollongong
1914	Unanderra
1915–1919 - No competition due to World War I
1920	Wollongong
1921	Wollongong
1922	Port Kembla
1923	Port Kembla
1924	Port Kembla
1925	Gerringong
1926	Wollongong
1927	Port Kembla
1928	Port Kembla
1929	Wollongong
1930	Wollongong	31-14	Thirroul
1931	Wollongong
1932	Wollongong
1933
1934	Port Kembla
1935	Port Kembla
1936	Mount Kembla
1937	Port Kembla
1938	Port Kembla
1939	Mount Kembla
1940	Port Kembla
1941	Port Kembla
1942	Port Kembla
1943	Port Kembla
1944	Port Kembla
1945	Wollongong
1946	Port Kembla
1947	Wollongong
1948	Corrimal
1949	Port Kembla
1950	Wollongong
1951	Wollongong
1952	Northern Suburbs
1953	Port Kembla
1954	Thirroul	20-7	Port Kembla	Thirroul
1955	Port Kembla
1956	Port Kembla
1957	Wests
1958	Port Kembla
1959	Wests
1960	Northern Suburbs
1961	Northern Suburbs
1962	Port Kembla
1963	Port Kembla
1964	Wollongong
1965	Port Kembla
1966	Dapto			Collegians
1967	Collegians			Collegians
1968	Dapto
1969	Wests
1970	Wests		Dapto	Thirroul
1971	Wests	18-11	Thirroul
1972	Wests		Thirroul
1973	Thirroul	8-6	Wests
1974	Corrimal
1975	Dapto	15-2	Thirroul
1976	Dapto
1977	Dapto
1978	Wests
1979	Dapto		Wests
1980	Wests
1981	Wests
1982	Dapto
1983	Dapto
1984	Wests
1985	Dapto
1986	Helensburgh
1987	Collegians
1988	Helensburgh
1989	Wests
1990	Dapto
1991	Wests
1992	Dapto
1993	Helensburgh
1994	Dapto
1995	Thirroul	23-22	Wests	Thirroul
1996	Collegians	11-2	Thirroul	Collegians
1997	Collegians		Dapto
1998	Collegians
1999	Thirroul	40-12	Collegians
2000	Dapto	30-14	Thirroul
2001	Dapto	18-12	Thirroul
2002	Dapto
2003	Thirroul			Thirroul
2004	Collegians
2005	Collegians	16-14	Wests
2006	Dapto		Thirroul	Dapto
2007	Collegians	20-18	Dapto
2008	Thirroul	16-12	Collegians	Thirroul
2009	Wests	14-4	Thirroul
2010	Wests	24-0	Thirroul

External links

• First grade ladder - from Sporting Pulse site
• Illawarra RL on Country Rugby League's official site