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Newcastle Knights

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Newcastle Knights
File:Knightslogo2008.jpg
Club information
Full nameNewcastle Rugby League
Football Club
Founded1988
Current details
Ground(s)
CEOSteve Burraston
CoachAustralia Brian Smith
CompetitionNational Rugby League
2007National Rugby League, 15th
Records
Premierships2 (1997, 2001)
Highest points scorer2,176 – Andrew Johns

The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership.

Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top tier competition in 1988, 79 years after the previous Newcastle based team, the Newcastle Rebels had departed with the formation of a league competition based in the Newcastle region.

History

1988-1996

The Newcastle Knights entered the NSW Rugby League competition in 1988 with Allan McMahon as coach.[1] The team was a success from the start, becoming one of the most popular clubs in its first season. By 1990, the team was strong enough to enter a play-off for fifth spot.

The club won their first competition, the Nissan Sevens, in 1991 and made the playoffs in 1992, where they were beaten by the St. George Dragons. The Knights made the semi-finals again in 1995 when the competition became the Australian Rugby League, and won the reserve grade premiership the same year.

The club stayed loyal to the Australian Rugby League when Rupert Murdoch started Super League in an attempt to win pay television rights to rugby league -- this decision was very popular in the Newcastle and Hunter Valley areas. News Limited formed the Hunter Mariners to compete with the Knights in the one and only season of Super League in Australia, but the Mariners failed to win much support in the area.

1997-2003

From 1997-2003, the Knights made seven finals series in a row. The Knights won the 1997 Australian Rugby League premiership, defeating the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 22-16 in the Grand Final, with Robbie O'Davis winning the Clive Churchill Medal. The match is best remembered for its classic finish - Darren Albert breaking a 16 all deadlock with his try 7 seconds from fulltime. This win was a huge morale boost to the district following the closure of the area's biggest employer, the BHP Steelworks, being announced the same year. Seventy per cent of the winning squad were Newcastle juniors.

The following season, Knights players Robbie O'Davis, Wayne Richards and Adam MacDougall tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs; however, all three maintained they started use after the Knights 1997 victory. The three were suspended, despite O'Davis' claims the club was not notified his drug was banned until after his positive test, and MacDougall's medical reason for taking the steroids (his usage continued after he completed his suspension, now approved by the NRL). In addition, the Knights terminated Wayne Richards' contract.

Energy Australia Stadium

In 1998, the Knights finished equal on competition points with the Brisbane Broncos, but finished second on points differential. The Knights came third in 2000, followed by a National Rugby League Premiership victory over the Parramatta Eels in 2001, with Andrew Johns winning the Clive Churchill Medal. Newcastle were handed heavy underdog status, but shocked the Eels with a 24-0 halftime lead, and eventual 30-24 win. In 2002, the club finished equal with the New Zealand Warriors on competition points but, once again, finished second in the minor premiership due to inferior points differential.

Andrew Johns won the Dally M Medal for best player in the National Rugby League twice in a row in 1998 and 1999, and won an unprecedented third Dally M Medal in 2002. In addition, Joey Johns also won the Provan-Summons Medal (the people's choice award for player of the year) four years in a row from 1998 to 2001 -- the best performance by any player in the history of the award.

2004 to 2006

In 2004, injuries plagued the club, with Andrew Johns and Ben Kennedy out for extended periods of time. The club missed the finals, finishing 10th despite strong performances from Matthew Gidley, Kurt Gidley and NSW State of Origin captain, Danny Buderus.

Following further injuries and a lack of experienced players, the club failed to win a single match in the first half of the 2005 premiership, losing 13 consecutive matches -- the worst start to a season by any club since the 1960s. That losing streak finally came to an end with a win away from home over the Penrith Panthers in late June. In a tribute to the club's followers, crowds remained high throughout the losing streak, and while the Knights were unable to avoid finishing last, fans were rewarded for their stoicism as the team managed to win eight of their last eleven games, including a six game winning streak brought to an end in round 26 by the St George Illawarra Dragons.

2006 boded well for the Novocastrians, with the side recruiting Great Britain and Irish winger Brian Carney and former Raider Luke Davico, as well as re-signing 2005 recruit Milton Thaiday and managing to retain the many promising young juniors (led by the likes of Brad Tighe, Jarrod Mullen, Reegan Tanner, and Riley Brown) that have come through in the club's worst ever season. Newcastle ultimately finished the season in fourth position, a stunning reversal in form, but were eliminated from the finals after losing to the Brisbane Broncos.

Prior to the 2006 season kick-off it was announced that the club's longest serving coach, Michael Hagan would depart the club following the 2006 season to begin a three year contract with the Parramatta Eels. Ironically, during the week of the 2006 season-opening game against Parramatta, the Knights confirmed Parramatta coach Brian Smith would take over coaching duties in 2007.

2007 - Post Andrew Johns era

Further information: Newcastle Knights 2007

2007 was a year of turmoil for the club both on and off the field. After making a promising start to the season with victories over contenders such as the Canterbury Bulldogs - the club and rugby league world was rocked by the shock retirement of Andrew Johns. The departure of their captain and most influential player had an obvious effect on the team, and although they managed to stay in touch with the top eight until the last third of the season, their season was irreperably damaged by his absence. In addition to this - the Knights endured the worst injury toll in the 2007 season - fielding thirty seven players in first grade by season's end.

The club also struggled off-field, with Brian Smith's decision to release loyal clubmen such as Clint Newton, Kirk Reynoldson, and Josh Perry meeting with displeasure from the Sydney media and some sections of the Newcastle support base. However, many supporters were pleased with Smith's decisions, as these aforementioned players had turned in weak performances for several seasons. Perry's disastorous game for Manly in round 2 of the 2008 NRL season against the Knights was a great vindication of Smith's decision to release the forward. Newton's defection to Melbourne and Reynoldson's threats of legal action over the club refusing to play him in the fifteen games required to trigger his fourth contract year saw the club's reputation dragged through the mud. The Daily Telegraph campaigned strongly for the sacking of Smith whilst Bluetongue owner John Singleton also threatened legal action after the releases lead to a multi-million dollar advertising campaign being cancelled. To cap it all off, Andrew Johns again made the press late in the season after being arrested for ecstacy possession in the United Kingdom and confessing to having been a drug addict for the entirety of his playing career.

Despite these pressures, the Knights managed to avoid a second wooden spoon in three years - offloading the dreaded piece of 'silverware' to the Penrith Panthers with a last round victory over the Wests Tigers. This was much to the embarrassment of Tab Sportsbet's Glenn Munsie who earlier said in The Daily Telegraph that the Knights were certainities for the wooden spoon and "it was pointless taking money on the wooden spoon gong given Newcastle would be firmly planted at the bottom of the ladder by the end of the weekend"<http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22329871-5001023,00.html>.

Not surprisingly, Munsie had no comment when the Knights did indeed avoid winning the 2007 wooden spoon.

2008 squad

Further information: Newcastle Knights 2007
Newcastle Knights 2008 Fulltime Squad
Player Position DOB (Age) Height Weight Junior Club Previous Club(s)
Chris Bailey Australia Utility 05/07/1982 (25) 186cm 94kg Inverell Hawks Nil
Danny Buderus Australia Hooker 06/02/1978 (29) 178cm 91kg Taree Nil
Cameron Ciraldo Australia Second Row 30/10/1984 (23) 197cm 102kg Menai Cronulla Sharks
Ben Cross Australia Prop 06/12/1978 (29) 190cm 112kg Batemans Bay Canberra Raiders, Melbourne Storm
Scott Dureau Australia 5/8, Halfback 29/07/1986 (21) 175cm 83kg Port Macquarie Sharks Nil
Richard Fa'aoso Samoa Prop 08/05/1984 (23) 186cm 104kg North Aspley Penrith Panthers, Sydney Roosters, Parramatta Eels
Kurt Gidley Australia Fullback 07/07/1982 (25) 182cm 87kg Wests Newcastle Nil
Matt Hilder Australia Utility 30/04/1982 (25) 186cm 100kg Cronulla Caringbah Cronulla Sharks, Gold Coast Titans
Chris Houston Australia Second Row, Prop 15/02/1985 (22) 194cm 105kg Narooma St George Illawarra Dragons
Marvin Karawana New Zealand 5/8, Lock 30/07/1986 (21) 180cm 96kg Wainui Lions Canterbury Bulldogs
Jacob Ling Australia Second Row 02/10/1987 (20) 183cm 102kg Wests Newcastle Nil
Keith Lulia Australia Centre, Wing 17/06/1987 (20) 190cm 90kg Port Kembla St George Illawarra Dragons
Adam MacDougall Australia Centre, Wing 08/05/1975 (32) 183cm 95kg Harbord Diggers Sydney Roosters, South Sydney
Luke MacDougall Australia Centre, Wing 05/02/1982 (25) 183cm 94kg Cronulla Caringbah Cronulla Sharks, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St George Illawarra Dragons
James McManus Scotland Wing, Centre 15/01/1986 (22) 185cm 90kg Palmerston Raiders Nil
Jarrod Mullen Australia 5/8, Halfback 09/04/1987 (20) 179cm 89kg Taree Panthers, Wests Newcastle Nil
Wes Naiqama Fiji Centre, Wing, Fullback 19/10/1982 (25) 184cm 95kg Arncliffe Scots St George Illawarra Dragons
Tim Natusch New Zealand Prop 03/07/1986 (21) 182cm 106kg Wellington (NZ) Nil
Cory Paterson Australia Second Row 14/07/1987 (20) 194cm 108kg South Perth Lions Nil
Jesse Royal New Zealand Prop 22/03/1980 (27) 191cm 107kg Turangawaewae Penrith Panthers
Mitchell Sargent Australia Prop 02/07/1979 (28) 187cm 107kg Canowindra Melbourne Storm, North Queensland Cowboys
Steve Simpson Australia Second Row 27/09/1979 (28) 187cm 104kg Singleton Nil
Zeb Taia Cook Islands Lock, Second Row 11/10/1984 (23) 186cm 104kg Enfield Federals Parramatta Eels
Mark Taufua New Zealand Second Row, Prop 24/10/1981 189cm 105kg Woodbury Warriors Nil
Lui Toimoana New Zealand Second Row 14/09/1985 (22) 193cm 106kg Mangere East Hawks Auckland Lions
Daniel Tolar Australia Prop 11/04/1982 (25) 188cm 100kg Central Charlestown Nil
Akuila Uate Fiji Wing 6/10/1987 185cm 94kg Woy Woy Nil
Cooper Vuna New Zealand Wing 05/07/1987 (20) 182cm 97kg Otahuhu Leopards New Zealand Warriors
Luke Walsh Australia Halfback 12/05/1987 (20) 174cm 80kg Wests Newcastle Nil
Matthew White Australia Prop 17/05/1984 (23) 190cm 112kg Inverell Hawks Nil
Danny Wicks Australia Prop 05/12/1985 (22) 190cm 110kg Grafton Ghosts St George Illawarra Dragons
Tanu Wulf New Zealand Second Row 18/05/1985 (22) 195cm 102kg Tully Tigers South Logan Magpies
Michael Young Australia Utility 11/02/1984 (23) 181cm 99kg Wangi Wangi Warriors Nil

Coaches

First Grade captains

Representative players (NSW & QLD)

Including representative players first selected and other notable players and the years they first achieved the honours if known.

Knights team of the era

In August 2007 the Knights announced their team of the era. This team was:

No. Position Player

1 Robbie O'Davis – FB 2 Timana Tahu – WG 3 Matthew Gidley – CE 4 Mark Hughes – CE 5 Adam MacDougall – WG 6 Matthew Johns – FE 7 Andrew Johns – HB 8 Mark Sargent – PR 9 Danny Buderus – HK

No. Position Player

10 Paul Harrogan – PR 11 Steve Simpson – SR 12 Ben Kennedy – SR 13 Marc Glanville – LK 14 Michael Hagan – positions 15 Kurt Gidley – positions 16 Tony Butterfield – positions 17 Adam Muir – positions Mal Reilly – positions (coach)

Famous supporters

  • Jennifer Hawkins - 2004 Miss Universe, was a cheerleader for the club at one stage
  • Kim Beazley - Former club patron, Former Federal Opposition Leader (Australia)
  • Michael Costa - Current Club patron, NSW Treasurer and Minister for the Hunter (Australia)
  • Jessica Mauboy - 2006 Australian Idol runner up

References

  • ABC Australian Sports Almanac 2002

Footnotes

  1. ^ Newcastle had previously been invited to field a team in the NSWRL competition for the 1982 season, but declined, worried it would weaken the area's local league competition. The Canberra Raiders were admitted to the 1982 competition in their place.
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