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Newcastle Knights
Club information
Full nameNewcastle Rugby League
Football Club
Nickname(s)Novocastrians
ColoursPrimary:
  Blue
  Red
Secondary:
  White
Founded1987
Websitenewcastleknights.com.au
Current details
Ground(s)
CEOPhil Gardner
CoachAdam O'Brien
CaptainMitchell Pearce
CompetitionNational Rugby League
Current season
Uniforms
Home colours
Away colours
Records
Premierships2 (1997 (ARL), 2001)
Runners-upNone
Minor premiershipsNone
Wooden spoons4 (2005, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Most cappedDanny Buderus – 257
Highest try scorerAkuila Uate – 109
Highest points scorerAndrew Johns – 2,176

The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club 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 the Sydney competition with the formation of a separate league competition based in the Newcastle region.

The club has won two premierships over its history (1997 and 2001) and is one of only two clubs (the other being the Wests Tigers) that has never lost a grand final in which it has participated.[1] It has also produced such players as Paul Harragon, Robbie O'Davis, Danny Buderus and rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns. The team's home ground is McDonald Jones Stadium.

History

Main article: History of the Newcastle Knights

A Newcastle rugby league team had been assembled from players in the Newcastle Rugby League to compete in various competitions for most of the 20th century. The Newcastle Knights entered the NSWRL competition in 1988 with Allan McMahon as coach. 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.

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 (ARL), and won the reserve grade premiership the same year.

The club stayed loyal to the ARL 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 Region 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.

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

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.

McDonald Jones Stadium at night showing the old main grandstand

In 1998, the Knights finished equal on competition points with the Brisbane Broncos, but finished second on points differential (sum of points scored less points scored against). In 1999, the Knights were in with a huge chance going into the final rounds only to lose their final two games of the regular season to finish 7th, before being knocked out a week later by Parramatta. 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 the 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, 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.

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 New South Wales' 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, when they came from 14–0 down at halftime to win 28–24. 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 in the semi-final to the Brisbane Broncos, going down 50–6.

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 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 irreparably 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 players such as Clint Newton, Kirk Reynoldson, and Josh Perry meeting with displeasure from the Sydney media and some sections of the Newcastle support base. 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 brewery owner John Singleton also threatened legal action after the releases lead to a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign with his company being cancelled.

Before the final round of 2007, Tab Sportsbet's Glenn Munsie was reported in The Daily Telegraph saying that the Knights were certainties for the 'wooden spoon' (coming last in the season) 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".[2] 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.

2008 was a resurgence year for the Knights. They were unlucky to miss out on the finals, going down to the Brisbane Broncos 24–2 in the final round of the competition, which allowed the New Zealand Warriors (who easily overcame the Parramatta Eels) to take 8th place.

The Knights started the 2009 season convincingly, they were placed 2nd in the ladder at round 10. During the season the Knights equalled their best home winning streak of nine wins in 1995. Towards the end of the season coach Brian Smith announced he was leaving the Knights to join the troubled Sydney Roosters in 2010 after their horrific season. Over the next few weeks assistant coach Rick Stone was announced as the new coach of the Knights. Toward the end of the season the Knights lost three games in a row which put them in doubt for the finals, which they had looked like making all year. They then had an outstanding comeback to beat eventual grand finalists, Parramatta up the ladder. They finished the year 7th out of 16 after losing to the Bulldogs in week one of the finals. Rick Stone said he was looking forward to his first off-season in-charge of the team. On 16 December 2009 it was announced player Danny Wicks was caught-up in a drug bust involving amphetamines, cocaine and ecstasy. He was stood down. Eventually Wicks terminated his own contract as he did not want to keep bringing shame on the club and sponsors.

For the 2010 season the Knights signed McDonald's and Coca-Cola as major sponsors.

In March 2010 Chris Houston was served with notice to attend court on charges of supplying ecstasy and cocaine.[3] He was stood down indefinitely.

June 2010 capped of a good period for the Knights after they confirmed the signings of 2009 Toyota Cup Player of the Year Beau Henry on a three-year contract, 2009 Toyota Cup Centre of the Year Siuatonga Likiliki on a two-year contract and former Australian international prop Antonio Kaufusi on a two-year contract. In the next few days, the Knights also confirmed the signings of current Queensland Maroons star Neville Costigan on a three-year contract, and the promising young backrower Kyle O'Donnell on a two-year contract.

The Knights finished 11th in the 2010 season. While the club did not play in the finals, Adam MacDougall recorded the most tries for the club and Akuila Uate equalled the most tries in a season marking an otherwise forgetful year for the Knights.

In December 2010, former Knight Chris Houston was cleared of all drug charges and re-signed with the club for two years.

On 31 March 2011, the Knights were officially taken over by mining magnate Nathan Tinkler after a member's vote in which Tinkler won by 97%.

On 12 April 2011, the Knights confirmed the signing of 'supercoach' Wayne Bennett. They finished 8th in 2011, being eliminated in the first week of the finals. After the 2011 season, the Knights cleaned out 15 players, but nine other renowned players were signed including club legends Danny Buderus and Timana Tahu, Kangaroos winger Darius Boyd and Kangaroos forward Kade Snowden.

The Knights celebrated 25 years in the NRL competition in 2012. However, the season was a forgettable one. Captain Kurt Gidley succumbed to a shoulder injury early in the season which resulted in him missing the remainder of the year. The team failed to click and won only 10 of their 24 games to finish 12th. During the year, the club signed Willie Mason and Dane Gagai and both proved to be rare highlights in a poor season.

The 2013 season was a much better season for the Knights, finishing 7th on the ladder and making the third week of the finals by beating the Melbourne Storm in Melbourne in the 2nd week of the finals. This was the first time the Knights had done this since 2004, however, they were to fall to the Roosters in the following week.

In Round 3 of the 2014 NRL Season, the Knights played against the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park, the Storm's home ground. Shortly before half time, Knights forward Alex McKinnon was involved in a three-man tackle that involved Jordan McLean and the Bromwich brothers (Jesse and Kenny). McKinnon was dropped on his shoulders after being flipped upside down, but ducked his head and suffered fractures to his C4 and C5 vertebrae.[4] McLean was overcome with grief when fronting the NRL judiciary that he refused to look at numerous replays of the accident. McLean was given a seven match suspension as a result.

Later in Round 19, the NRL held the 'Rise for Alex Round', where for every ticket sold, $1 would be donated to McKinnon to assist with his continuous medical bills and rehabilitation funds. McKinnon accompanied the Knights in their loss against the Gold Coast Titans.[5]

On 7 July 2015 coach Rick Stone[6] was sacked after a string of disappointing results, and Danny Buderus would coach for the remainder of the 2015 season. In round 26 against the Panthers in Penrith, Newcastle went down 30-12 to claim their second wooden spoon.

On 9 September 2015, the Knights signed Nathan Brown to a 3-year contract to coach starting from 2016. During the 2016 season, the Knights debuted 11 players in the NRL, while losing co-captain Tariq Sims midway through to year to go to St. George Illawarra. Against Cronulla in round 10, Newcastle was defeated 62-0, their biggest defeat at home and second biggest defeat in history. Newcastle would only win one game all year, to claim the wooden spoon for a second consecutive season, and third overall.

2017 was the Knights' 30th year in the NRL, however it was another disappointing season for Newcastle as they finished last again, claiming their third wooden spoon in a row.[7]

In December 2017, the Newcastle Knights expressed their interest in applying for a licence to participate in the inaugural NRL Women's season.[8]

On 1 November 2017, the club was sold to Wests Group, a Newcastle-based not for profit club, after being administered by the NRL since the departure of Nathan Tinkler.[9] The following season marked a resurgence for the club, with the arrivals of high profile halfback Mitchell Pearce, sought after rookie fullback Kalyn Ponga, as well as Queensland Origin representative Aidan Guerra and several other players. New recruit Mitchell Pearce kicked a field goal in golden point extra time to win the opening round of 2018 at home against long time rivals Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.[10] The team started the season strongly, winning 5 of their opening 8 games to sit comfortably inside the top 8. However, with a long term injury to Mitchell Pearce, the side won only 4 of their remaining 12 matches to finish 11th.

2019 saw the arrival of forwards David Klemmer and Tim Glasby, boosting the team's forward pack. After winning their opening match, Newcastle lost 5 consecutive games before reversing their fortunes with 5 consecutive victories to reach 4th place.

Emblem and colours

  • Newcastle Knights Logos
  • 1988-1997
    1988-1997
  • 1998-2007
    1998-2007
  • 2008-2019
    2008-2019
  • 2020-Current
    2020-Current

In 1988, the Newcastle Knights were re-established to represent rugby league in the Hunter region once more. Newcastle adopted 'The Knights' moniker as a reference to its ‘steel city' industrial heritage. The jersey colours of red and blue were adopted from the district's representative side that wore red jerseys, white shorts and blue socks.[11]

Players

For the complete list of Newcastle Knights players, see List of Newcastle Knights players.

Current squad

Further information: 2020 Newcastle Knights season
Newcastle Knights 2025 squad
Top 30 squad - 2025 NRL season Development list Coaching staff

Extended squad

Head coach

Assistant coaches

Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)

Updated: 14 August 2020
Source(s): Newcastle Knights Profiles,
Rugby League Project


Captains

All players that have captained the Newcastle Knights in first-grade.

Cap No. Name Years As Captain Debut Round Games As Captain
1. Sam Stewart 1988–90 Round 1 40
2. Glenn Miller 1988 Round 17 3
3. Michael Hagan 1989–93 Round 15 91
4. Peter Johnston 1990 Round 8 1
5. Mark Sargent 1994–95 Round 1 26
6. Robbie McCormack 1994 Round 4 3
7. Paul Harragon 1995–99 Round 7 71
8. Matthew Johns 1995–99 Round 18 21
9. Tony Butterfield 1997, 1999–00 Round 3 46
10. Andrew Johns 1998, 2000–07 Round 23 106
11. Bill Peden 2000–02 Round 10 13
12. Ben Kennedy 2001, 2003–04 Round 24 9
13. Matt Parsons 2002–03 Finals Week 2 5
14. Steve Simpson 2003, 2006–10 Round 15 18
15. Danny Buderus 2004–08, 2012 Round 7 67
16. Robbie O'Davis 2004 Round 14 1
17. Matthew Gidley 2004–05 Round 17 2
18. Craig Smith 2005 Round 14 3
19. Jarrod Mullen 2007, 2010–11, 2013-14 Round 11 21
20. Kirk Reynoldson 2007 Round 13 1
21. Adam Woolnough 2007 Round 16 1
22. Kurt Gidley 2007–15 Round 19 123
23. Chris Houston 2008–09, 2012–13 Round 13 5
24. Daniel Tolar 2010 Round 14 1
25. Wes Naiqama 2011 Round 16 2
26. Beau Scott 2015 Round 1 2
27. Trent Hodkinson 2016-17 Round 1 30
28. Jeremy Smith 2016 Round 1 21
29. Tariq Sims 2016 Round 6 8
30. Sione Mata'utia 2017 Round 8 15
31. Jamie Buhrer 2017-19 Round 18 30
32. Mitchell Pearce 2018-20 Round 1 51
33. Aidan Guerra 2018 Round 8 9
34. Shaun Kenny-Dowall 2019 Round 16 1

Coaches

Main article: List of Newcastle Knights coaches

Jersey

Manufacturers

Home jerseys

1988-1996 1997-2000 2001-2004 2005-2007
2008-2010 2011-2012 2013-2014 2015–2016
2017-2018 2019–present

Away jerseys

2000-2002 2003-2005 2006-2007 2008-2009
2010-2011 2012 2013 2014-2015
2016–2018

Other jerseys

1988 Trial 2008 Heritage 2009-2011 Heritage 2012 Heritage
2014 Women In League 2015 Heritage

Record

Games Wins Drawn Losses
702 341 16 345

Last updated on 5 August 2016. Source:[13]

Major sponsors

Awards and achievements

Main article: Newcastle Knights Awards & Achievements

Club Premiership honours

Main article: Newcastle Knights honours

Premierships: 2 (1997*, 2001)

Finals Series: 13 (1992, 1995, 1997*, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2013)

* ARL season only

Statistics

Main article: List of Newcastle Knights records

Individual records

Career

Most Games

Most Points

Most Tries

Most Goals

Season

Most Points

Most Tries

Match

Most Points

Most Tries

Most Goals

Club Song

Go Hard, Go Knights (1995 – present)

Playin' hard, playin' tough, Just plain good is not good enough, We're gonna show you what league's all about, If there's a lesson to be learned we're handing it out.

This game is our game, This town is our town, Turn the heat up and listen to the crowd. Go hard, Go Knights, Go proud.

This game is our game, This town is our town, Turn the heat up and listen to the crowd. Go hard, Go Knights, Go proud.

Supporters

Newcastle Knights fans have been described as being among the most rabid in the NRL[14] and in 2008, 2011 and 2012, were the third best supported club in the league.[15] In 2008, the average home game attendance was 18,750, 19,186 in 2011 and 20,919 in 2012. In 2012, the Knights also had the largest Monday Night Football crowd of the year with 18,637 fans turning up in Round 16.[16]

Some notable supporters of the club include;

References

  1. ^ "NRL - Grand Finals". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  2. ^ Nicolussi, Christian (30 August 2007). "TAB hands Knights the spoon | The Daily Telegraph". News.com.au. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
  3. ^ Proudman, Dan (1 March 2010). "Knights' Chris Houston to face drug supply charges". smh.com.au. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  4. ^ How one tackle changed the lives of Newcastle player Alex McKinnon and Melbourne Storm's Jordan McLean, The Daily Telegraph (Australia), 8 June 2014
  5. ^ "Newcastle rises as one for Alex". NRL.com. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  6. ^ BRETT KEEBLE27 Jul 2015, 11 p.m. (27 July 2015). "Stone out: Knights get six games to prove worth | Poll | Newcastle Herald". Theherald.com.au. Retrieved 5 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Encarnacion, Matt. "NRL 2017: Cronulla Sharks warm up for finals with scrappy win against Newcastle Knights". Retrieved 5 September 2017 – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  8. ^ Bungard, Matt; Proszenko, Adrian (6 December 2017). "NRL 2018: Knights, Dragons first to declare bids for licences for women's tournament". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  9. ^ Cook, Carly (8 August 2017). "Wests Group new owner of Newcastle Knights". ABC News. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Knights v Sea Eagles - Round 1, 2018 - Match Centre". National Rugby League. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Newcastle Knights - Mines and Wines". www.convictcreations.com. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  12. ^ Brian Smith signed to save Roosters Archived 25 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine Brisbane Times, 19 July 2009
  13. ^ "Rugby League Tables / Newcastle Win-Loss Records By Venue". Afltables.com. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  14. ^ Read, Brent (14 June 2010). "Knights leave fans out in cold again". The Australian. Australia: News Limited. Retrieved 20 August 2010. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ FitzGibbon, Liam (30 June 2008). "Knights cut ticket prices to win crowds". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia: Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  16. ^ [1]
  17. ^ Bradford, Gillian (2 October 2001). "New security measures planned for aviation industry". LATELINE. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  18. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ^ "Financial Review - News Store". Newsstore.fairfax.com.au. 28 January 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  20. ^ http://www.virtualformguide.com/cgi-bin/tvf/displaynewsitem.pl?20080708timclark.txt
  21. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 2012-08-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. ^ "Mad Monday partying". Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  24. ^ "Billy Slater Pictures - Off Court At The 2012 Australian Open". Zimbio. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  25. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. ^ "Lateline - 17/07/2012: Gillard leadership questions resurface". Abc.net.au. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  27. ^ "Thomas Fraser-Holmes emerges as Olympic medal chance in 400m IM". The Courier-Mail. 28 July 2012.
  28. ^ a b c d "Mad Monday partying". Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  29. ^ AskMen Editors (1 January 2001). "Jennifer Hawkins Pictures, Photo Galleries, Bio & Rating - AskMen". Au.askmen.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  30. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 2012-08-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  31. ^ [2]
  32. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  33. ^ Neil Goffet29 Apr 2011, 5:51 a.m. (29 April 2011). "First-time member Richards joins Knights campaign | Newcastle Herald". Theherald.com.au. Retrieved 5 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  34. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  35. ^ "John Tate - Defender Of The Kingdom". YouTube. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  36. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  37. ^ "Paul Wilson". Community.cricket.com.au. Archived from the original on 19 August 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

Further reading

  • ABC Australian Sports Almanac 2002
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