Newcastle Knights

The Newcastle Knights are a National Rugby League team based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

Club history

The Newcastle Knights entered the NSW Rugby League competition in 1988 with Allan McMahon as coach. 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 losing to the Balmain Tigers. The club won its first competition, the Nissan Sevens, in 1991 and made the playoffs in 1992 where it was beaten by the St. George Dragons.

Related Topics:
NSW Rugby League - Balmain Tigers - St. George Dragons

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The Knights made the semi-finals again in 1995 when the competition became the Australian Rugby League and won the reserve grade 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.

Related Topics:
Australian Rugby League - Rupert Murdoch - Super League - Hunter Valley

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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. The Knights won the 1997 Australian Rugby League premiership defeating the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 22-16 in the Grand Final. This win was a huge morale boost to the district following the closure of the area's biggest employer the BHP Steelworks announced in 1997. Seventy per cent of the winning squad were Newcastle juniors. The victory was somewhat soured when in the off-season it was discovered that Knight's players Robbie O'Davis and Adam McDougall had in fact being using steroids at the time of their grand-final victory.

Related Topics:
News Limited - Hunter Mariners - Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - BHP

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From 1996 - 2003, the Knights have made seven final series in a row. In 1998, the Knights finished equal on 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. The club tied with the New Zealand Warriors in 2002 on the competition but finished second in the minor premiership due to inferior points differential. Andrew Johns won the Rothmans Medal for best player in the National Rugby League four years in a row between 1988 and 2001- the best performance by any player in the history of the award. Robbie O'Davis won the Clive Churchill Medal for best player in the 1997 Grand Final and Andrew Johns won it in 2001 Grand Final.

Related Topics:
1998 - Brisbane Broncos - Parramatta Eels - New Zealand Warriors - Rothmans Medal - Clive Churchill Medal - 1997

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

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Following further injuries and a lack of experienced players, the club, as of late May, had failed to win a match in the 2005 premiership, having had the worst start to a season by any club since the 1960s. That streak came to an end with a win away to the Penrith Panthers in late June. In a tribute to the club's followers, crowds remained high through the losing streak, and fans were rewarded for their stoicism as the team managed to win eight of its last eleven games, including a six game winning streak brought to an end in round twenty six by the St George-Illawarra Dragons.

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2006 bodes well for the Novocastrians, with the side recruiting Great Britain and Irish winger Brian Carney, former Raider Luke Davico, and managing to retain the many promising young juniors (lead by the likes of Bradley Tighe, Milton Thaidy, Jarrod Mullen, and Reegan tanner) that have come through in the club's worst ever season.

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Jennifer Hawkins, the 2004 Miss Universe is a former cheerleader for the Knights.

Related Topics:
Jennifer Hawkins - 2004 - Miss Universe

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