Group 15 Rugby League

Barwon Darling Rugby League

Sport	Rugby league
Formerly known as	Group 15 Rugby League
Inaugural season	1949
Ceased	1992
Re-formed	2000s
Number of teams	6
Premiers	Brewarrina (2024)
Most titles	Bourke (13 titles)
Website	Barwon Darling Rugby League Barwon Darling Rugby League on facebook
Related competition	Castlereagh Cup, Outback Rugby League

The Group 15 Rugby League, now known as Barwon Darling Rugby League Cup is a rugby league competition in Far North West NSW.

The competition has six teams from across Western NSW, with another currently in recess.

History

Group 15 was a rugby league competition based in the northeastern quarter of the Western Division, New South Wales, Australia. The last premiership was held in 1992 with Lightning Ridge beating Bourke.

Group 15 clubs currently play in the revamped Barwon Darling Rugby League Cup, which is essentially a reformed Group 15 Premiership, run by the Country Rugby League as part of Region 4 (Western Rams).

Barwon Darling Rugby League Cup

The Barwon Darling Rugby League is the new competition held in the area following the demise of Group 15. Five former Group 15 clubs are involved, plus the more recently formed Newtown Wanderers club, with towns such as Bourke, Brewarrina, Goodooga, Lightning Ridge and Walgett (Dragons and Wanderers) entering teams. Collarenebri has also fielded sides in the past, but are currently in recess. The competition is the a key social event in most of the communities involved, as they are small rural townships.

The competition has been dominated by the Walgett Dragons and Bourke Warriors in recent years, with many premierships going to either one of the sides, with Brewarrina being the other consistently competitive side. Goodooga broke a 34 year title drought in 2022 defeating Bourke 27-26 to claim the title, before going back-to-back the following year. ^{[1] [2]}

Teams

Barwon Darling Rugby League Cup Teams

Team	Moniker	Town	Ground
First Grade Clubs
Brewarrina	Golden Googars	Brewarrina, New South Wales	Geoff New Oval
Collarenebri	Bulldogs	Collarenebri, New South Wales	Collarenebri Sportsground
Goodooga	Magpies	Goodooga, New South Wales	Magpie Oval
Walgett	Dragons	Walgett, New South Wales	Ricky Walford Oval
Lower Grade Clubs
Lightning Ridge	Redbacks	Lightning Ridge, New South Wales	Spider Brown Oval

In Recess

Team	Moniker	Town	Ground
First Grade Clubs
Bourke	Warriors	Bourke, New South Wales	Davidson Oval
Lightning Ridge	Redbacks	Lightning Ridge, New South Wales	Spider Brown Oval

Former Group 15 teams included

• Barwon United (folded)
• Bourke Warriors ^{[3] [4]}
• Brewarrina Googars ^[3]
• Canbelego ^[5]
• Cobar Roosters (Now in Castlereagh League) ^[3]
• Collarenebri Bulldogs
• Enngonia Outlaws
• Goodooga Magpies ^[3]
• Lightning Ridge Redbacks
• Mungindi Grasshoppers
• Newtown Wanderers
• Nyngan Tigers (Now in Group 11/Peter McDonald Premiership) ^[3]
• Walgett Dragons ^{[3] [6]}
• Warren Bulldogs (Now in Castlereagh League) ^[3]

Grand Finals

Barwon Darling Rugby League

Barwon Darling RL Premiers ^[7]

Year	Premiers	Score	Runners-Up	Winning Coach
2000s–2011 Unknown
2012	Bourke	22–18	Walgett
2013	Walgett	50–10	Bourke
2014	Walgett	10–6	Bourke
2015	Bourke	48–24	Walgett
2016	Walgett	40–24	Cobar
2017	Brewarrina	42–18	Walgett
2018	Bourke	62–34	Walgett
2019	Walgett	38–18	Bourke
2020	No premiers due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021
2022	Goodooga	27–26 [1]	Bourke	Robert Hooper
2022	Goodooga	30–22 [2]	Bourke

Group 15 Rugby League

Year	Premiers	Score	Runners-up	Winning Coach
1949	Cobar	8–5	Bourke
1950
1951	Cobar	16–2	Warren
1952
1953	Trangie	9–2	Warren
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964	Brewarrina	14–13	Nyngan
1965
1966
1967	Bourke [8]	10–7	Brewarrina	J. Mumbler
1968	Cobar	5–4	Brewarrina	Brad Wynd
1969	Brewarrina	27–14	Bourke
1970	Bourke
1971	Cobar	33–6	Bourke	Brian Lawrence
1972	Cobar	23–2	Walgett	Brian Lawrence
1973	Walgett	27–21	Brewarrina
1974	Bourke	16–6	Goodooga	B. Hollman
1975	Walgett	16–11	Brewarrina	Ken Morgan
1976	Bourke	68–13	Walgett
1977	Cobar 8-5. Walgett Mick Bannister
1978	Cobar	21–0	Goodooga	Peter Fox
1979	Nyngan	28–12	Goodooga
1980	Goodooga	16–12	Nyngan	Ron Mason
1981	Bourke	24–17	Cobar	F. Harvey
1982	Bourke	19–12	Nyngan	Alan Hamilton
1983	Nyngan	24–22	Bourke	G. Moore
1984	Bourke	56–0	Nyngan
1984	Goodooga	26–6	Mungindi
1985	Goodooga	28–24	Brewarrina
1986	Brewarrina	38–24	Goodooga
1987	Bourke	40–20	Walgett	Keith Harvey
1988	Goodooga	44–32	Bourke	John Stanton
1989	Bourke	32–29	Walgett	Tony Darigo
1990	Bourke	31–26	Walgett	Stephen Howlett
1991	Walgett	20–17	Lightning Ridge	Richie Simpson
1992	Lightning Ridge	38–6	Bourke	Ron Ferguson

Sources

Years	Item	Via
1967–69, 1971–96	Country Rugby League Annual Report	State Library of NSW
1982 to 2001	Rugby League Week	Bound copies at State Library of NSW
2002 to 2014	Rugby League Week	eResources at State Library of NSW
2012 to 2022	Western Rams YouTube Channel [9]	YouTube Videos
2022 to 2023	Battlers For Bush Footy	Website

References

1. Smith, Tallon (4 November 2022). "GOODOOGA SWOOP TO GRAND FINAL GLORY". Battlers For Bush Footy. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
2. Smith, Tallon (18 August 2023). "Goodooga go back to back in Barwon Darling Cup". Battlers For Bush Footy. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
3. "Group 15 Rugby League Draw for 1969 Season". Western Herald. 16 May 1969. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
4. "Grand Final League Teams". Western Herald. 22 August 1969. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
5. "SMALL BUT GOOD". Daily Telegraph. 2 June 1940. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
6. "WALGETT JOINS GROUP 15 LEAGUE". Western Herald. 24 February 1967. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
7. "WesternRams - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
8. "Bourke 1967 League Premiers". Western Herald. 6 October 1967. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
9. "WesternRams - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 6 August 2022.