Group 4 Rugby League

Group 4 Rugby League

Sport	Rugby league
Instituted	1913
Inaugural season	1913
Number of teams	9
Country	Australia
Premiers	North Tamworth Bears (2023)
Most titles	West Tamworth Robins/Lions (29 titles)
Website	Group 4 at SportsTG

Group 4 is a rugby league competition in the New England and north west area of New South Wales, run under the auspices of the Country Rugby League.

Structure

The Group runs a first grade, reserve grade, league tag and under 18s competitions. All nine first grade clubs run at least one lower grade team and most will have three or four. In addition to the nine first grade clubs, there was also one junior club involved in under 16s: Farrer MAHS. The Under 16s competition has since become a part of the junior league organisation in the region, Group 4 JRL. It also formerly ran a second division competition called the Wests Shield. The second division competition contained stand-alone senior teams from smaller towns within the region, who eventually moved up to first grade in 2018 after a merger between the divisions. Kootingal-Moonbi, Dungowan and Boggabri moved up to being full first grade teams, whilst Manilla and Barraba moved into the reserves competition. Manilla then re-joined the first grade competition in 2022.

There are also Group 4 senior Under 18s and Under 16s representative teams that competes against other Group sides. They compete against Groups 19 and 21 in trials for the Greater Northern Tigers regional team.

Teams

Current teams

Nine teams currently compete in Group 4 Rugby League first grade, from towns across the New England and north west area of New South Wales.

The 2020 season was postponed and subsequently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. ^[1]

First Grade Clubs

Team	Home ground	No. of Premierships	Premierships
Boggabri Kangaroos	Jubilee Oval	2	1963, 1964
Dungowan Cowboys	Dungowan Oval	0	None
Gunnedah Bulldogs	Kitchener Park	7	1956, 1965, 1973, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1998
Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters	Kootingal Oval	0	None
Moree Boars	Boughton Oval	4	1988, 1989, 1999, 2002
Narrabri Blues	Collins Park	5	1940, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1990
North Tamworth Bears	Jack Woolaston Oval	22	1913, 1921, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1931, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1980, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2015 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
Wee Waa Panthers	Cook Oval	2	1992, 2004
Werris Creek Magpies	David Taylor Oval	10	1925, 1933, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1979, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997

Former teams

The following teams have competed in Group 4 First Grade since 1983:

• Armidale (2016) (moved back to Group 19)
• Barraba (1980s–2021, on and off) (folded)
• Bendemeer (2018) (folded)
• Collegians Tamworth (2017) (Returned to junior football only)
• Coonabarabran (1998–2009) (moved to Castlereagh)
• Inverell (1980s–1989) (moved to Group 19)
• Moree Boomerangs (1980s–1990) (moved to Group 19)
• Manilla Tigers (–2022) (folded)
• Oxley Diggers Tamworth (2014–16) (folded)
• Tamworth City (1956–1995, merged with West Tamworth) ^[2]
• Tamworth United (1990–91)
• Warialda (1980s–1988) (moved to Group 19)
• West Tamworth (1913–1995 as the Robins, merged with Tamworth City 1995–2016), rebranded as South West (2017).

Many of these clubs have moved to Group 19.

These clubs fielded teams in at least one Division 2 competition during the seasons 2011 to 2017.

• Bendemeer (folded)
• Bingara (Group 19)
• Bundarra (moved to Group 19, in recess)
• Quirindi (moved to Group 21, Folded)
• Uralla (moved to Group 19, amalgamated with Walcha)
• Walcha (moved to Group 19, amalgamated with Uralla)

In 2018, the clubs Bendemeer, Boggabri, Dungowan, Kootingal-Moonbi and Werris Creek were elevated from Division 2 into a reorganised First Grade competition. Manilla moved into the lower grades.

Map

Local Area	in New South Wales
[Interactive fullscreen map + nearby articles] Locations of the current Group 4 clubs .	[Interactive fullscreen map + nearby articles] Relation to state & national capitals

Grand finals

Year	Premiers	Score	Runners-up	Report	Winning Coach	Grand Final venue	Minor Premiers	Wooden Spoon
1912	East Tamworth	10–4	North Tamworth Rebels	[3]		Outer Oval, Tamworth
1913	North Tamworth Rebels	-	East Tamworth	[4]	Paddy McGuinness	No Final
1914	West Tamworth	12–3	North Tamworth Rebels	[5]
1915	West Tamworth	-	East Tamworth
1919	East Tamworth	24–0	North Tamworth	[6]		Tamworth Oval
1920	West Tamworth	8–3	North Tamworth	[7]		Tamworth Oval
1921	North Tamworth	5–4	West Tamworth		E. (LEG) Frame
1922	West Tamworth	7–6	North Tamworth
1923	West Tamworth	7–0	North Tamworth	[8]
1924	North Tamworth	-	No Final		Tom McCormack	No Final
1925	Werris Creek	-	No Final	[9]	Alec Main	No Final
1926	North Tamworth	10–3	Manilla	[10]	Harry Pinkerton	Tamworth Oval
1927	North Tamworth	8–4	West Tamworth		Harry Pinkerton
1928	West Tamworth	10–3	East Tamworth
1929	North Tamworth	-	No Final		Harry Pinkerton	No Final
1930	Nundle	8–5	North Tamworth
1931	North Tamworth	9–0	East Tamworth	[11]	Harry Thompson	Tamworth Oval		West Tamworth
1932	East Tamworth	8–5	West Tamworth	[12]	Jim Tait
1933	Werris Creek	8–7	East Tamworth	[13]	Benny Bell
1934	East Tamworth	20–15	West Tamworth	[14]	Cec Anderton
1935	Cup & Shield Games Only
1936
1937	West Tamworth	13–5	Werris Creek	[15]
1938	West Tamworth	8–5	Tamworth	[16]
1939	Tamworth	-	No Final			No Final
1940	Narrabri Blues	31–7	Tamworth	[17]		Collins Park; Narrabri	Narrabri Blues
1941	Tamworth	7–4	Army
1942	Tamworth	17–15	RAAF All Blues
1943	Con Depot	17–10	Tamworth
1944	Tamworth	6–3	Railways	[18]
1945	Railways	17–11	Werris Creek
1946	Tamworth	13–3	Quirindi
1947	Quirindi	19–6	East Tamworth
1948	Werris Creek	14–7	East Tamworth		Eric Frazer		Werris Creek
1949	Werris Creek	18–11	West Tamworth		Eric Frazer		Werris Creek
1950	North Tamworth Bears	10–2	Werris Creek		Allan Nelson
1951	North Tamworth	13–2	Werris Creek	[19]	Vic Williams
1952	Werris Creek	11–9	North Tamworth	[20]	Greg Wilkins		Werris Creek
1953	North Tamworth	23–5	Gunnedah	[21]	Lloyd Russell		North Tamworth Bears
1954	Armidale	24–12	West Tamworth	[22]	Ron Madden	Tamworth Oval	Armidale
1955	West Tamworth	16–7	Armidale
1956	Gunnedah	23–5	Armidale
1957	West Tamworth	21–7	Boggabri
1958	Tamworth City RSL	16–12	Boggabri
1959	Tamworth City RSL	24–2	West Tamworth
1960	Tamworth City RSL	13–8	West Tamworth
1961	Manilla	10–8	Gunnedah
1962	West Tamworth	22–7	Gunnedah
1963	Boggabri	22–10	West Tamworth
1964	Boggabri	18–17	West Tamworth
1965	Gunnedah	29–4	Quirindi
1966	West Tamworth	11–9	Gunnedah
1967	West Tamworth	25–13	Manilla
1968	West Tamworth	26–12	Narrabri Blues
1969	West Tamworth	5–2	Gunnedah		Wiliam Bischoff
1970	Narrabri Blues	32–9	West Tamworth
1971	Narrabri Blues	8–7	West Tamworth
1972	West Tamworth	22–14	Gunnedah Bulldogs		Wiliam Bischoff
1973	Gunnedah Bulldogs	25–5	West Tamworth
1974	West Tamworth	21–8	Werris Creek		Des Kimmorley
1975	Walcha Roos	12–4	Werris Creek		Marty Williamson		Walcha Roos
1976	Narrabri Blues	18–5	West Tamworth		Frank Fish
1977	West Tamworth	34–0	Narrabri Blues
1978	Tamworth City RSL Lions	15–7	Gunnedah Bulldogs		Dempsey Joy
1979	Werris Creek	21–3	Gunnedah Bulldogs	[9]	Wiliam Bischoff	David Taylor Park; Werris Creek	Werris Creek
1980	North Tamworth Bears	23–15	Narrabri Blues		Russell Worth		North Tamworth Bears	Wee Waa Panthers
1981	West Tamworth	22–16	Werris Creek			Scully Park	North Tamworth Bears
1982	Tamworth City RSL Lions	21–2	Moree Boomerangs		Neville Baldock
1983	Gunnedah Bulldogs	26–22	Tamworth City RSL Lions		Terry Donnelly
1984	Gunnedah Bulldogs	35–20	North Tamworth Bears		John Lennan
1985	Gunnedah Bulldogs	19–12	Narrabri Blues		John Lennan	Kitchener Park; Gunnedah	Gunnedah Bulldogs	Boggabri Kangaroos
1986	West Tamworth	6–4	Inverell RSM		Steve Martin	Scully Park	West Tamworth	Moree Boars
1987	West Tamworth	10–0	Gunnedah Bulldogs		Steve Martin	Scully Park	West Tamworth	Wee Waa Panthers
1988	Moree Boars	32–28	Gunnedah Bulldogs		John Kirkwood	Burt Jovanovich Park	Gunnedah Bulldogs	Warialda Wombats
1989	Moree Boars	16–15	Narrabri Blues		John Kirkwood	Burt Jovanovich Park	Moree Boars	Inverell RSM
1990	Narrabri Blues	18–14	West Tamworth		Kevin Hill	Collins Park; Narrabri	Narrabri Blues	Tamworth United
1991	West Tamworth	21–6	Narrabri Blues		Gary Maguire	Scully Park	Narrabri Blues	Tamworth United
1992	Wee Waa Panthers	18–12	West Tamworth		John Harvey	Cook Oval; Wee Waa
1993	Werris Creek	20–16	Gunnedah Bulldogs		Ron Dellar	David Taylor Park; Werris Creek
1994	Tamworth City RSL Lions	24–14	Gunnedah Bulldogs		Mick Schmiedel	Kitchener Park
1995	Werris Creek	16–14	Gunnedah Bulldogs		Ron Dellar		Gunnedah Bulldogs
1996	Werris Creek	45–14	Gunnedah Bulldogs		Ron Dellar		Werris Creek
1997	Werris Creek	32–32 Replay 22-21	Wee Waa Panthers		Ron Dellar		Gunnedah Bulldogs	Moree Boars
1998	Gunnedah Bulldogs	33–14	Wee Waa Panthers		Peter Ryman		Wee Waa Panthers	North Tamworth Bears
1999	Moree Boars	32–20	West Tamworth Lions		Mark Ryan		West Tamworth Lions	Coonabarabran Unicorns
2000	West Tamworth Lions	23–6	North Tamworth Bears	[23]	Tony La Chiusa	Jack Woolaston Oval	West Tamworth Lions	Gunnedah Bulldogs
2001	West Tamworth Lions	34–24	North Tamworth Bears	[24]	Tony La Chiusa	Scully Park	West Tamworth Lions	Gunnedah Bulldogs
2002	Moree Boars	34–18	West Tamworth Lions	[25]	Tony Murray	Burt Jovanovich Oval, Moree	Moree Boars	Wee Waa Panthers
2003	Coonabarabran Unicorns	33–24	North Tamworth Bears	[26]	Mark Watton	Jack Woolaston Oval	North Tamworth Bears	Werris Creek
2004	Wee Waa Panthers	46–10	Moree Boars	[27]	Matt Hogan	Cook Oval, Wee Waa	West Tamworth Lions	Werris Creek
2005	North Tamworth Bears	34–28	West Tamworth Lions	[28]	Luke Taylor	Jack Woolaston Oval	North Tamworth Bears	Wee Waa Panthers
2006	North Tamworth Bears	42–14	Coonabarabran Unicorns		Luke Taylor	Jack Woolaston Oval	North Tamworth Bears	Narrabri Blues
2007	North Tamworth Bears	32–12	West Tamworth Lions	[29]	Matt Parsons	Jack Woolaston Oval	North Tamworth Bears	Werris Creek
2008	North Tamworth Bears	8–6	West Tamworth Lions		Matt Parsons	Jack Woolaston Oval	West Tamworth Lions	Narrabri Blues
2009	West Tamworth Lions	52–28	North Tamworth Bears		Tony La Chiusa	Scully Park	West Tamworth Lions	Narrabri Blues
2010	West Tamworth Lions	55–12	Wee Waa Panthers	[30]	Tony La Chiusa	Scully Park	West Tamworth Lions	Moree Boars
2011	West Tamworth Lions	54–14	North Tamworth Bears	[31]	Tony La Chiusa	Jack Woolaston Oval	West Tamworth Lions	Moree Boars
2012	West Tamworth Lions	23–12	North Tamworth Bears	[32]	Tony La Chiusa	Jack Woolaston Oval	West Tamworth Lions	Moree Boars
2013	West Tamworth Lions	33–24	North Tamworth Bears	[33]	Tony La Chiusa	Scully Park	West Tamworth Lions	Moree Boars
2014	North Tamworth Bears	56–18	Gunnedah Bulldogs	[34]	Brad McManus	Jack Woolaston Oval	North Tamworth Bears	Oxley Diggers
2015	North Tamworth Bears	46–25	West Tamworth Lions	[35]	Zac Russ	Jack Woolaston Oval	West Tamworth Lions	Oxley Diggers
2016	North Tamworth Bears	36–12	West Tamworth Lions	[36]	Brad McManus	Jack Woolaston Oval	North Tamworth Bears	Armidale Rams
2017	North Tamworth Bears	30–22	Narrabri Blues	[37]	Brad McManus	Jack Woolaston Oval	North Tamworth Bears	Wee Waa Panthers
2018	North Tamworth Bears	34–28	Gunnedah Bulldogs	[38]	Scott Blanch	Jack Woolaston Oval	Kootingal Moonbi Roosters	Boggabri Kangaroos
2019	North Tamworth Bears	40–4	Kootingal Moonbi Roosters	[39]	Scott Blanch	Jack Woolaston Oval	North Tamworth Bears	Boggabri Kangaroos
2020 and 2021 seasons cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2022	North Tamworth Bears	22–14	Dungowan Cowboys		Paul Boyce	Dungowan Recreation Reserve	North Tamworth Bears	Manilla Tigers
2023	North Tamworth Bears	26–16	Moree Boars	[40]	Paul Boyce	Jack Woolaston Oval	Moree Boars	Narrabri Blues

Junior League

Current Teams

Team	Home ground
Dungowan Cowboys	Dungowan Oval
Farrer Memorial AHS	Farrer HS
Gunnedah Bulldogs	Kitchener Park
Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters	Kootingal Oval
Manilla Tigers	Manilla Oval
Collegians Tamworth JRLFC	Tamworth
Narrabri Blues	Collins Park
North Tamworth Bears	Jack Woolaston Oval
South West Robins Junior Sporting Assoc.	Scully Park Precinct
Werris Creek Magpies	David Taylor Oval

Notable juniors

Gunnedah Bulldogs

• John Donnelly (rugby league)
• James Wynne
• John O’Neill (rugby league)
• Lindsay Johnston
• Ron Turner (rugby league)

See also

• Sports portal
• New South Wales portal

• Rugby League Competitions in Australia

References

1. "2020 Group 4 Season Suspended". 2TM. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
2. Bath, Chris (12 June 2016). "Tamworth City Lions revelling in a league of their own". Northern Daily Leader. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
3. "Half-Holiday Football - Easts Win The Premiership". Tamworth Daily Observer . Tamworth: National Library of Australia. 3 October 1912. p. 3. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
4. "Rebels Final Social". Tamworth Daily Observer . Tamworth: National Library of Australia. 10 October 1913. p. 4. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
5. "League Football - First Grade Competition - West Tamworth Premiers". Tamworth Daily Observer . Tamworth: National Library of Australia. 14 September 1914. p. 3. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
6. "Football - League Finals in Tamworth". Daily Observer (Tamworth) . Tamworth: National Library of Australia. 8 September 1919. p. 1. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
7. "Tamworth Football". Daily Observer (Tamworth) . Tamworth: National Library of Australia. 19 July 1920. p. 1. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
8. Bryant, Col (1991). Red and black men - A History of the North Tamworth Rugby League Football Club. Peel Publishing Pty Ltd.
9. Holley, Chris (1997). A Few Ruffled Feathers - Tracing the History of Werris Creek Rugby League 1912-1997. Werris Creek Rugby League Club.
10. "Football". Manilla Express . Manilla: National Library of Australia. 7 September 1926. p. 2. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
11. "Football". Manilla Express . Manilla: National Library of Australia. 25 August 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
12. "The Referee's Section of NSW Country Football". The Referee . Sydney: National Library of Australia. 17 August 1932. p. 17. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
13. "Central Northern League". The Sydney Morning Herald . Sydney: National Library of Australia. 5 September 1933. p. 16. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
14. "The Sun Stop Press". The Newcastle Sun . Newcastle: National Library of Australia. 8 September 1934. p. 1. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
15. "Northern Football". Maitland District Mercury . Maitland: National Library of Australia. 26 July 1937. p. 8. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
16. "Football - Scone v. West Tamworth - Game for Championship of Group 4". The Scone Advocate . Scone: National Library of Australia. 23 August 1938. p. 2. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
17. "Tamworth Overwhelmed". The Northwestern Courier . Narrabri: National Library of Australia. 12 August 1940. p. 4. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
18. "Football - Tamworth on Sunday". The Muswellbrook Chronicle and Upper Hunter advertiser . Muswellbrook: National Library of Australia. 4 August 1944. p. 8. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
19. "Tamworth Final". Armidale Express . Armidale: National Library of Australia. 3 September 1951. p. 11. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
20. "Personal Pars". The Muswellbrook Chronicle and Upper Hunter advertiser . Muswellbrook: National Library of Australia. 26 August 1952. p. 1. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
21. "Rugby League - North Tamworth Wins". Armidale Express . Armidale: National Library of Australia. 31 August 1953. p. 11. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
22. "Rugby League - Armidale Too Strong For West". Armidale Express . Armidale: National Library of Australia. 20 September 1954. p. 10. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
23. Gould, Joel (3 September 2000). "Lions reap dividend of sticking to game plan". Northern Daily Leader. p. 36.
24. Gould, Joel (10 September 2001). "Ellison vows no more comebacks". Northern Daily Leader.
25. Gould, Joel (8 September 2002). "Full Boar weekend". Northern Daily Leader.
26. Gould, Joel (14 September 2003). "Unicorn forwards lay platform for backs to finish". Northern Daily Leader.
27. Newling, Geoff (12 September 2004). "Hogan's heroes". Northern Daily Leader.
28. Newling, Geoff (18 September 2005). "Champion Bears". Northern Daily Leader.
29. Robertson, Grant (16 September 2007). "Victory Taylor-made". Northern Daily Leader.
30. "Lions savage Panthers for 24th title". Northern Daily Leader. 19 September 2010.
31. "North Tamworth Bears V West Lions Grand Final Day 2011". 9 September 2011. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2019– via YouTube.
32. Robertson, Grant (27 August 2012). "West Lions 23 North Tamworth 12". Northern Daily Leader. p. 28.
33. Newling, Geoff (9 September 2013). "GALLERY: The West was won with early assault". The Northern Daily Leader. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
34. Newling, Geoff (23 September 2014). "North Tamworth Bears kings of country". The Northern Daily Leader. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
35. "Bears go back-to-back". Northern Daily Leader. 13 September 2015.
36. Herbert, Emily (12 September 2016). "Group Four's Grubby Grand Final". NBN News. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
37. Bode, Mark (10 September 2017). "Group 4 First Division: North Tamworth secure fourth straight premiership with bruising defeat of Narrabri". The Northern Daily Leader. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
38. Bode, Mark (9 September 2018). "Group 4 grand final: North Tamworth Bears edge Gunnedah Bulldogs 34–28". The Northern Daily Leader. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
39. Bode, Mark (7 September 2019). "2019 Group 4 first grade grand final - North Tamworth Bears down Kooty Roosters 40-4". Northern Daily Leader. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
40. Smith, Tallon (23 August 2023). "Group 4: North Tamworth make it eight titles on the trot with Grand Final victory over Moree". Battlers For Bush Footy. Retrieved 23 August 2023.

External links and sources

• Country Rugby League official site
• Group 4 on SportsTG
• Rugby League Week at State Library of NSW Research and Collections