Hastings District Rugby League

Hastings Rugby Football League

Sport	Rugby league
Formerly known as	Group 3 Saturday League
Instituted	1920
Inaugural season	1920
President	Geoff Connor
Number of teams	12
Country	Australia
Premiers	Laurieton Hotel Stingrays (2022)
Most titles	Beechwood Shamrocks (15 titles)
Website
Related competition	Group 3 Rugby League

The Hastings District Rugby League is a community rugby league competition. It features amateur teams from smaller towns around the Mid-North Coast and runs as a community competition similar to the Barwon Darling Rugby League and the Western Riverina Community Cup.

History

The Hastings League was established in 1920 as a rugby league competition on the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales. The competition partnered with the Group 3 Rugby League in the 1990s as the Group 3 Saturday League, but has since returned to the Hastings League name and remains separate from Group 3.

In 2018, the competition began a ladies tackle grade. This competition has now expanded to allow invitees from other Groups, become independent of the competition, and is known as the North Coast Women's Rugby League. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The competition was due to celebrate its centenary season in 2020 but this was delayed until 2021 by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2025, clubs from neighbouring Group 2 joined the competition (Bellingen Valley-Dorrigo and Orara Valley), upon which the competition, then up to twelve clubs, split into two divisions.

Clubs

Clubs [4]	Moniker	City/Town	Home Ground	Titles [5]
Northern Division
Bellingen Dorrigo	Magpies	Bellingen/Dorrigo	Bellingen Park	None
Bowraville	Tigers	Bowraville, New South Wales	Bowraville Sports Ground	None
Lower Macleay	Magpies	Smithtown, New South Wales	Smithtown Oval	1
Orara Valley	Axemen	Coffs Harbour (Coramba)	Coramba Sportsground	None
South West Rocks	Marlins	South West Rocks, New South Wales	South West Rocks Sports Ground	2
Southern Division
Beechwood	Shamrocks	Wauchope, New South Wales (Beechwood)	Beechwood Oval	14
Comboyne	Tigers	Comboyne, New South Wales	Comboyne Showground	11
Harrington (in recess)	Hurricanes	Harrington, New South Wales	Esmond Hogan Oval	None
Kendall	Blues	Kendall, New South Wales	Kendall Showground	9
Lake Cathie	Raiders	Lake Cathie, New South Wales	Lake Cathie Sporting Complex	1
Laurieton Hotel	Stingrays	Camden Haven, New South Wales (Laurieton)	Laurieton Oval	1
Long Flat	Dragons	Long Flat, New South Wales	Long Flat Oval	13

Former clubs

• Bellangry (3 titles)
• Byabarra (3 titles)
• Camden Haven (1 title)
• Crescent Head (1 title)
• Gloucester Magpies (No titles)
• Macquarie Hotel (3 titles)
• Port Macquarie Boardriders (1 title)
• Port RSL (No Titles)
• Royal Hotel (3 titles)
• Wauchope (1 title)
• Wauchope Co-op (5 titles)
• Wilson River (No Titles)

Source: ^[6]

Premiers

Men's

Season	Premiers	Score	Runners-up
1920–2013 Premiers Unknown
2014 [7]	Kendall	34–20	Comboyne
2015 [7]	South West Rocks	28–14	Lower Macleay
2016 [7]	Comboyne	29–26	Kendall
2017 [7]	Kendall	28–14	Comboyne
2018 [7]	Long Flat	18–12	Laurieton Hotel
2019 [7]	South West Rocks	39-12	Laurieton Hotel
2020	No Premiers crowned due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021
2022 [8]	Laurieton Hotel	28–4	Long Flat
2023 [9]	Kendall	34–10	Beechwood

Ladies Tackle

Season	Premiers	Score	Runners-up
Hastings League
2018 [7]	Beechwood	20–10	Kendall
2019 [7]	Beechwood	44–4	South West Rocks
2020	No Premiers crowned due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021
2022	Replaced by North Coast Women's Rugby League

North Coast Women's Rugby League

In 2018, the Hastings League competition began a ladies tackle grade. The competition has expanded to allow invitees from other Groups, become independent of the Hastings competition, and is operating under a pilot program as the North Coast Women's Rugby League. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Season	Premiers	Score	Runners-up
North Coast Women's Rugby League
2022 [10]	Macleay Valley	26–10	Long Flat

References

1. Ramsey, Britt. "NEW WOMEN'S TACKLE COMP FOR NORTH COAST | NBN News" . Retrieved 2022-08-09.
2. "Starting date pencilled in for women's tackle competition". Port Macquarie News. 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
3. "Women's league prepares to kick off in May". Port Macquarie News. 2022-04-22. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
4. "Association: Hastings League".
5. "Dragons' presentation after claiming Hastings League title". Port Macquarie News. 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
6. "Dragons' presentation after claiming Hastings League title". Port Macquarie News. 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
7. "Geoff Connor". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
8. Borg, Mardi (2022-09-18). "'We made history today': Stingrays slay Dragons in Hastings League grand final". Port Macquarie News. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
9. Smith, Tallon (2023-08-29). "Grand Final Watch: Kendall, Narwan, Merimbula, Wolfpack all crowned premiers in respective competitions". Battlers For Bush Footy. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
10. "'It's still sinking in': Mustangs win inaugural North Coast Women's League premiership". The Macleay Argus. 2022-09-19. Retrieved 2022-09-19.