Hunslet R.L.F.C.

For the club of the same name founded in 1883, see Hunslet F.C. (1883).

Hunslet R.L.F.C.

Club information
Full name	Hunslet Rugby League Football Club
Nickname(s)	Parksiders
Colours
Founded	1973;51 years ago (1973)
Website	hunsletrlfc.com
Current details
Ground(s)	South Leeds Stadium (4,000)
Coach	Dean Muir [1]
Competition	League 1
2024 season	(promoted via playoff)
Current season
Uniforms
Home colours

Hunslet R.L.F.C. is a professional rugby league club in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. They play home games at South Leeds Stadium and compete in League One, the third tier of British rugby league.

The club was formed as a Phoenix club after the original Hunslet club folded.

History

1973–1996: New club

In July 1973, the original Hunslet club was wound up following the sale of their Parkside ground, because no suitable new location could be found that was financially viable. The £300,000 proceeds of the sale of Parkside were distributed to shareholders.

Due to the efforts of their former Great Britain forward Geoff Gunney (MBE), local businessmen and supporters the club managed to reform as New Hunslet for the 1973–74 season and moved to the Leeds Greyhound Stadium and erected iron American football posts. The resurrected club had a new badge depicting a rising phoenix to symbolise their rebirth. In 1974, New Hunslet adopted green and white as team colours because the traditional myrtle, white and flame colours were still registered to the former Parkside-based club, and they would not release them. The stay at the greyhound stadium was cut short when the owners closed the ground and arranged to demolish everything on the site.

In 1978, coach Bill Ramsey put a lot of pressure on the RFL and finally got permission to use the traditional colours. The club reverted to Hunslet for the 1979–80 season. With the closure of the Greyhound stadium, the next ground to host Hunslet was Mount Pleasant, Batley, for two seasons, before Hunslet moved to Leeds United's Elland Road football stadium then owned by Leeds City Council. After leaving Elland Road, Hunslet had a brief spell at Bramley.

On 19 November 1995, the club, now known as Hunslet Hawks, moved to the South Leeds Stadium, only about half a mile from Parkside. On that day, Leigh were the guests at Hunslet's first home game for twenty-two years. They then narrowly missed out on promotion from Division Two in 1996. ^[2] Coach Steve Ferres left to join Huddersfield and David Plange took over as player-coach.

1996–2009: Summer era

In 1997 the Hawks played in the first (and last) Challenge Cup Plate Final losing 60–14 to Hull Kingston Rovers. It was the Hawks first appearance at Wembley Stadium since 1965. Also in 1997, the Hawks were promoted to the First Division as champions. ^[2]

In 1999 as a possible merger between Hunslet and Bramley was debated. ^[3] In 1999 Hunslet won the Northern Ford Premiership Grand Final against Dewsbury, 12–11, at Headingley. ^[2] After that game the Hawks were denied entry to Super League by the Rugby Football League who cited a document called Framing the Future as justification. This caused a number of players to leave the club and for the average attendance to fall by more than 1,200 to 800. A link-up with Leeds Rhinos saw Plange go to Headingley as Academy coach.

2004 saw the re-establishment the annual friendly against Leeds Rhinos for the Lazenby Cup, a trophy that had previously been contested between Hunslet F.C. and Leeds since 1912. ^[4]

Paul March was the player/coach at Hunslet, joining midway through the 2009 season following the resignation of Graeme Hallas. March guided Hunslet to a 6th-place finish and a play-off spot in Championship 1. Hunslet travelled to Blackpool in the first week of the play-offs winning, 18–21, to set up an elimination semi-final against Oldham in which Hunslet were comfortably beaten, 54–30.

2010–present: Promotions and silverware

In 2010 Paul March led Hunslet to their first silverware for over 11 years by securing the Co-operative Championship 1 title, and subsequent survival in 2011.

In 2012, Barry Eaton took over as coach. In 2014 Hunslet won the Grand Final after extra time against Oldham, thus gaining promotion to the Championship. Barry Eaton left in late January 2016 to join Leeds Rhinos and was replaced by his assistant coach and former Hunslet Hawks player Matt Bramald. Bramald left the club at the end of the 2016 season having completed his contract. He was replaced by former Hunslet player James Coyle.

Hunslet Hawks returned to their original name of Hunslet RLFC for the 2017 season following an overwhelming fan vote in favour of their original name. ^[5] Fans were then asked to choose between the clubs' original 'Rampant Lion' crest and the 'Phoenix Rising' crest adopted by the club in 1973 when the club was reformed. Fans voted 54% to 46% in favour of the lion. ^[6] On 13 October 2024, Hunslet earned promotion to the championship after beating Swinton 22-20 in the relegation/promotion playoff match. ^[7]

Colours and crest

Old crest

Hunslet play in myrtle, flame and white, with away colours mainly being white. The club's original crest was a 'Rampant Lion' but as part of a rebrand at the start of the summer era was the introduction of the Hunslet Hawks. In 2017, the club's fans voted to drop Hawks from their name and reinstate the 'Rampant Lion' crest.

Stadia

1973–1980: Leeds Greyhound Stadium

The new Hunslet club's first ground was the Elland Road Greyhound Stadium in Beeston after they were told they could not play at Parkside. American football posts were erected to be used as goal posts.

1980–1982: Mount Pleasant

Main article: Mount Pleasant, Batley

In 1982, the greyhound stadium closed and Hunslet were left homeless. For two seasons they ground-shared with Batley while they searched for a permanent home in Leeds.

1983–1995: Elland Road

Main article: Elland Road

In 1983, after leaving Batley, Hunslet negotiated a deal with Leeds City Council to play at Leeds United's Elland Road, which the council owned at the time.

1995–present: South Leeds Stadium

Main article: John Charles Centre for Sport

Grandstand at the South Leeds Stadium

Hunslet moved into the South Leeds Stadium, Beeston, Leeds after it was built in 1995. The stadium is used to host athletics and also has a swimming pool and other facilities the club can use. The stadium has one main stand that accommodates the grounds 5,000 capacity.

2024 squad

Hunslet RLFC 2024 Squad

First team squad								Coaching staff
Aaron Levy Aidan Scully Alfie Goddard Ben Sheils Billy Gaylor Brandan Wilkinson Cameron Berry Dan McGrath Donald Kudangirana Ethan O’Hanlon Harry Williams Harvey Hallas		Iwan Orr Jack Coventry Jack Mallinson Jimmy Watson Jordan Syme Josh Jordan-Roberts Jude Ferreira Keenan Dyer-Dixon Lewis Wray Liam Carr Mac Walsh Matty Beharrell		Michael Knowles Nathan Carter Rhys Davies Ross Whitmore Spencer Darley Toby Everett				Head coach Dean Muir Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice-captain(s) Updated: 22 November 2023 Source(s): 2024 Squad

2025 transfers

Gains

Player	Club	Contract	Date
Dean Roberts	Rochdale Hornets	1 Year	October 2024 [8]
Mackenzie Turner	Oldham RLFC	1 Year	November 2024

Losses

Player	Club	Contract	Date
Jude Ferreira	York Knights		November 2024 [9]

Players

Players earning international caps while at Hunslet

• Frank Davies won a cap for Wales while at Hunslet in 1978 against England
• Robert 'Iain' Higgins won caps for Scotland while at London Broncos, and Hunslet 1997…2001 1-cap + 1-cap (sub)
• Charlie Wabo won caps for Papua New Guinea while at Hunslet
• Michael Mark won caps for Papua New Guinea while at Hunslet
• Neil Lowe won caps for Scotland while at Hunslet
• Lee Hanlan won caps for Ireland while at Hunslet
• Arthur Clues won caps for Australia while at Wests, and won caps for Other Nationalities while at Leeds, and Hunslet

Coaches

See also the categories Hunslet F.C. (1883) coaches and Hunslet R.L.F.C. coaches

• Jack Walkington 1946–1960
• Fred Ward 1962–1967
• Harry Poole 1969–1971 ^{[10] [11]}
• Geoff Gunney 1971–1973 ^{[11] [12]}
• Bill Ramsey 1978–1979
• Paul Daley 1980–1985
• Peter Jarvis 1986–1987
• David Ward 1986–1987
• Nigel Stephenson 1988
• Jack Austin 1988
• Johnny Wolford 1988
• Paul Daley 1990–1991
• Paul Daley 1993
• Stephen Ferres 1994–1996
• David Plange 1996–2000
• Roy Sampson 2000–2006
• Mark Cass 2007
• Graeme Hallas 2008–2009 ^[13]
• Paul March 2010–2011
• Barry Eaton 2012–2015 ^[14]
• Matt Bramald 2016 ^[15]
• James Coyle 2016–2017 ^[15]
• Gary Thornton 2017–2021 ^{[16] [17]}
• Mark Cass (interim) 2021 ^[17]
• Alan Kilshaw 2021–2023 ^{[18] [1]}
• Dean Muir 2023–Present ^[19]

Seasons

Super League era

Season	League									Play-offs	Challenge Cup	Other competitions		Name	Tries	Name	Points
	Division	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Pos					Top try scorer		Top point scorer
1996	Division Two	22	18	0	4	730	326	36	3rd		R4
1997	Division Two	20	15	0	5	682	256	30	1st		R4
1998	Division One	30	17	1	12	719	575	35	6th		R4
1999	Northern Ford Premiership	28	21	0	7	845	401	42	2nd	Won in Final	R4
2000	Northern Ford Premiership	28	8	0	20	487	678	16	15th		R4
2001	Northern Ford Premiership	28	6	1	21	380	959	13	16th		R4
2002	Northern Ford Premiership	27	3	1	23	438	954	7	17th		R4
2003	National League Two	18	10	1	7	513	425	21	6th	Lost in Elimination Playoffs	R5
2004	National League Two	18	10	0	8	475	394	20	6th		R4
2005	National League Two	18	11	0	7	476	385	22	5th	Lost in Elimination Playoffs	R4
2006	National League Two	22	4	2	16	411	617	10	10th		R4
2007	National League Two	22	8	0	14	368	591	31	8th		R4
2008	National League Two	22	4	0	18	336	778	17	12th		R4
2009	Championship 1	18	10	0	8	472	411	33	6th	Lost in Semi Final	R4
2010	Championship 1	20	18	0	2	828	305	55	1st	Promoted as Champions	R5
2011	Championship	20	4	1	15	395	630	20	7th		R4
2012	Championship	18	2	0	16	248	684	10	9th		R4
2013	Championship	26	6	0	20	529	704	30	13th		R4
2014	Championship 1	19	14	5	0	666	243	46	2nd	Won in Final	R5
2015	Championship	23	5	0	18	362	769	10	11th		R5
	Championship Shield	30	8	0	22	518	957	16	7th
2016	League 1	21	11	0	10	544	550	22	7th		R5
2017	League 1	15	7	0	8	418	377	14	10th	Won in Shield Final	R4
2018	League 1	26	15	0	11	735	596	30	7th		R4
2019	League 1	20	12	0	8	596	379	24	5th	Lost in Elimination Playoffs	R4	1895 Cup	R1
2020	League 1	League abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic									R5
2021	League 1	18	9	3	6	564	435	21	6th	Lost in Elimination Playoffs	Did not participate
2022	League 1	20	8	1	11	513	524	17	7th		R4
2023	League 1	18	14	0	4	572	284	28	2nd	Lost in Preliminary Final	R3
2024	League One	20	13	0	7	522	534	26	4th	Won in Promotion Final	R3	1895 Cup	GS

Honours

• Division 2 / Championship:

Winners (1): 1999

• Division 3 / League 1:

Winners (2): 2010, 2014

• League 1 Shield:

Winners: 2017

• League 1 Play-Off Final:

Winners: 2024

References

General

• Hawks:facts and history

Inline

1. "Hunslet appoint new head coach for 2024 with current boss Alan Kilshaw heading to Swinton Lions". Love Rugby League. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
2. "History". Hunslet RFLC. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
3. "Sport: Rugby League: News Historic name disappears from league". BBC News. 6 October 1999. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
4. "Hunslet v Leeds Rhinos: Traditional derby renamed in honour of stalwart Harry Jepson OBE". Yorkshire Evening Post. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
5. "Supporters vote to rename the club Hunslet R.L.F.C." hunslethawks.co.uk. 15 August 2016. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017.
6. "Hunslet to adopt Rampant Lion after supporter vote". hunslethawks.co.uk. 5 September 2016. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017.
7. "Hunslet secure promotion to the Championship with last-gasp incredible win over Swinton Lions". www.totalrl.com.
8. "Dean Roberts to join Hunslet". Rochdale Hornets. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
9. "York Knights sign centre Jude Ferreira from Hunslet". The Press. 13 November 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
10. "Hull Daily Mail". 20 September 1969. p. 11.
11. "Hull Daily Mail". 30 April 1971. p. 24.
12. "Hull Daily Mail". 24 February 1973. p. 10.
13. "Hunslet Hawks coach Hallas quits". BBC Sport. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
14. "Barry Eaton to leave the Hawks". hunslethawks.co.uk. 21 January 2016. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016.
15. "Hunslet part ways with head coach James Coyle". Total Rugby League. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
16. "Thornton to stay on as Hunslet coach". Yorkshire Evening Post. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
17. "Extra resolve promised by Hunslet's repentant players ahead of North Wales clash". Hunslet RLFC. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
18. "Kilshaw named as new coach at Hunslet RLFC". South Leeds Life. 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
19. "Muir confirmed as next Hunslet boss". Hunslet RLFC. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.

External links

• Hunslet official site
• Hunslet Hawks forum on rlfans.com
• Hunslet Hawks Fans Forums – RugbyLeague.org
• Pictorial history of rugby league in Hunslet Archived 26 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine