The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in 1988, 79 years after the previous Newcastle based team, the Newcastle Rebels had departed the Sydney competition with the formation of a separate league competition based in the Newcastle region.
Paul William Harragon OAM nicknamed Chief or Chief Harragon is an Australian rugby league football identity. A former Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he played rugby for the Newcastle Knights whom he captained to the 1997 ARL premiership. Harragon was a regular presenter of The Footy Show and as of 2013 is the Chairman of the Newcastle Knights Advisory Board.
Danny Buderus is an Australian rugby league commentator, coach and former professional footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative hooker, he played in the National Rugby League for Australian club, the Newcastle Knights, with whom he won a Dally M Medal, and the 2001 NRL Premiership before setting a new record for most games with the club. Buderus also played in the Super League for English club, the Leeds Rhinos, with whom he won 2011's Super League XVI. He set the record for most appearances as captain of the New South Wales State of Origin team at 15 and for most consecutive appearances for the side at 21. Buderus also played representative football for the Exiles and New South Wales Country. In 2015, he took up an interim coaching role with the Knights and continued as an assistant coach in 2016.
Matthew "Matt" Gidley is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and administrator. Gidley played for the Newcastle Knights in the ARL Premiership and the NRL, and St Helens in the Super League, and for New South Wales in the State of Origin series and Australia at international level. He is also the former CEO of Football Operations at Newcastle.
Timana James Aporo Tahu is an Australian former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer. He last played for Denver Stampede in the US PRO Rugby competition. A dual-code international representative three-quarter back for Australia's Kangaroos and then the Wallabies, he could also play second-row and played for New South Wales in State of Origin. Tahu started his career in the National Rugby League for the Newcastle Knights, with whom he won the 2001 NRL Premiership before moving to the Parramatta Eels. He then played for the New South Wales Waratahs in the Super Rugby competition. Tahu returned to the NRL with the Eels and then the Penrith Panthers before finishing his NRL career where it started with the Newcastle Knights.
Akuila Uate, also known by the nicknames of "Aku", and "Akuila the Thriller", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played on the wing. He was both a Fiji and Australian international.
The Australian Schoolboys rugby league team is the national rugby league football team for secondary school students in Australia.
The history of the Newcastle Knights Rugby League Football Club goes back to their inception in the late 1980s. As part of the NSWRL premiership's gradual expansion into a national competition, a Newcastle-based club was admitted in 1988. The Knights have competed in every season of rugby league in Australia since.
This article lists awards and honours that players of the Newcastle Knights club have received.
The 2012 Newcastle Knights season was the 25th in the club's history. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Kurt Gidley, they competed in the NRL's 2012 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 12th.
The 2013 Newcastle Knights season was the 26th in the club's history. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Kurt Gidley, they competed in the NRL's 2013 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 7th place, thus reaching the finals. The Knights then came within one match of the grand final but were knocked out by eventual premiers, the Sydney Roosters.
The 2011 Newcastle Knights season was the 24th in the club's history. Coached by Rick Stone and captained by Kurt Gidley, they competed in the NRL's 2011 Telstra Premiership. The Knights finished the regular season in 8th place, thus reaching the finals but were knocked out after losing to the Melbourne Storm in week 1.
The 2014 Newcastle Knights season was the 27th in the club's history. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Kurt Gidley, they competed in the NRL's 2014 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 12th place.
The 2015 Newcastle Knights season was the 28th in the club's history. Coached by Rick Stone, interim coached by Danny Buderus after Stone's contract was terminated, and captained by Kurt Gidley, they competed in the NRL's 2015 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 16th place.
The 2016 Newcastle Knights season was the 29th in the club's history. Coached by Nathan Brown and co-captained by Trent Hodkinson, Tariq Sims and Jeremy Smith, they competed in the NRL's 2016 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 16th place. In the pre-season the Knights competed in the 2016 Auckland Nines tournament, reaching the quarter-finals. Mid-way through the 2016 season the team had only one member selected to play in the 2016 State of Origin series. Notably, all four Mata'utia brothers, Chanel, Pat, Peter and Sione featured in the NRL team for the Knights throughout the year.
The 2020 Newcastle Knights season was the 33rd in the club's history. Coached by Adam O'Brien and captained by Mitchell Pearce, they competed in the NRL's 2020 Telstra Premiership. On 23 March, the NRL announced that the season would be suspended after round 2, until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NRL returned on 28 May with a new draw, the Knights' round 3 game coming on 31 May against the Penrith Panthers. The Knights finished the regular season in 7th place, thus reaching the finals but were knocked out after losing to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in week 1.
The 2021 Newcastle Knights season was the 34th in the club's history. Coached by Adam O'Brien and co-captained by Jayden Brailey, Kalyn Ponga and Daniel Saifiti, they competed in the NRL's 2021 Telstra Premiership. In July, the NRL relocated the competition to Queensland to avoid an outbreak of the Deltra variant COVID-19 virus in New South Wales. The Knights finished the regular season in 7th place, thus reaching the finals but were knocked out after losing to the Parramatta Eels in week 1.
Mark Sargent (1990, 1992)
Jason Temu (2000)
Chris Joynt (1995)
Wes Naiqama (2008–10)
Brian Carney (2006)
Cameron Ciraldo (2009, 2011)
George Ndaira (2009)
Adrian Shelford (1988)
Neville Costigan (2013)
George Carmont (2006–07)
Richard Fa'aoso (2008–11)
