The Shellharbour City Sharks are a Country Rugby League club founded in 1920 located on the South Coast of NSW that compete in the South Coast Group 7 competition.
Shellharbour City RLFC has a 113-year history[ citation needed ], originally existed as a rugby union club, before switching to rugby league in 1920.
The club have won five first-grade premierships in total, as well as over 30 reserve, third, and under-18 premierships. The club's inaugural first grade premiership was in 1939. [1] The last premiership was won in 2018.
The Shellharbour LGA itself forms the southern part of the Greater Wollongong urban area.
In 2007, Shellharbour City struck a deal with NRL side the St. George Illawarra Dragons and thus created a new team and entered themselves into the NSWRL Jim Beam Cup with the name Shellharbour City Marlins using the colours as their parent club. It is rumoured that the name Marlins was chosen to differentiate themselves from any Cronulla Sharks sides. The Shellharbour Sharks still competed in Group 7 Rugby League competition during this time. During 2008, the Dragons leagues club however did not give the same backing to Sharks, instead the Sharks stayed alive through other sponsorship deals, most notably Corban KIA. [2] 2009 saw a change in direction again with both the Sharks side moving into the Illawarra Carlton League and the Marlins side moving into the NSW Cup. [3] This resulted in the Marlins changing their name to Shellharbour City Dragons and consequently changing their strip to the more famous Red-V.
The club moved back to Group 7 from the Illawarra League in 2014.
Ron Costello Oval (formally Fuller Park) has been the home of Shellharbour City Rugby League Football Club since the mid-1950s.
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The Illawarra is a coastal region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongong, Shellharbour and the coastal town of Kiama. Wollongong is the largest city of the Illawarra with a population of 240,000, then Shellharbour with a population of 70,000 and Kiama with a population of 10,000. These three cities have their own suburbs. Wollongong stretches from Otford in the north to Windang in the south, with Maddens Plains and Cordeaux in the west.
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On 13 December 1980, they were the first non-Sydney based team to be admitted into the New South Wales Rugby League premiership, with the Canberra Raiders being admitted later ensuring an even number of teams in the competition for the start of their first season, 1982. Over their seventeen years in the top grade, the club received three wooden spoons, made the play-offs twice and had a total of three of its players selected to play for the Australia national rugby league team.
The Ron Massey Cup is a semi-professional development level rugby league competition in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, run jointly by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and the Country Rugby League of New South Wales (CRL). The competition is run concurrently with the National Rugby League (NRL). It currently comprises 13 teams drawn from the Sydney metropolitan area. The competition is named after Ron Massey, a former rugby league coach. Ron Massey died 19 September 2016.
Wollongong Showground, known as WIN Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Wollongong, Australia. The stadium was officially opened in 1911. From 1982 until 1998 it played host to every home match for the Illawarra Steelers NRL team, and is still the team's home ground in the lower grade competitions. It is now used as one home ground of the St George Illawarra Dragons rugby league side and Wollongong Wolves of the National Premier Leagues NSW.
Ron Costello was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. He played for the Western Suburbs Magpies, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, New South Wales and for the Australian national side.
South Coast Group 7 Rugby League is the divisional boundary drawn from the Southern Illawarra and South Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia and is governed by the NSWCRL. The main semi-professional competition,, comprises ten (10) teams from across the region. Group 7 Rugby League also administers reserve grade, third grade, and under-18s competitions, Ladies League Tag, as well as looking over many junior competitions.
The Illawarra Rugby League is a rugby league competition in Wollongong, NSW. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1911 with five clubs. The area provides a nursery of juniors for the Illawarra Steelers and St George Illawarra Dragons. The season is contested by seven teams and concludes with a finals series involving the top four teams.
Collegians are an Australian rugby league football team based in Wollongong. The club are a part of Country Rugby League and compete in the Illawarra Rugby League premiership.
Trent Merrin is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who played as a lock, prop and second-row forward for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL and Australia at international level.
The Shellharbour City Dragons are an Australian rugby league football club based in the Shellharbour, New South Wales. They currently are not competing in any competitions and formerly competed in the New South Wales Cup in 2009 and 2010 and acted as a feeder club to the NRL club St. George Illawarra Dragons.
The Kiama Knights are an Australian rugby league football team based in Kiama, a coastal town of the Illawarra and South Coast regions. The club was formed in 1914 as one of the founding members of South Coast Rugby League, and continue to participate in this league's local competition.
The Gerringong Lions are an Australian rugby league football team based in Gerringong, a coastal town of the Illawarra and South Coast regions. The club was formed in 1914 as one of the founding members of South Coast Rugby League, and continue to participate in the Group 7 competition.
The Warilla-Lake South Gorillas are an Australian rugby league football team based in Lake Illawarra, a coastal town of the Illawarra region. The club is a part of Country Rugby League and have competed in the South Coast first grade competition since 1970. The club's greatest achievement to date is winning the Clayton Cup in 1982.
The Batemans Bay Tigers are an Australian rugby league football team based in Batemans Bay, a coastal town of the South Coast region. The club is a part of Country Rugby League and have competed in the Group 16 Rugby League first grade competition in two stints, the current since 2014. From 1978 to 2013, they were a part of South Coast. first grade competition since 1978. Prior to this, they were a part of Group 16 Rugby League.
The Jamberoo Superoos are an Australian rugby league football team based in Jamberoo, a country town of the Illawarra region. The club is a part of Country Rugby League and have competed in the South Coast first grade competition since its inception in 1914.
The Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs are an Australian rugby league football team based in Ulladulla, a coastal town in the South Coast region. The club is a part of Country Rugby League and has competed in the South Coast first grade competition since the 1930s.
The Helensburgh Tigers are an Australian rugby league football team based in Helensburgh, a country town of the Illawarra region. The club are a part of Country Rugby League and has competed in the Illawarra Rugby League premiership since its inception in 1911.
The Corrimal Cougars are an Australian rugby league football team based in Corrimal, a northern suburb of the city of Wollongong. The club are a part of Country Rugby League and has competed in the Illawarra Rugby League premiership since 1912.
The Dapto Canaries are an Australian rugby league football team based in the Wollongong suburb of Dapto. The club are a part of Country Rugby League and have competed in the Illawarra Rugby League premiership since its inception in 1911.
The Thirroul Butchers are an Australian rugby league football team based in Thirroul, a coastal town and suburb of Wollongong. The club was formed in 1913 and entered the Illawarra Rugby League, where it still competes today.