The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, 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.
The Western Suburbs Panthers, or West Brisbane Panthers, or often simply referred to as Wests for short, are a rugby league club based in the western suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The club is the oldest in the QRL and despite absences from the top grade in recent years and several name changes the club continued to operate. After leaving the Queensland Cup, they participated in the Brisbane A-Grade competition from 2005 until their senior sides disbanding in 2012. In 2013, the club entered a voluntary hiatus, but was announced to be part of the revived Brisbane Rugby League.
John 'Chook' Raper, MBE is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He was a lock-forward for the Australia national team. He had a record 33 test caps between 1959 and 1968 and played in 6 World Cup games between 1960 and 1968. Raper captained Australia on 8 occasions in 1967–68 and played in eight consecutive NSWRFL grand final victories for the St. George Dragons club. He has since been named as one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.
Matthew "Matt" Gidley is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and administrator. Gidley represented New South Wales and Australia. He is also the former CEO of Football Operations at the Newcastle Knights. He played the majority of his career at Newcastle, winning a premiership in 2001, before playing four seasons for St Helens in the Super League.
Kurt Gidley is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League. An Australia international and New South Wales State of Origin representative and captain, he previously played in the National Rugby League for the Newcastle Knights, captaining them for 123 games. He played as a fullback, five-eighth, halfback and hooker, although due to his versatility, he was able to slip into the positions of centre and lock when needed throughout his career.
Wes Naiqama is a Fijian Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the London Broncos in the English Championship. He won 14 caps for the Fiji national rugby league team. He primarily played as a centre, fullback and winger, but can also fill in at second-row. He is the older brother of St. Helens player and fellow Fiji international, Kevin Naiqama.
The Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame honours players who have shown exceptional skill at rugby league, all-time great coaches and referees, and other major contributors to the game who are Australian.
Wally Prigg (1908–1980) was an Australian rugby league footballer. He was a lock for the Australian national rugby league team. He played 19 Tests for the Kangaroos between 1929–38, 7 as captain and has since been named amongst the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.
Rugby League Week was the highest selling Australian rugby league magazine, ahead of major competitor Big League. It was published weekly during the Australian rugby league season, which runs from March to late September. The magazine was headquartered in Sydney.
Jarrod Stephen Mullen is an Australian professional rugby league footballer Who plays for the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Queensland Cup. A New South Wales State of Origin representative, he played at five-eighth and halfback. He Previously played for Newcastle Knights.
The Newcastle Rugby League is a local rugby league football competition in Newcastle, Australia. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1910. A Newcastle representative team was also assembled from players in the League during most of the 20th century.
Ben Farrar is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the London Broncos in the Kingstone Press Championship. He previously played for the North Queensland Cowboys and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League and the Catalans Dragons in the Super League. He primarily played fullback, centre, wing but had filled in at five-eighth in the past.
In late 2007, the Australian Rugby League and National Rugby League commissioned 130 experts to select the 100 best rugby league players in the game's 100-year history in Australia. From this list, a limited panel of experts picked a "Team of the Century" - a team of 17 players considered to be the best Australian players of all time. This team was announced in Sydney on 17 April 2008, see Australian Rugby League's Team of the Century.
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.
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.
Mitch Garbutt is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for Toulouse Olympique in the Betfred Championship.
The Newcastle rugby league team is a representative rugby league football team made up of players selected from the Newcastle Rugby League's first grade clubs. Also called Newcastle Firsts, the team has been assembled occasionally since rugby league's first season in Australia in 1908.
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.
Geoff Coburn is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s. He played for the Newtown Jets and the Parramatta Eels in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition.
