Newtown Jets
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| Club Information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Newtown Rugby League Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | Bluebags, Jets |
| Short name | Newtown |
| Founded | 1908 as Newtown |
| Departed | 1983 |
| Former Details | |
| Ground(s) | Henson Park Marrickville, Sydney (40,000[1]) |
| Competition | NSWRFL |
| Records | |
| Premierships | 3 (1910, 1933, 1943) |
| Runners-up | 7 (1913, 1914, 1929, 1944, 1954, 1955, 1981) |
| Minor premiership | 6 (1910, 1933, 1943, 1944, 1954, 1955) |
The Newtown Jets (formerly the Newtown "Bluebags"). are a former first-grade rugby league club who departed the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership in 1983. The Jets now compete in the second-tier NSWRL Premier League competition. The Jets are based at Henson Park in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville[2] and have team colours of royal blue and white.
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[edit] History
The club was founded on 14th January, 1908 at a public meeting held at Newtown Town Hall, making it the second Rugby league football club in Australia and the oldest now in existence. Known as the "Newtown Bluebags" for most of its lifetime, it adopted the Jets nickname in 1973, perhaps referring to Newtown's proximity to Sydney Airport. The first club, Glebe, were formed on 9 January, 1908. A Newtown winger, Jack Scott, was the first to score a try in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership. When the 'Dirty Reds' (Glebe) were controversially excluded from the NSWRL Premiership in 1929, Newtown became the oldest Australian club.
Newtown played in the NSWRL competition from 1908-1983. The club won premierships in 1910, 1933 and 1943, finishing second in 1913, 1914, 1929, 1944, 1954-55 and 1981. The 1981 team, which played in the club's final NSWRL premiership grand final, included the legends of game Tommy Raudonikis and Phil Gould. It was coached by Warren Ryan.
The 1973 Wills Cup Final win, Jack Gibson took over as Newtown coach in 1973. Gibson picked his team solely on form, irrespective of seniority. The great Brain Moore had been relegated to the reserves bench throughout the preliminary rounds of the tournament, and youngsters like Ian Satori, Dennis Gardiner, Peter Parry and Warren Snodgrass were all given a chance in the top grade. The Newtown side for the final was:
B. Cox, M. Cohen, D. Oliveri, J. Bonham, J. Bradstock, K. Wilson, D. O'Connor (c), N. Pringle, G. Sullivan, P. Parry, T. Melville, M. Robertson and D. Gardiner.
The St George line up was:
G. Langlands, G. Carr, E. Goodwin, R. Clapham, J. Clapham, A. Branson, M. Shulman, L. Drake, P. Fitzgerald, R. Reddy, I. Toga, C. Rasmussen, M. Welborn and H. Eden.
The match was played under floodlights at the old Sydney Sports Ground on St Patricks day before a crowd of 13,180. At half time St George were up 15-2 and looked certain to win. In the second half the Newtown forward pack gave the Saints a taste of their own medicine which helped gain tries for Melville and Robertson, both converted by Ken Wilson which reduced the St George lead to 15-12. Brian Moore, brought on at half time, scored the final try, converted by Ken Wilson which sealed victory for Newtown in the last minute, making the game one of the most exciting comeback wins in Rugby League history.
[edit] Oldest club controversy
There is some argument over whether or not Newtown was actually the first Rugby league club in Australia, formed on 8 January 1908 (one day earlier than Glebe).
The club's website stands by this claim however other sources, most notably Terry Williams' book "Out of the Blue (The History of Newtown RLFC)", refute this claim. Rugby league historian Sean Fagan similarly holds that the date of 14 January 1908 is the correct foundation day.
[edit] Newtown District Junior Rugby League
The Newtown District Junior Rugby League (NDJRL) competition ended in 1990 after the ejection of the club from the NSWRL premiership in 1983. The NDJRL was absorbed mainly into the South Sydney District Junior Rugby League and also a small part into the St George and Canterbury-Bankstown districts.
Existing junior clubs that were formerly part of the Newtown district include;
- Camperdown Dragons
(now in South Sydney) - Marrickville RSL
(now in South Sydney) - Earlwood Saints
(now in St George) - Christian Brothers Lewisham
(now only compete in school competitions)
Some extinct Newtown junior clubs include;
- St Peters
- Newtown Hawks
- Tempe Iona Warriors
- Addison Royals (Addison Road Sports Club)
- Hurlstone Park Colts
- De La Salle Petersham
- Redfern Kooris
Some notable Newtown juniors include;
- Johnny Raper (Camperdown Dragons)
- Phil Sigsworth (Newtown Hawks)
- Mark & Geoff Bugden (Marrickville)
- Paul Osborne (Christian Bros Lewisham)
- Col Murphy (Newtown Hawks)
- Frank "Bumper" Farrell
- Frank Hyde
- Brian "Poppa" Clay
[edit] Ejection from the Premiership
Financial pressures forced the team out of the NSWRL Premiership at the end of 1983. The club continued to seek readmission, pursuing various different alternatives, including moving to Orana Park in south/west Sydney but in the end these plans fell through. This left the "Jets" out of the premier Australian Rugby league competitions.
[edit] Metropolitan Cup
The club re-emerged in 1990 to play in the third-tier NSW competition, the Metropolitan Cup, winning the title 4 times (1992, 1995, 1996 & 1997). The club no longer enters a team in the NSWRL Jim Beam Cup due to it announcing in the off-season after the 2006 season of the NSWRL Jim Beam Cup that it would no only concentrate on the Premier League Side.
[edit] NSWRL Premier League
In 2000, Newtown entered a team in the NSWRL Premier League, the second-tier NSW competition to the NRL. While a stand-alone club for many purposes, they have acted as a feeder for NRL teams such as Auckland and, currently, Sydney Roosters.
They are still very popular for a second division squad with the attendances at Henson Park being the highest in the NSWRL Premier League. Their attendance is always announced as being 8972 - this is said in jest over the tannoy and is a tribute to their final premiership attendance in 1983. Henson Park is widely known as offering the spectator a more traditional Rugby League experience with unique aspects such as a sausage sizzle on the ground's hill, canned beer and drive-in viewing of the game.
In 2006, Newtown lost to the Parramatta Eels 20-19 in extra-time in the Premier League Grand Final due to a field goal from Eels halfback Marcus Perenara after three minutes of golden point extra time. 2006 was also Newtown's most successful Season in the NSWRL Premier League to date.
In 2007, Jets history was created when they did not wear the royal blue jersey during a match with the Auckland Lions. Neither side had a clash jersey, and as the Jets were the visiting side they were forced to wear Sydney Roosters away jerseys. For 100 years prior to that game, the Jets had never failed to wear their royal blue jerseys. The Club had a less fortunate season compared to 2006, failing to make the Finals or even make the Top 10.[3]
[edit] Film
On August 20, 2007, a film depicting the club, The Final Winter starring Matthew Johns was released in cinemas across Australia.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- ^ Note that this figure is based on the assumption that a record crowd of 40,000 achieved in a 1938 British Empire Games cycling event was also the maximum capacity of the ground.
- ^ Austadiums Henson Park Information retrieved 20 Dec 2007
- ^ NSWRL 2007 Table retrieved 20 Dec 2007
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