Northern Eagles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Full name | Northern Eagles Rugby League Football Club |
|---|---|
| Colours | Maroon, black, white and red |
| Entered 1st grade | 2000 |
| Departed 1st grade | 2002 |
| Sport | Rugby league |
| League | NRL |
| 2002 | 9th of 15 |
| Premierships | Nil |
| Runners-up | Nil |
| Minor premiers | Nil |
| Wooden spoons | Nil |
| Biggest win | 30 - 2 vs. Cronulla, March 18, 2000 |
| Worst defeat | 10 - 68 vs. New Zealand Warriors, April 14, 2002 |
The Northern Eagles were a short-lived rugby league team, that competed in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club was formed during the rationalisation process of the NRL by the merger of the North Sydney Bears and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in 2000. The team shared its home games between Brookvale Oval and Grahame Park, Gosford, New South Wales.
Little success was had during three seasons (2000-2002), finishing 12th, 10th, and 9th, winning 30 of 76 games.
The partnership faltered in 2001, with Manly emerging as the stand alone entity. The 2002 season was played under the Northern Eagles name, although effectively the club was the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles by another name. Halfway through the season, the Eagles even abandoned playing games at Gosford, due to a sharp decline in attendances. It is generally accepted that the people of Gosford did not identify with the Manly club for various reasons, and preferred to wait until North Sydney, or a home grown team, was based there. The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles name and colours returned to the NRL in 2003.
North Sydney now field a team in the New South Wales Cup, the competition immediately below NRL level, with plans to again be part of the NRL as the Central Coast Bears at a future date.[citation needed]
