The are an Australian professional
Rugby League Football team 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 with the formation of a league competition based in the Newcastle region.
The Newcastle Knights entered the
NSW Rugby League competition in 1988 with
Allan McMahon as coach.Newcastle had previously been invited to field a team in the NSWRL competition for the 1982 season, but declined, worried it would weaken the area's local league competition. The
Canberra Raiders were admitted to the 1982 competition in their place. The team was a success from the start, becoming one of the most popular clubs in its first season. By 1990, the team was strong enough to enter a play-off for fifth spot.
The club won their first competition, the Nissan Sevens, in 1991 and made the playoffs in 1992, where they were beaten by the
St. George Dragons . The Knights made the semi-finals again in 1995 when the competition became the
Australian Rugby League , and won the reserve grade premiership the same year.
The club stayed loyal to the Australian Rugby League when
Rupert Murdoch started
Super League in an attempt to win pay television rights to rugby league -- this decision was very popular in the Newcastle and
Hunter Valley areas.
News Limited formed the
Hunter Mariners to compete with the Knights in the one and only season of Super League in Australia, but the Mariners failed to win much support in the area.
From 1997-2003, the Knights made seven finals series in a row. The Knights won the 1997 Australian Rugby League premiership, defeating the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 22-16 in the Grand Final, with Robbie O'Davis winning the
Clive Churchill Medal . The match is best remembered for its classic finish - Darren Albert breaking a 16 all deadlock with his try 7 seconds from fulltime. This win was a huge morale boost to the district following the closure of the area's biggest employer, the
BHP Steelworks, being announced the same year. Seventy per cent of the winning squad were Newcastle juniors.
The following season, Knights players
Robbie O'Davis , Wayne Richards and
Adam MacDougall tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs; however, all three maintained they started use after the Knights 1997 victory. The three were suspended, despite O'Davis' claims the club was not notified his drug was banned until after his positive test, and MacDougall's medical reason for taking the steroids (his usage continued after he completed his suspension, now approved by the NRL). In addition, the Knights terminated Wayne Richards' contract.
In
1998 , the Knights finished equal on competition points with the
Brisbane Broncos , but finished second on points differential. The Knights came third in 2000, followed by a National Rugby League Premiership victory over the
Parramatta Eels in 2001, with Andrew Johns winning the
Clive Churchill Medal . Newcastle were handed heavy underdog status, but shocked the Eels with a 24-0 halftime lead, and eventual 30-24 win. In 2002, the club finished equal with the
New Zealand Warriors on competition points but, once again, finished second in the minor premiership due to inferior points differential.
Andrew Johns won the
Dally M Medal for best player in the National Rugby League twice in a row in 1998 and 1999, and won an unprecedented third Dally M Medal in 2002. In addition, Joey Johns also won the Provan-Summons Medal (the people's choice award for player of the year) four years in a row from 1998 to 2001 -- the best performance by any player in the history of the award.
In 2004, injuries plagued the club, with
Andrew Johns and Ben Kennedy out for extended periods of time. The club missed the finals, finishing 10th despite strong performances from
Matthew Gidley ,
Kurt Gidley and NSW
State Of Origin captain,
Danny Buderus .
Following further injuries and a lack of experienced players, the club failed to win a single match in the first half of the 2005 premiership, losing 13 consecutive matches -- the worst start to a season by any club since the 1960s. That losing streak finally came to an end with a win away from home over the
Penrith Panthers in late June. In a tribute to the club's followers, crowds remained high throughout the losing streak, and while the Knights were unable to avoid finishing last, fans were rewarded for their stoicism as the team managed to win eight of their last eleven games, including a six game winning streak brought to an end in round 26 by the
St George Illawarra Dragons .
2006 boded well for the Novocastrians, with the side recruiting Great Britain and Irish winger
Brian Carney and former Raider
Luke Davico , as well as re-signing 2005 recruit
Milton Thaiday and managing to retain the many promising young juniors (led by the likes of Brad Tighe, Jarrod Mullen, and Reegan Tanner) that have come through in the club's worst ever season. Newcastle ultimately finished the season in fourth position, a stunning reversal in form, but were eliminated from the finals after losing to the
Brisbane Broncos .
Prior to the 2006 season kick-off it was announced that the club's longest serving coach, Michael Hagan would depart the club following the 2006 season to begin a three year contract with the
Parramatta Eels . Ironically, during the week of the 2006 season-opening game against Parramatta, the Knights confirmed Parramatta coach
Brian Smith would take over coaching duties in 2007.
The Knights opened their 2007 campaign in their 20th year in the NRL against the Bulldogs at EnergyAustralia Stadium. A badge on the Knights jersey commemorates this milestone. So far in this season, they have won 8 and lost 12 after 21 rounds. On April 10th 2007 Knights Captain
Andrew Johns retirement from
Rugby League due to a neck injury during Knights training. This has shocked the Newcastle Knights as well as the whole
Rugby League World.
Including representative players first selected and other notable players and the years they first achieved the honours if known.
In August of 2007,the Knights their team of the last twenty years,at a gala dinner.The team was:
1. Robbie O'Davis
2. Timana Tahu
3. Matthew Gidley
4. Mark Hughes
5. Adam MacDougall
6. Matthew Johns
7. Andrew Johns (c)
8. Mark Sargent
9. Danny Buderus
10. Paul Harragon
11. Steve Simpson
12. Ben Kennedy
13. Marc Glanville
Interchange:
14. Michael Hagan
15. Kurt Gidley
16. Tony Butterfield
17. Adam Muir
Coach: Malcolm Reilly.
- Jennifer Hawkins - 2004 Miss Universe, was a cheerleader for the club at one stage
- Kim Beazley - Former club patron, Former Federal Opposition Leader (Australia)
- Michael Costa - Current Club patron, NSW Treasurer and Minister for the Hunter (Australia)
- Jessica Mauboy - 2006 Australian Idol runner up
Dane Tilse and some other
Newcastle Knights players were involved in a drunken incident in
Bathurst, New South Wales in
2005 in which a 19-year-old woman alleged she was sexually assaulted.
The Newcastle NRL club sacked Dane Tilse and issued fines totalling $50,000 against 12 players over the rampage at
Charles Sturt University .http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Student-alleges-Knights-assault/2005/02/22/1109046907729.html
- ''ABC Australian Sports Almanac 2002''
