Newcastle RLFC (1908-09)

Sean Fagan of RL1908.com

The League's Harry Hoyle travelled to Newcastle and spoke persuasively to a large gathering at Pike's Rooms (in Bolton Street) on the evening of February 8, 1908. At the end of the meeting a motion to form a Northern District RL Club was put to those present, but it was not carried.

However, behind the scenes negotiations continued and on April 11, 1908, (less than a fortnight before the opening round) The Arrow newspaper reported that Newcastle would be the eighth team in the premiership.

The Sportsman reported a few days later: "It is announced that the eighth team in the competition will be Newcastle and district up to Tamworth. This team will come to Sydney each Saturday. Each week finds the rugby league growing stronger, and the union climbing down a bit." The League had agreed to pay the team's travel and hotel expenses, as well as compensate players for any time off work.

Sporting the local rugby representative colours of red and white (in hoops) Newcastle joined the NSWRL and were apparently known by some as the "Newcastle Rebels". However, due to the inability to secure an acceptable local ground in the Newcastle area, the players had to travel to Sydney each Saturday morning for the afternoon game.

Newcastle played Glebe on April 20 at Wentworth Park in their first premiership game in front of a crowd of about 3000, with Glebe winning 8-5. Their first win came in round 3 with a 37-0 drubbing of Cumberland at Wentworth Park.

Newcastle also played games in 1908 against Baskerville's New Zealand "All Golds" who were returning home from their 1907/08 tour of England. The "All Golds" won both encounters - 53 to 6 in the first (under rugby rules) and 34-8 in the second. The New Zealand Maoris also paid a visit to the Hunter where they defeated Newcastle 15-2.

Newcastle were placed in the top four towards the end of the season after wins over Newtown (17-8) and Balmain (28-5), however losses in the final rounds to Easts and Souths saw them miss out on the semi-finals.

While Stan Carpenter played one game for New South Wales, none of the Newcastle players gained selection for the 1908 Test series against New Zealand. Later in the season winger Bill Bailey was selected as a member of the first Kangaroo Tour party to Great Britain. He was joined by team-mate Pat Walsh when he was called-up as a late inclusion for the tour.

Bailey returned to Newcastle in 1909, while Walsh was convinced to remain in England by the Huddersfield club where he stayed for three years.

1909 saw Newcastle play three home games at the Newcastle Showground, the first of which was a loss to Eastern Suburbs 18-16.

Stan Carpenter played for Newcastle in all its competition games during 1908 and 1909 (bar one) scoring 80 points from 4 tries, 33 goals and a field goal.

The 1909 touring New Zealand team also visited Newcastle, winning 6-3 in a much closer contest than the year before. In the final round of the club season Newcastle gained an unlikely semi-final place with a shock defeat of South Sydney 5-0 in front of 3000 ecstatic home fans.

Unfortunately, the League's bizarre play-off system (which merely added 2 points to the winning teams season tally) meant the fourth placed Newcastle could not dislodge any higher finishing team. A mid-week win over the touring New Zealand Maori team didn't help either, and Newcastle fell to South Sydney 20-0 in what turned out to be the club's final ever game.

The difficulties with the long travelling took its toll, together with the increased interest for a local Newcastle competition, which saw the club cease to participate in the NSWRL premiership. Many of the players were absorbed into the local teams of South, North, Central and West Newcastle.

Other players eventually made their way to Sydney including Ted McGuinness who went to Balmain and Glebe where he was chosen for New South Wales in 1910. W. Scott and W. Doyle turned out for Western Suburbs in 1910. W. Doyle also went on to play for Annandale where he scored 72 points from 27 games.

J. Smith (South Sydney) and Bill Bailey (North Sydney) were still playing in 1911. Bailey also helped in establishing the South Newcastle club where he played until his retirement in 1916.