Newcastle Knights

Newcastle Knights

Club information
Full name	Newcastle Rugby League Football Club
Nickname(s)	Novocastrians, Newy
Colours	Primary:      Blue      Red Secondary:      White
Founded	1988
Current details
Ground(s)	Ausgrid Stadium (33,000)
CEO(s)	Matthew Gidley[1]
Coach(s)	Wayne Bennett
Captain(s)	Kurt Gidley
Competition	National Rugby League
2011 season	Qualifying finalists (8th)
Home colours		Away colours
Records
Premierships	2 (1997, 2001)
Runners-up	None
Minor premiership	None
Wooden spoons	1 (2005)
Most capped	Andrew Johns - 249
Most points	Andrew Johns - 2,176

The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football 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 club has won two premierships over its history (1997 and 2001) and produced such players as Andrew Johns. Their home ground is Ausgrid Stadium.

History

Main article: History of the Newcastle Knights

The Newcastle Knights entered the NSWRL 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.

Ausgrid Stadium

In 1998, the Knights finished equal on competition points with the Brisbane Broncos, but finished second on points differential. In 1999, the Knights were in with a huge chance going into the final rounds only to lose their final two games of the regular season to finish 7th, before being knocked out a week later by Parramatta. 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, 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 when they came from 14–0 down at halftime to win 28–24. 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, Reegan Tanner, and Riley Brown) 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 in the Semi Final to the Brisbane Broncos going down 50–6.

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.

2007 was a year of turmoil for the club both on and off the field. After making a promising start to the season with victories over contenders such as the Canterbury Bulldogs – the club and rugby league world was rocked by the shock retirement of Andrew Johns. The departure of their captain and most influential player had an obvious effect on the team, and although they managed to stay in touch with the top eight until the last third of the season, their season was irreparably damaged by his absence. In addition to this – the Knights endured the worst injury toll in the 2007 season – fielding thirty seven players in first grade by season's end.

The club also struggled off-field, with Brian Smith's decision to release players such as Clint Newton, Kirk Reynoldson, and Josh Perry meeting with displeasure from the Sydney media and some sections of the Newcastle support base. Newton's defection to Melbourne and Reynoldson's threats of legal action over the club refusing to play him in the fifteen games required to trigger his fourth contract year saw the club's reputation dragged through the mud. The Daily Telegraph campaigned strongly for the sacking of Smith whilst Bluetongue owner John Singleton also threatened legal action after the releases lead to a multi-million dollar advertising campaign being cancelled. To cap it all off, Andrew Johns again made the press late in the season after being arrested for ecstasy possession in the United Kingdom and confessing to having been a drug addict for the entirety of his playing career.

Before the final round of 2007, Tab Sportsbet's Glenn Munsie was reported in The Daily Telegraph saying that the Knights were certainties for the wooden spoon and "it was pointless taking money on the wooden spoon gong given Newcastle would be firmly planted at the bottom of the ladder by the end of the weekend".^[2] Despite these pressures, the Knights managed to avoid a second wooden spoon in three years – offloading the dreaded piece of 'silverware' to the Penrith Panthers with a last round victory over the Wests Tigers.

2008 was a resurgence year for the Knights. They were unlucky to miss out on the finals, going down to the Brisbane Broncos 24–2 in the final round of the competition, which allowed the New Zealand Warriors (who easily overcame the Parramatta Eels) to take 8th place.

The Knights started the 2009 season convincingly, they were placed 2nd in the ladder at round 10. During the season the Knights equalled their best home winning streak record with 9 wins, equalling the previous 9 wins recorded in 1995. Towards the end of the season coach Brian Smith announced he was leaving the Knights to join the troubled Sydney Roosters in 2010 after their horrific season. Over the next few weeks assistant coach Rick Stone was announced as the new coach of the Knights. The Knights toward the end of the season lost 3 games in a row, which put them in doubt for the finals, which they had looked like making all year. They then had an outstanding comeback to beat eventual grand finalists, Parramatta up the ladder. They finished the year 7th out of 16 after losing to the Bulldogs in week one of the finals. Rick Stone said he was looking forward to his first off-season in charge. On the 16th, December 2009 it was announced player Danny Wicks was involved in a drug bust involving amphetamines, cocaine and ecstasy. He was stood down. Eventually Wicks terminated his own contract as he didn't want to keep bringing shame the club and sponsors.

For the 2010 season the Knights signed McDonalds and Coca-Cola as major sponsors.

In March 2010 Chris Houston was served with notice to attend court on charges of supplying ecstasy and cocaine.^[3] He was stood down indefinitely.

June 2010 capped of a good period for the Knights after they confirmed the signings of 2009 Toyota Cup Player of the Year Beau Henry on a 3-year deal, 2009 Toyota Cup Centre of the Year Siuatonga Likiliki on a 2-year deal and former Australian international prop Antonio Kaufusi on a 2-year deal. In the next few days, the Knights also confirmed the signings of current Queensland Maroons star Neville Costigan on a 3-year deal and promising, young backrower Kyle O'Donnell on a 2-year deal.

The Knights finished 11th in the 2010 season. While the club did not play in the finals, Adam MacDougall recorded the most tries for the club and Akuila Uate equalled the most tries in a season marking an otherwise forgetful year for the Knights.

In December 2010, former Knight Chris Houston was cleared of all drug charges and re-signed with the club for 2 years.

On the 31st of March 2011, the Knights were officially taken over by mining magnate Nathan Tinkler after a member's vote in which Tinkler won by 97%.

On the 12th of April 2011, the Knights confirmed the signing of 'supercoach' Wayne Bennett. They finished 8th in 2011, being elimintated in the first week of the finals. After the 2011 season, the Knights cleaned out 15 players, aswell as signing 6.

The Knights will celebrate 25 years in the NRL competition in 2012.

Players

For the complete list of Newcastle Knights players, see List of Newcastle Knights players.

2012 Squad

Newcastle Knights
2012 NRL premiership squad						Pre-season training		Coaching staff
103 Danny Buderus - HK, HB 128 Timana Tahu - CE, WG, SR 143 Kurt Gidley (c) - FB, FE, HB, HK, CE (gk) 172 Kade Snowden - PR, SR 179 Jarrod Mullen (vc) - HB, FE 186 James McManus - WG, FB, CE 198 Zeb Taia - SR, LK, CE 200 Richard Fa'aoso - PR, SR, LK 201 Matt Hilder - LK, HK, FE, SR 202 Chris Houston - SR, LK, PR, CE 203 Wes Naiqama (vc) - CE, FB, WG, SR 208 Junior Sa'u - CE, WG 209 Akuila Uate - WG, FB, CE		217 Evarn Tuimavave - PR 218 Joel Edwards - LK, PR, SR 220 Kevin Naiqama - WG, FB, CE 221 Neville Costigan - SR, PR, LK 223 Tyrone Roberts - HB, FE 225 Marvin Filipo - SR, CE 226 Peter Mata'utia - FB, WG, CE 227 Ryan Stig - FE, HB 228 Zane Tetevano - SR, PR 229 Siuatonga Likiliki - CE, WG 000 Darius Boyd - FB, WG, CE, FE 000 Adam Cuthbertson - PR, SR, LK 000 Daine Laurie - PR, SR		000 Alex McKinnon - LK, CE, SR 000 Kyle O'Donnell - SR, LK, CE 000 Robbie Rochow - SR, PR 000 Mark Wade - SR, CE		Chris Adams - HK Sam Anderson - PR, SR Ethan Cook - LK, FE Rodney Mason - SR, PR Chanel Mata'utia - WG, CE Chad Redman - HK, LK Korbin Sims - PR, SR Will Smith - FE, CE, HB Simon Williams - CE, WG		Head coach Wayne Bennett Assistant coach Rick Stone Legend: (c) Captain (vc) Vice captain (gk) Goal kicker Updated: 20 September 2011 Source(s): Newcastle Knights Squad, Rugby League Project

Player contract situations 2012 2013 2014 2015 Sam Anderson Neville Costigan Adam Cuthbertson Darius Boyd Danny Buderus Matt Hilder Alex McKinnon Kurt Gidley Joel Edwards Chris Houston Jarrod Mullen Kade Snowden Richard Fa'aoso Peter Mata'utia Wes Naiqama Marvin Filipo James McManus Korbin Sims Daine Laurie Junior Sa'u Siuatonga Likiliki Ryan Stig Kevin Naiqama Timana Tahu Kyle O'Donnell Zane Tetevano Tyrone Roberts Akuila Uate Robbie Rochow Zeb Taia Evarn Tuimavave Mark Wade Transfers 2012 Gains Player/Coach Previous Club Length Wayne Bennett St. George Illawarra Dragons 2015 Darius Boyd St. George Illawarra Dragons 2015 Danny Buderus Leeds Rhinos 2012 Mick Crawley North Queensland Cowboys 2015 Adam Cuthbertson St. George Illawarra Dragons 2014 Daine Laurie Macquarie Scorpions 2012 Alex McKinnon St. George Illawarra Dragons 2014 Graham Murray Wynnum Manly Seagulls Robbie Rochow Melbourne Storm 2012 Kade Snowden Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2015 Timana Tahu Penrith Panthers 2013 Mark Wade Merewether Carlton Rugby Union 2012 2012 Losses Player/Coach Club Josh Ailaomai Sydney Roosters Garth Brennan Penrith Panthers Cameron Ciraldo Penrith Panthers Isaac De Gois Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Andrew Dunemann Canberra Raiders Beau Henry Gold Coast Titans Marvin Karawana Released Antonio Kaufusi London Broncos Keith Lulia Bradford Bulls Adam MacDougall Retirement Shannon McDonnell Hull Kingston Rovers Constantine Mika Hull Kingston Rovers Cory Paterson North Queensland Cowboys Ben Rogers Retirement Craig Sandercock Hull Kingston Rovers Steve Southern Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Mark Taufua Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Daniel Tolar Retirement First-Grade Captains All players that have captained the Newcastle Knights in first-grade. Sam Stewart (1988–89) Glenn Miller (1988) Michael Hagan (1989–93) Peter Johnston (1990) Mark Sargent (1994–95) Robbie McCormack (1994) Paul Harragon (1995–99) Matthew Johns (1995–99) Tony Butterfield (1997-00) Andrew Johns (2000–07) Bill Peden (2000–02) Ben Kennedy (2001, 2003–04) Matt Parsons (2002–03) Steve Simpson (2003, 2006–10) Danny Buderus (2004–08) Robbie O'Davis (2004) Matthew Gidley (2004–05) Craig Smith (2005) Jarrod Mullen (2007, 2010–11) Kirk Reynoldson (2007) Adam Woolnough (2007) Kurt Gidley (2007–11) Chris Houston (2008–09) Daniel Tolar (2010) Wes Naiqama (2011) Knights Team Of The Era In August 2007 the Knights announced their team of 20 years. This team was: No. Position Player 68 FB Robbie O'Davis 128 WG Timana Tahu 98 CE Matthew Gidley 108 CE Mark Hughes 102 WG Adam MacDougall 73 FE Matthew Johns 75 HB Andrew Johns 39 PR Mark Sargent 103 HK Danny Buderus No. Position Player 35 PR Paul Harragon 126 SR Steve Simpson 130 SR Ben Kennedy 26 LK Marc Glanville 37 RE Michael Hagan 143 RE Kurt Gidley 2 RE Tony Butterfield 70 RE Adam Muir CO Malcolm "Mal" Reilly (coach) Representative Players Main article: List of Newcastle Knights representatives Coaches & Staff First-Grade Coaches Allan McMahon (1988–1991) David Waite (1991–1994) Mal Reilly (1995–1998) Warren Ryan (1999–2000) Michael Hagan (2001–2006) Brian Smith (2007–14 August 2009)[4] Rick Stone (15 August 2009–2011) Wayne Bennett (2012–) Jersey Manufacturers Good Fellows (1988–94) Peerless (1995–96) Canterbury (1997–99) Fila (2000–01) ISC (2002–07) KooGa (2008–10) X-Blades (2011) ISC (2012–present) Newcastle Knights - home jerseys 1988–1996 1997–2000 2001–2004 2005–2007 2008–2010 Newcastle Knights - away jerseys Trial 1988 2000–2002 2003–2005 2006–2007 2008–2009 2010–2011 Newcastle Knights - heritage jerseys 2008 2009–present Alltime Wins & Losses Record Games Wins Drawn Losses 585 298 15 272 Last updated on 3 September 2011. Major Sponsors Henny Penny (1988–90) BP (1991–93) Stockland (1995–97) Impulse Airlines (1998-01) Flight Centre (2001) Qantaslink (2002–04) Coal & Allied (2005–11) Hunter Ports (2012-present) Awards & Player's Achievements Main article: Newcastle Knights Awards & Achievements Clive Churchill Medal Robbie O'Davis (1997) Andrew Johns (2001) Dally M Medal Andrew Johns (1998, 1999, 2002) Danny Buderus (2004) Rothmans Medal Mark Sargent (1989) Rugby League Golden Boot Andrew Johns (1999, 2001) Club Premiership Honours Main article: Newcastle Knights Honours Premierships: 2 (1997, 2001) Finals Series: 12 (1992, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2011) Wooden Spoons: 1 (2005) Club Records & Statistics Main article: List of Newcastle Knights records Individual Records Career Most Games Andrew Johns 249 Most Points Andrew Johns 2176 Most Tries Adam MacDougall 87 Most Goals Andrew Johns 917 Season Most Points Andrew Johns (2001) 279 Most Tries Akuila Uate (2010) 21 Timana Tahu (2002) 21 Match Most Points Andrew Johns (Rd 21, 2001) 34 v Canberra Most Tries Akuila Uate (Rd 26, 2011) 4 v South Sydney Cooper Vuna (Rd 24, 2010) 4 v Brisbane Andrew Johns (Rd 21, 2001) 4 v Canberra Adam MacDougall (Rd 20, 2001) 4 v New Zealand Darren Albert (Rd 3, 2000) 4 v Wests Tigers Most Goals Andrew Johns (Rd 2, 2006) 11 v Canberra Club Song Go Hard, Go Knights (1995–Present) Playin' hard, playin' tough, Just plain good is not good enough, We're gonna show you what league's all about, If there's a lesson to be learned we're handing it out. This game is our game, This town is our town, Turn the heat up and listen to the crowd. Go hard, Go Knights, Go proud. This game is our game, This town is our town, Turn the heat up and listen to the crowd. Go hard, go Knights, go proud. Supporters Newcastle Knights fans have been described as being among the most rabid in the NRL[5] and in 2008 were the third-best supported club in the League with an average attendance of over 19,000 per home game.[6] Some notable supporters of the club include Kim Beazley,[7] Michael Costa,[8] Jennifer Hawkins,[8] Jessica Mauboy[8] and Josh Pyke. References ^ Matt Gidley named Knights CEO of Football Operations rleague.com, 23 June 2011 ^ Christian Nicolussi (30 August 2007). "TAB hands Knights the spoon | The Daily Telegraph". News.com.au. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22329871-5001023,00.html. Retrieved 13 November 2008.  ^ Proudman, Dan (1 March 2010). "Knights' Chris Houston to face drug supply charges". smh.com.au. http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/knights-chris-houston-to-face-drug-supply-charges-20100301-pd3y.html. Retrieved 1 March 2010.  ^ Brian Smith signed to save Roosters Brisbane Times, 19 July 2009 ^ Read, Brent (14 June 2010). "Knights leave fans out in cold again". The Australian (Australia: News Limited). http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/knights-leave-fans-out-in-cold-again/story-e6frg7mf-1225879196337. Retrieved 20 August 2010.  ^ FitzGibbon, Liam (30 June 2008). "Knights cut ticket prices to win crowds". The Sydney Morning Herald (australia: Fairfax Media). http://news.smh.com.au/sport/knights-cut-ticket-prices-to-win-crowds-20080630-2zca.html. Retrieved 20 August 2010.  ^ Bradford, Gillian (2 October 2001). "New security measures planned for aviation industry". LATELINE. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2001/s381068.htm. Retrieved 7 October 2009.  ^ a b c http://www.bebo.com/BlogView.jsp?MemberId=3803560126&BlogId=3808058326 Further reading ABC Australian Sports Almanac 2002 External links Newcastle Knights official website Marathon Stadium – team discussion forum