Darwin Rugby League

Darwin Rugby League

Current season or competition: Darwin Rugby League season 2009
Sport	Rugby League
Founded	1941
No. of teams	6
Country(ies)	Australia
Most recent champion(s)	Nightcliff Dragons (2009)

The Darwin Rugby League is a rugby league competition based in Darwin, Northern Territory. The competition is administered by the Northern Territory Rugby League which is the body that takes care of the League's Affairs. It administered the competition, officially, since 1950 in Darwin.^[1][2]

On 6th May 2010, the Australian Rugby League disbanded the Darwin Rugby League due to ongoing issues, including the scheduling of matches and the playing clubs arguing these changes.^{[citation needed]} The competition in Darwin is now controlled by the Northern Territory Rugby League.

History

The first organized competition played in Darwin, Northern Territory. was in 1941 when nine teams, mostly made up of ex-servicemen decided to make one unified competition and compete between and against each other. Some of the teams represented the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Australian Navy, and the Australian Army. There were also teams made up of citizens in Darwin, along with a team made up entirely of indigenous Australians living in Darwin.^[3]

The competition was cancelled due to the bombing of Darwin and the air raid attacks on the city. Since most of the competition was made from ex-servicemen and the army divisions in Darwin, the competition was severely effected when many of these personal had to go to war and when they were no longer stationed in the Darwin area.

Another competition resumed in 1942 and continued onto 1943 (the season elapsed two years) but because of the evacuation of Darwin and then the subsequent shipping out of army and navy personnel from Darwin meant that the competition was completely halted. There appears to be no other competition formed between 1943 and 1949. After 1949, the competition was finally revived.

In 1950, a small group of men, mainly ex-servicemen, joined together to form the Northern Territory Rugby League. The first official season was started in 1950 in Darwin, with a number of pre-season trial matches and tournaments. The first official match was played on 14 June 1951.

Cyclone Tracey smashed into Darwin on 24 December 1974 and completely devastated Darwin. Although much damage was done to the city and its surroundings, little damage occurred on Richardson Park, the home of rugby league in Darwin. The cyclone had an effect on the competition itself as players and administrators of the clubs and boards of the competition either left Darwin or were involved in the clean-up in Darwin after the cyclone had subsided.

In recent years however, the league has expanded a little. It has picked in areas previously dominated by Aussie Rules Football. Some of the areas the league has moved into include the Katherine, Northern Territory.

^[4]

Teams

Today in the Darwin Rugby League, there are 6 First Grade Club, the clubs are as follows: ^[5]

• Brothers
• Litchfield Bears
• Nightcliff Dragons
• University Sharks (formerly known as the Northern Suburbs)
• Palmerston Raiders
• South Darwin Rabbitohs

There are also 6 Reserve Grade Clubs:

• Brothers
• Nightcliff Dragons
• Litchfield Bears
• Palmerston Raiders
• South Darwin Rabbitohs
• University Sharks

The Katherine Tigers compete in the Under 18's competition

References

1. ^ Sporting Pulse Darwin Rugby League retrieved 21 December 2007
2. ^ Leaguenet Website
3. ^ Sporting Pulse Darwin Rugby League History Page retrieved 21 December 2007
4. ^ Source: Information sourced from 1999 History of Rugby League in Darwin & the Northern Territory. Some of the history is also sourced from the Darwin Rugby League link found on the Leaguenet Website. The Actual Information is found on this Page, the Darwin Rugby League History Page.
5. ^ Sporting Pulse Clubs in Darwin Rugby League retrieved 21 December 2007

See also

• Northern Territory Rugby League
• Rugby league in the Northern Territory

DRL seasons
1941-2006 2007 · 2008 · 2009