Newcastle & Hunter Community Rugby League is the governing body of second tier rugby league in the Newcastle and Hunter region. Formed in 2006 after a merger between the Maitland & Coalfields Rugby League and Lower Hunter Rugby League Competitions. It is now the largest senior Rugby League competition in the world. Newcastle & Hunter Community Rugby League or NHCRL consists of five senior men's divisions, A Grade, B Grade, C Grade, Northern Conference & Southern Conference. In 2016 Ladies League Tag was introduced and in 2018 Ladies Tackles was introduced. Currently there are 18 Ladies League Tag teams and 8 Ladies Tackle teams.

History[]

The inaugural season of Newcastle & Hunter Rugby League was 2007 after the amalgamation of the Lower Hunter Rugby League and the Hunter Valley Rugby League. 23 clubs (24 teams) entered 3 grades in the first season.

Major Grades[]

Newcastle & Hunter Rugby League
Sport	Rugby league
Formerly known as	Lower Hunter
Instituted	2006
Inaugural season	2007
Number of teams	55
Country	Australia
Premiers	Thornton-Beresfield (2020)
Most titles	Windale Eagles 2007,2011,2016,2018 (4 titles)
Website	[3]
Broadcast partner	(Australia);

WIN Network A Grade Premiers[]

Season	Grand Finals				Minor Premiers
Season	Premiers	Score	Runners-up	Venue	Minor Premiers
1990		23-10	Raymond Terrace Magpies		Raymond Terrace Magpies
1991	Hexham
1992	Hexham	31-8	Windale Eagles		Windale Eagles
1993	Raymond Terrace Magpies	20-18	Hexham		Hexham
1994		18-16	Hexham
1995		24-20	Raymond Terrace Magpies		Raymond Terrace Magpies
1996	Woodberry	30-20		Harker Oval	Woodberry
1997	Cardiff Cobras	19-16	Raymond Terrace Magpies		Raymond Terrace Magpies
1998	Raymond Terrace Magpies	21-16	Cardiff Cobras	Passmore Oval	Raymond Terrace Magpies
1999	Lambton Kingfishers	20-16	Raymond Terrace Magpies		Lambton Kingfishers
2000	Lambton Kingfishers	13-4	Cardiff Cobras		Lambton Kingfishers
2001		22-0	Cardiff Cobras		Cardiff Cobras
2002		36-14	University
2003
2004
2005		32-2
2006		31-24
A Grade - Newcastle & Hunter Rugby League
2007	Cardiff Cobras		Mallabula Panthers		Cardiff Cobras
2008	?	?	?	?	?
2009	Wyong	42-22	Cardiff Cobras		Wyong
2010	Wangi Wangi	38-18		Harker Oval	Wangi Wangi
2011		20-16		Lakeside Ground
2012		44-16		Cahill Oval
2013		35-16		Harker Oval
2014	Cardiff Cobras	16 - 14		Kurri Kurri Sportsground
2015		34-10		Lakeside Ground
2016		18 - 10	Shortland Devils	Harker Oval
2017		31-26	Shortland Devils	No1 Sportsground
2018	Shortland Devils	36-4	Stockton Sharks	No1 Sportsground	Stockton Sharks
2019	Dora Creek Swampies	44-4	Belmont South Rabbitohs	Waratah Oval	Dora Creek Swampies
2020	Thornton Beresfield Bears	22-18		St John Oval	Dora Creek Swampies

Women's Tackle Premiers[]

Season	Grand Finals				Minor Premiers
Season	Premiers	Score	Runners-up	Venue	Minor Premiers
2019	Berkeley Vale Panthers	32-4	Waratah Mayfield Cheetahs	Waratah Oval	Berkeley Vale Panthers
2020	Berkeley Vale Panthers	24-14	Aberglasslyn Ants	Lakeside Sporting Complex	Berkeley Vale Panthers

Ladies League Tag Division One[]

Season	Grand Finals			League Premiers
Season	Premiers	Score	Runners-up	League Premiers
2016	Umina Bunnies	20-0	University She Horses	Umina Bunnies
2017	Aberglasslyn Ants	18-0	University She Horses	Aberglasslyn Ants
2018	Aberglasslyn Ants	18-4	University She Horses	Aberglasslyn Ants
2019	Aberlgasslyn Ants	20-0	University She Horses	Aberglasslyn Ants
2020	Aberlgasslyn Ants	14-2	University She Horses	Aberlgasslyn Ants

Minor Grades[]

B Grade Premiers[]

Season	Grand Finals			League Premiers
Season	Premiers	Score	Runners-up	League Premiers
2007	Windale Eagles	20-16	Morisset Bulls	Windale Eagles
2008
2009	Tea Gardens	26-24	Wangi Wangi	Central Wyong
2010		16-12	Raymond Terrace	Woodberry
2011	Tea Gardens	30-28	Raymond Terrace	Raymond Terrace
2012	Stockton	44-18	Raymond Terrace	Raymond Terrace
2013	Shortland	22-14	Morisset Bulls	Morisset Bulls
2014 ^[1]	Cessnock Cutters	34-26	Tea Gardens	University
2015 ^[2]	Mallabula	16-6	Waratah Mayfield	Lambton Kingfishers
2016 ^[3]	Fingal Bay	28-24	West Wallsend	West Wallsend
2017	Dudley	14-10	Kotara	Kotara
2018	Woodberry	46-10	University	Woodberry
2019	West Wallsend	18-16	University	Morpeth Bulls
2020	Waratah Mayfield	8-4	Aberglasslyn	Waratah Mayfield

C Grade Premiers[]

Season	Grand Finals			League Premiers
Season	Premiers	Score	Runners-up	League Premiers
2009	Thornton-Beresfield	32-16	Hinton	Thornton-Beresfield
2010	Dungog	28-20	Dora Creek	Dungog
2011	Swansea	24-18	Paterson River	Swansea
2012	Dudley	17-16	Fingal Bay	Fingal Bay
2013	Gateshead Zebras	28-24	Stroud	Gateshead Zebras
2014 ^[4]	Raymond Terrace	18-12	Waratah Mayfield	Waratah Mayfield
2015 ^[5]	Paterson River	24-4	Morisset Bulls	Paterson River
2016^[6]	Carrington Pirates	24-18	Dungog Warriors	Carrington Pirates
2017	Waratah Mayfield	42-28	Abermain-Weston Hawks	Abermain-Weston Hawks
2018	Windale Eagles	24-16	East Maitland Griffins	East Maitland Griffins
2019	Tall Timbers	30-12	Aberglasslyn Ants	Aberglasslyn Ants
2020	Budgewoi Bulldogs	22-12	Hamilton Ducks	Budgewoi Bulldogs

D Grade Premiers[]

The competition was split into Northern & Southern Conferences in 2018 and 2019.

Season	Grand Finals			League Premiers
Season	Premiers	Score	Runners-up	League Premiers
2009	Gateshead	19-18	Fingal Bay	Fingal Bay
2010	Stroud	32-18	Clarence Town	Stroud
2011	Gloucester Magpies	38-24	Morisset Bulls	Gloucester Magpies
2012	Abermain-Weston Hawks	34-26	Hinton	Abermain-Weston Hawks
2013	Carrington Pirates	22-18		Carrington Pirates
2014	Williamtown	25-18	Karuah	Williamtown
2015	Clarence Town	30-20	Kotara Bears	Kotara Bears
2016^[7]	Karuah	24-20	Hinton	Hinton
2017	Glendale	44-30	Cardiff Cobras	Glendale
2018	Paterson River	42-16	Gloucester Magpies	Gloucester Magpies
2019	Dungog	22-16	Stroud	Clarence Town
2020	Kearsley Crushers	18-12	Kotara Bears	Kotara Bears

Southern Conference[]

Season	Grand Finals			League Premiers
Season	Premiers	Score	Runners-up	League Premiers
2018	Abermain-Weston Hawks	18-6	Cardiff Cobras	Kotara Bears
2019	Hamilton	26-14	Kotara	Swansea
2021

Ladies League Tag Division Two[]

Season	Grand Finals			League Premiers
Season	Premiers	Score	Runners-up	League Premiers
2017	Cardiff Cobras	8-6	West Wallsend Magpies	No title
2018	Mallabula Black Cats	8-0	Swansea Swans	Mallabula Black Cats
2019	West Wallsend	32-0	Wangi Wangi	Tea Gardens
2020	Shortland Devils	10-6	Dungog Warriors	Shortland Devils

Ladies League Tag C Grade[]

Season	Grand Finals			League Premiers
Season	Premiers	Score	Runners-up	League Premiers
2019	Stroud	12-4	Dungog	Stroud

Current Clubs[]

Club	Year Entered	City/Region	Ground	Teams
	2017	Maitland	McKeachies Paddock	3
	1910	Cessnock	Kurri Kurri Sportsground	1
	2018	Lake Macquarie	Walters Park	2
	2011	Lake Macquarie	Leneghan Oval	1
	2019	Central Coast	Hallakulani Oval	1
Cardiff Cobras	1934	Lake Macquarie	Cardiff Oval	3
	1975	Dungog	Clarence Town Park	2
		Lake Macquarie	Neville Thompson Oval	2
Dudley Magpies	1981	Lake Macquarie	Dudley Park	1
	1930	Dungog	Bennett Park	2
		Maitland	King Edward Park	1
		Port Stephens	Fingal Bay Oval	2
Glendale Gorillas	1967	Lake Macquarie	Bower Oval	1
Gloucester Magpies		Mid-North Coast	Bert Gallagher Oval	1
Hamilton Ducks	2019	Newcastle	Learmont Park	1
Hinton Hornets		Maitland	Stuart Park	1
		Port Stephens	Lionel Morten Oval	2
	2017	Cessnock	Jeffrey Park	1
		Newcastle	Hudson Park	1
	2017	Maitland	Coronation Park	2
		Port Stephens	Vince Woodman Field	2
		Lake Macquarie	Gibson Oval	1
Morpeth Bulls		Maitland	Ray Lawler Reserve	1
Paterson River		Maitland	Paterson Showground	1
Raymond Terrace Magpies		Port Stephens	Lakeside Complex	2
Shortland Devils		Newcastle	Tuxford Park	2
Stroud Raiders		Mid North Coast	Stroud Showground	2
Swansea Swans	1967	Lake Macquarie	Parbury Park	2
Tall Timbers Timber Cutters	2019	Central Coast	Bill Sohier Oval	1
University of Newcastle Seahorses		Lake Macquarie	Bernie Curran Oval	2
		Newcastle	The Grange	1
		Lake Macquarie	Wangi Oval	2
Waratah Mayfield		Newcastle	Waratah Oval	2
		Lake Macquarie	Les Wakeman Oval	2
Windale	1962	Lake Macquarie	Mick Bird Oval	1
Woodberry		Maitland	Fred Harvey Oval	1

Former clubs[]

Club	First Season	Last Season	Home Ground	Region
Belmont				Lake Macquarie
Belmont North Sharks			Lenaghan Oval	Lake Macquarie
Bolton Point	1997	?	?	Lake Macquarie
Booragul Bears	?	1996	Tulkaba Park	Lake Macquarie
Bulahdelah Woodchoppers	?			Mid North Coast
Carrington Pirates				Newcastle
Cessnock Cutters		2014		Cessnock
Elermore Vale Miners	1995	1998		Newcastle
Gateshead Zebras	1972	2013	Alan Davis Oval	Lake Macquarie
Hamilton
Lakeside				Port Stephens
	1998	2016	Ford Oval	Newcastle
Mt Hutton Mountain Lions				Lake Macquarie
Merewether Storm	1998	1998	Empire Park	Newcastle

	1989	2018	Passmore Oval	Newcastle
	2010	2020		Maitland
Warners Bay-Mt Hutton	1997	1997	Mt Hutton Oval	Lake Macquarie
			Hexham Oval	Port Stephens
West Maitland Wallaroos			Coronation Oval	Maitland
Westlakes Wolves	1998	2002	Tulkaba Park	Lake Macquarie
Other

References[]

^ "Cessnock Cutters v Tea Gardens Hawks grand final: Photos". 16 September 2014.
^ "Panthers grand final success | Pictures". 22 September 2015.
^ [1]
^ "Raymond Terrace Magpies claim premiership with 18-12 victory: PHOTOS". 14 September 2014.
^ "44-year drought broken with Paterson River winning league grand final". 21 September 2015.
^ "Dungog Warriors fall at last hurdle | PHOTOS". 12 September 2016.
^ [2]

External links[]

[4]

[2014_BGF-1] "Cessnock Cutters v Tea Gardens Hawks grand final: Photos". 16 September 2014.

[2015_BGF-2] "Panthers grand final success | Pictures". 22 September 2015.

[2016_BGF-3] [1]

[2014_CGF-4] "Raymond Terrace Magpies claim premiership with 18-12 victory: PHOTOS". 14 September 2014.

[2015_CGF-5] "44-year drought broken with Paterson River winning league grand final". 21 September 2015.

[2016_CGF-6] "Dungog Warriors fall at last hurdle | PHOTOS". 12 September 2016.

[2016_DGF-7] [2]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t Country Rugby League
Federation	Country Rugby League
Representative Teams	Country Origin (City vs Country Origin)
CRL Divisions	Canberra Central Coast Illawarra Newcastle Northern Rivers Sunraysia-Riverlands Western Conference (10, 11)
CRL Groups	Region 1: (2, 3) Region 2: (4, 19, 21) Region 3: (9, 20, 17) Region 4: (14) Region 5: (6, 7, 16)
Illawarra Teams:	Berkeley Eagles Collegians Corrimal Cougars Dapto Canaries Helensburgh Tigers Shellharbour Workers Thirroul Butchers UOW Titans Wests Red Devils
Newcastle Teams:	Central Charlestown Butcher Boys Cessnock Goannas Kurri Kurri Bulldogs Lakes United Seagulls Macquarie Scorpions Maitland Pickers Northern Blues South Newcastle Lions Western Suburbs Rosellas Wyong Roos
Group 7 Teams:	Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles Batemans Bay Tigers Berry-Shoalhaven Heads Magpies Gerringong Lions Jamberoo Superoos Kiama Knights Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs Warilla-Lake South Gorillas
Other Cups	Woodbridge Cup Clayton Cup Outback RL Mid West Cup NSW Challenge Cup