Hunter Mariners
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| Club Information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Hunter Mariners Rugby League Football Club |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Departed | 1997 |
| Former Details | |
| Ground(s) | Topper Stadium (11,000[1]) |
| Competition | Super League |
| 1997 | 6th of 10 |
| Records | |
| Premierships | 0 |
| Runners-up | 0 |
| Minor premiership | 0 |
| Wooden spoons | 0 |
The Hunter Mariners were a rugby league team based in the Hunter Valley region's largest city, Newcastle. The club was formed in mid 1995 before being disbanded in late 1997. The club was formed because of the Super League war, which was the rivalry between the traditional Australian Rugby League (ARL) competition and the new media driven Super League competition. The Mariners competed in the inaugural and only Super League season in 1997, as well as that year's World Club challenge.
The Mariners were a much hated club and never gathed much support in the Newcastle region because of the ARL's Newcastle Knights team being already well established in the region. The club played its home games at Topper Stadium and missed out on the finals of the 1997 Super League season, but made the grand final of the World Club challenge. The team was overshadowed by the Newcastle Knights who won the ARL competition and was admitted into the 1998 re-united competition.
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[edit] History
[edit] Formation
The New South Wales Rugby League competition (NSWRL) had been formed in 1908 and there was a Newcastle based club in the first two seasons, but left to form their own Newcastle Rugby League. It wasn’t until 1988 that another Newcastle based team was allowed into the NSWRL. The NSWRL was renamed the Australian Rugby League (ARL) in 1995 amid the beginning of the Super League war. In 1995, News Limited began proposing and deliberating a rival rugby league competition and by the end of 1995 the current twenty teams which competed in the ARL were split between the Super League and ARL competitions.[2]
The Newcastle Knights, the Newcastle based team formed in 1988, aligned itself with the ARL and the new competition Super League was left without a Newcastle based team. The Super League then established their own Newcastle based team. The financially successful Newcastle Wests Leagues Club was given a licence to form a club for the 1996 inaugural Super League season.[2]
In July 1995, they officially announce the Newcastle based team would be called the Hunter Mariners. However, in the middle of 1995, members of the Leagues Club didn’t want the club involved in the rebel competition, and the club held a meeting after 5000 fans signed a petition objecting to the club’s involvement. After this, and when local unions became involved in the protest, the Leagues Club abandoned the licence. The club then became owned and supported by News Limited.[2]
In early 1996, the Mariners would officially launch the club, without a home ground, but on that same day, the Super League was banned from running it’s rebel competition. After an appeal in mid 1996, the Super League would officially be allowed to run a competition, which would begin in 1997.[2]
[edit] Super League season 1997
[edit] World Club Challenge
| Round | Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue | Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group | Paris Saint Germain | 12–28 | Hunter Mariners | 8 June 1997 | Stade Sébastien Charléty | 3,500 |
| Group | Castleford Tigers | 12–42 | Hunter Mariners | 13 June 1997 | Wheldon Road | 3,087 |
| Group | Sheffield Eagles | 4–40 | Hunter Mariners | |||
| Group | Hunter Mariners | 26–8 | Castleford Tigers | 20 July 1997 | Topper Stadium | 3,379 |
| Group | Hunter Mariners | 32–4 | Paris Saint Germain | 27 July 1997 | Topper Stadium | 2,210 |
| Group | Hunter Mariners | 58–12 | Sheffield Eagles | 3 August 1997 | Topper Stadium | 1,965 |
| QF | Wigan Warriors | 18–22 | Hunter Mariners | 3 October 1997 | Central Park | |
| SF | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 18–22 | Hunter Mariners | 11 October 1997 | QE II | 5,214 |
| F | Brisbane Broncos | 36–12 | Hunter Mariners | 17 October 1997 | Mount Smart Stadium | 12,000 |
[edit] Demise
The agreement of the ARL and Super League was to unify and become one competition, to be known as the National Rugby League (NRL), was that only twenty teams would compete in the competition in 1998. This meant that three of the twenty-two teams from both competitions was to be demised with the addition of a new Melbourne based team. With the other Newcastle based team, the Newcastle Knights winning the 1997 premiership, they were admitted into the new competition, however the NRL saw that two Newcastle based teams would not be financially viable.[2]
Late in 1997, the club was offered to merge with Gold Coast based team the Gold Coast Chargers, which would be known as the Gold Coast Mariners and would be based in the Gold Coast. However the Gold Coast party withdrew late to go alone in the 1998 competition, and while the Mariners tried to do the same, they, along with South Queensland Crushers and Perth Reds, were not admitted into the NRL competition, thus ending their tenture as a first-grade rugby league team.[2]
[edit] Players
In the Super League season, the Mariners used a total of twenty-nine players over the eighteen games.[3][4]
| Cap | Name | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points | Positions Played. | State | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Iro | 14 | 3 | 12 | Second Row (8), Interchange (6) | ||||
| 2 | Robbie Ross | 16 | 5 | 20 | Fullback (15), Wing (1) | NSW | |||
| 3 | Kieth Beauchamp | 17 | 7 | 28 | Wing (17) | ||||
| 4 | Nick Zisti | 17 | 9 | 20/33 | 76 | Centre (10), Wing (6), Interchange (1) | |||
| 5 | Brad Godden | 11 | 2 | 8 | Centre (9), Interchange (2) | ||||
| 6 | Gavin Thompson | 12 | 3 | 12 | Wing (9), Fullback (3) | ||||
| 7 | Scott Hill | 18 | 2 | 8 | Five-Eighth (18) | ||||
| 8 | Noel Goldthorpe | 14 | 3 | 8/14 | 28 | Halfback (11), Interchange (3) | NSW | ||
| 9 | Tim Maddison | 16 | 1 | 4 | Prop (14), Interchange (2) | ||||
| 10 | Robbie McCormack | 15 | Hooker (15) | ||||||
| 11 | Justin Dooley | 4 | Prop (1), Interchange (3) | ||||||
| 12 | Paul Marquet | 15 | 3 | 12 | Second Row (15) | ||||
| 13 | Neil Piccinelli | 17 | 6 | 2/7 | 28 | Lock (15), Second Row (2) | |||
| 14 | Troy Stone | 18 | 1 | 4 | Prop (17), Interchange (1) | ||||
| 15 | Willie Poaching | 13 | 3 | 1/4 | 14 | Lock (1), Second Row (2), Interchange (10) | |||
| 16 | Richard Swain | 14 | 4/11 | 8 | Interchange (8), Second Row (1), Lock (2), Hooker (3) | ||||
| 17 | Anthony Brann | 16 | Prop (4), Interchange (12) | ||||||
| 18 | John Carlaw | 8 | 32 | Centre (11), Wing (1), Interchange (1) | |||||
| 19 | Troy Miles | 3 | 1 | 4 | Interchange (3) | ||||
| 20 | Stuart Collins | 1 | Interchange (1) | ||||||
| 21 | Mike Dorren | 3 | 1 | 4 | Interchange (3) | ||||
| 22 | Craig Kimmorley | 1 | Interchange (1) | ||||||
| 23 | Darrien Doherty | 11 | 1 | 4 | Second Row (7), Interchange (4) | ||||
| 24 | Robbie Bannister | 2 | 1 | 4 | Wing (1), Interchange (1) | ||||
| 25 | Brett Kimmorley | 9 | 2 | 4/13 | 16 | Halfback (7), Interchange (2) | AUS | ||
| 26 | Steve Ebrill | 1 | Interchange (1) | ||||||
| 27 | Craig Wise | 4 | 4 | 16 | Wing (1), Centre (2), Interchange (1) | ||||
| 28 | Kevin Iro | 4 | 1 | 2/2 | 8 | Centre (4) | |||
| 29 | Tyran Smith | 2 | Lock (1), Interchange (1) |
[edit] Records and statistics
[edit] Individual records
Scott Hill and Tony Stone share the record of playing every eighteen games for the Mariners, being the players with the most first grade games. Nick Zisti, however is the Mariner’s most prolific record holder, with the most first grade points for the team with 76 points. This encompasses the most tries for the team with nine as well as most goals with twenty. Zisti has the most tries and goals in a match with three and five scored respectively in a match. The Mariners have only had three representatives, Robbie Ross and Noel Goldthrope represented New South Wales in the Super League Tri-Series while Brett Kimmorley represented Australia in the Super League test matches.[2]
[edit] Team honours
| Season | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Total Points Scored | Total Points Conceded | Win Percentage | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Super League season | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 350 | 363 | 38.89% | 6th |
| 1997 World Club Challenge | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 282 | 120 | 88.89% | 2nd |
| Total | 27 | 15 | 0 | 12 | 632 | 483 | 55.56% |
[edit] References
- ^ The Gadens. Australian Stadiums. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
- ^ a b c d e f g Whiticker, Alan & Collis, Ian (2004). The History of Rugby League Clubs. New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd. ISBN 1-74110-075-5.
- ^ Smith, James. Sydney Premiership 1997 (Super League) details. Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
- ^ Jeffs, Paul. Rugby League Tables / Hunter Scorers. Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
