Group 17 Rugby League
Group 17 is a rugby league competition based in the Riverina and Central West regions of New South Wales, Australia which collapsed in 2006 and reformed in 2018.
Sport | Rugby league |
---|---|
Inaugural season | 1955 |
Ceased | 2006 (reformed 2018) |
Number of teams | 6 |
Country | ![]() |
Premiers | ![]() |
Most titles | ![]() |
Website | Western Riverina Community Cup Proten Community Cup Rugby League on facebook |
History
Rugby league in the district began as an inter-town competition between Hillston, Merriwagga, Goolgowi and Hay. The competition was suspended during World War 2.
It reformed in 1947 as the 'Western Zone' with teams from Hay, Darlington Point, Goolgowi, Carrathool and two teams from Hillston, 'Town' and 'Country'. Tullibigeal joined during the 1950s, and won the 1965 Clayton Cup, the Country Rugby League's highest honour, but later departed to form the TLU Sharks with Lake Cargelligo. Sometime between then and 1965, when Coleambally entered, the league became known as group 17. In 1973, two of the competition's biggest teams, Darlington Point and Coleambally merged and joined the neighbouring Group 20 Rugby League (Griffith and District) competition. Darlington Point had far outgrown the competition, going undefeated in 1968 to win the Clayton Cup.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the competition sustained a high level of competition, with eight clubs participating. More Clayton Cups were won by Group 17 clubs, with Rankins Springs (1993), Barellan (1999 and 2002) and Hillston (2006) all claiming the trophy. But by the 2000s, the Millennial Drought had caused many of the teams to be weakened, due to farming, the primary industry in the region, becoming not only unprofitable, but almost impossible. The competition collapsed after the 2006 season.
The competition was revived in 2018 as the Group 17 ProTen Community Cup, with six teams participating. The format involved at five rounds followed by semi-finals and a grand final. In each round, all three games were played at the same venue.[1]
The competition retained the same format in 2019 (with six rounds instead of five), with the Grand Final being held in Ivanhoe. The 2020 season is in limbo due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clubs
Club | Nickname | Home Ground | No. of Premierships | Premiership Years |
---|---|---|---|---|
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Bluebirds | Stan Peters Oval, Hillston | 8 | 1979-80, 1983, 1986–88, 1996, 2006 |
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Rams | Barellan Football Ground | 9 | 1973-4, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1984, 1999, 2002–03 |
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Rabbitohs | Goolgowi Recreation Ground | 6 | 1977, 1985, 1992, 2004–05, 2019 |
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Roosters | Sahara Oval, Ivanhoe | 0 | None |
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Dragons | Rankins Springs Recreation Ground | 4 | 1993, 1997, 2000, 2018 |
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Lizards | Narrandera Sports Ground | 0 | None |
Past participants in the Group 17 competition included:
- Hanwood Warriors (defunct)
- Hay Magpies (now in Group 20)
- Murrin Bridge-Euabalong Tigers (defunct)
- Griffith Three Ways United (Now only play in NSW Koori Knockout)
- Whitton Bulls (defunct)
- Deniliquin Blue Heelers (defunct)
- Finley Tigers (defunct)
- Darlington Point Roosters (Merged with Coleambally and joined Group 20 in 1973)
- Coleambally Greens (Merged with Darlington Point and joined Group 20 in 1973)
- Tullibigeal Sharks (Merged with Lake Cargelligo and joined Group 20)
- Weethalle (defunct)
All statistics are post 1966
Bold indicates that the club fielded a team in the 2006 First-Grade competition.
Grand Finals
Season | Premiers | Score | Runners-Up | Coach | Report | Minor Premiers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1967 | ![]() |
20-13 | ![]() |
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1968 | ![]() |
14-4 | ![]() |
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1969 | ![]() |
27-9 | ![]() |
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1970 | ||||||
1971 | ![]() |
26-14 | ![]() |
B Cotton | ||
1972 | ![]() |
26-9 | ![]() |
B. Curtis | ||
1973 | ![]() |
41-2 | ![]() |
R. Murdoch | ||
1974 | ![]() |
27-8 | ![]() |
R. Murdoch | ||
1975 | ![]() |
25-11 | ![]() |
M. Johnston | ||
1976 | ![]() |
9-3 | ![]() |
Greg Smith | ||
1977 | ![]() |
23-19 | ![]() |
Greg Byrnes | ||
1978 | ![]() |
9-5 | ![]() |
J. Campbell | ||
1979 | ![]() |
16-10 | ![]() |
G. Saddler | ||
1980 | ![]() |
27-19 | ![]() |
John Sheridan | ||
1981 | ![]() |
27-3 | ![]() |
P. O'Brien | ||
1982 | ![]() |
23-15 | ![]() |
Kevin Goldspink | ||
1983 | ![]() |
38-36 | Weethalle | Laurie Townsend | TAN[2] | ![]() |
1984 | ![]() |
14-2 | ![]() |
Mick Trembath | TAN[3] | ![]() |
1985 | ![]() |
8-6 | ![]() |
Mick Turner | ![]() | |
1986 | ![]() |
16-5 | ![]() |
Ray Schaefer | ![]() | |
1987 | ![]() |
34-29 | ![]() |
Ray Schaefer | ![]() | |
1988 | ![]() |
18-6 | ![]() |
Ray Schaefer | ![]() | |
1989 | ![]() |
20-18 | ![]() |
Neil Nesbit | ![]() | |
1990 | ![]() |
26-14 | ![]() |
Neil Nisbet | ![]() | |
1991 | ![]() |
14-6 | ![]() |
Neil Nisbet | ![]() | |
1992 | ![]() |
14-0 | ![]() |
John Barzan | TAN[4] | ![]() |
1993 | ![]() |
34-16 | ![]() |
Stuart Vearing | TAN[5] | ![]() |
1994 | ![]() |
27-18 | ![]() |
Chris Aylett | TAN[6] YT[7] | ![]() |
1995 | ![]() |
38-10 | ![]() |
Jack Byrnes | TAN[8] YT[9] | ![]() |
1996 | ![]() |
22-8 | Whitton Bulls | John Townsend | TAN[10] | Whitton Bulls |
1997 | ![]() |
50-10 | Whitton Bulls | Steve Schmetzer | TAN[11] | ![]() |
1998 | Whitton Bulls | 20-12 | ![]() |
James Mason and Shane Bamblett | TAN[12] | Whitton Bulls |
1999 | ![]() |
38-22 | ![]() |
![]() | ||
2000 | ![]() |
34-20 | ![]() |
Stuart Vearing | TAN[13] | ![]() |
2001 | Whitton Bulls | 32-28 | ![]() |
John Pannowitz (Co-coach) | TAN[14] | Whitton Bulls |
2002 | ![]() |
10-7 | Whitton Bulls | Clint Halden | TAN[15] | ![]() |
2003 | ![]() |
22-2 | ![]() |
![]() | ||
2004 | ![]() |
26-12 | ![]() |
Greg Borger | TAN[16] | ![]() |
2005 | ![]() |
31-28 | ![]() |
Greg Borger | TAN[17] | ![]() |
2006 | ![]() |
32-0 | ![]() |
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2018 | ![]() |
16-10 | ![]() |
YT[18] TAN[19] | ![]() | |
2019 | ![]() |
22-6 | ![]() |
TAN[20] | ![]() |
Sources
Years | Item | Via |
---|---|---|
1967-69, 1971–96 | Country Rugby League Annual Report | State Library of NSW |
1983 to 2005 | The Area News | Microfilm copies at State Library of NSW |
2003 to 2006 | Rugby League Week | Bound copies at State Library of NSW |
2003 to 2006 | Rugby League Week | eResources at State Library of NSW |
2018 to 2019 | Various Newspaper Websites | As referenced |
References
- "ProTen Community Cup bringing Rugby League Back to Group 17 after 12 years". Country Rugby League. Daily Advertiser. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- "Riverina League Scoreboard". The Area News. 23 August 1983. p. 23.
- "Rugby League Scoreboard". The Area News. 28 August 1984. p. 19.
- "Goolgowi too strong in wet". The Area News. 3 September 1992. p. 26.
- "Dragons slay Magpies to take Group 17 title". The Area News. 6 September 1993. p. 21.
- "Hay beats all the odds to win the flag". The Area News. 5 September 1994. p. 22.
- "1994 Group 17 Grand Final (Hay Magpies v Hillston Bluebirds)". YouTube. 8 January 2012 [1994]. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- "Hay makes it a double". The Area News. 18 September 1995. p. 28.
- "Hay Magpies vs Rankin Springs 1995 Group 17 Grand Final Part 8". YouTube. 25 June 2013 [1995]. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- "Hillston picks up the double". The Area News. 9 September 1996. p. 20.
- "Springs too good". The Area News. 8 September 1997. p. 24.
- "Whitton finally make it - Glory for Bulls as they take out Group 17 premiership". The Area News. 7 September 1998. p. 27.
- Stratton, Michael (4 September 2000). "Rankin Springs runs away with Group 17 title". The Area News. p. 20.
- "Bulls charge over Dragons". The Area News. 10 September 2001. p. 24.
- Stratton, Michael (11 September 2002). "Barellan holds on in thriller". The Area News. p. 28.
- Malone, Matt (13 September 2004). "Rabbitohs premiers after 12-year drought". The Area News. p. 24.
- Malone, Matt (29 August 2005). "Rabbitohs clinch a three-point victory - Goolgowi scores back-to-back victories". The Area News. p. 28.
- "Match Highlights: Rankins Springs Vs Goolgowi - Grand Final, 2018". YouTube. Rankins Springs Dragons RLFC. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- Stratton, Michael (22 July 2020). "Rankins Springs defeat Goolgowi in ProTen Community Cup grand final". The Area News. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- Stratton, Michael (28 July 2019). "Goolgowi defeat Narrandera in the ProTen Community Cup". The Area News. Retrieved 15 April 2020.