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Country Rugby League
Country Rugby League logo
Founded1934
Ceased2019
ResponsibilityRegional New South Wales
Membership24 leagues
(296 senior clubs)
Key peopleJock Colley[1] (Chair)
Terry Quinn[1] (Chief Executive)
Websitecrlnsw.com.au
New South Wales
As of 1 December 2009

The Country Rugby League of New South Wales (CRL),[2][3] formed in 1934 and disbanded in 2019, was the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in areas of New South Wales outside the Sydney metropolitan area until it merged with NSW Rugby League in 2019. The CRL was superseded by 6 NSWRL Country Divisions represented by 4 members of the nine-person NSWRL board. Despite its name, the CRL also governed rugby league in the Australian Capital Territory. Apart from selecting a Country Origin side to play in the annual City vs Country Origin game, the CRL administered many senior and junior competitions across the state.

History

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Country Rugby League logo used before 2013

In New South Wales, Newcastle was the first city outside Sydney to start a league competition, despite being involved in the Sydney Premiership in 1908–09 and then starting their own competition in 1910.

On 11 February 1911, the Hunter District Rugby Football League (HDRFL) was established at a large meeting in Maitland, thus becoming the first branch of the New South Wales Rugby League in "the bush" (i.e. outside the urban centres of Sydney and Newcastle). The HDRFL territory encompassed a lower part of the Hunter Valley from Singleton down to the Maitland district and towns on the nearby coalfields (the major ones being Cessnock, Kurri Kurri and Weston). Competition games were scheduled to kick off on 13 May but were pushed back to 20 May when clubs complained they had not had enough time to practice the new code. In the first senior-grade games played, West Maitland defeated Kurri Kurri (12–0) and Cessnock defeated Morpeth (23–0) in a double-header on the enclosed Albion Ground at Maitland.

On 13 May 1911, another branch of the NSWRL was established in the Wollongong area, the Illawarra Rugby League.[4] A Goldfields' League was formed in West Wyalong, and games were played in Tamworth, Aberdeen, and along the South Coast. The game was introduced to Orange in 1912 and spread quickly through the western districts. In 1913 branch leagues were formed at Bathurst, Dubbo, Nowra and Tamworth.

In 1920, the NSWRL set up a Country Committee. NSW Country was divided into six sections: South Coast, Northern Districts, Central Northern Districts, Western Districts, Southern, and North Coast. The group system was introduced in 1922, with neighbouring towns being organised into 12 groups.

The Country Rugby League (CRL) was officially formed in 1934, "subject to the NSW Rugby League still being the paramount institution." In 1939 a dispute arose between the CRL and the NSWRL. The CRL wanted a new administration structure, an equal partnership in which the NSWRL looked after league in Sydney, and the CRL looked after it in the bush. When their proposal was rejected the CRL broke away from the NSWRL for a week, but returned to the fold with a promise that a committee would be set up to sort things out. Eventually the CRL gave in on the grounds that it was in no one's best interests to have the game divided during World War II.

The NSWRL and CRL have since cooperated in the running of rugby league in NSW, including various 'joint ventures' such as the Ron Massey Cup which features three teams from areas under the control of the CRL.

On 24 August 2018, the NSWRL and CRL announced that they had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to begin formal discussions in relation to a possible merger of the two organisations, and a single body governing all rugby league in the state for the first time in more than 80 years.[5] In 19 October 2019 the organisations merged after the NSWRL agreed a new constitution and the CRL, over a year ahead of time.[6]

Representative

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The CRL selected the Country New South Wales rugby league team from its inception in 2011.[7] The first City versus Country match (advertised as such by the NSWRL in the Sydney Morning Herald of 10/6/1911) was played at the Sydney Agricultural Ground on that same Saturday. City won 29–8 with a team composed exclusively of players from the Newcastle ("Northern") and the Hunter competitions.

The first NSW Country team to tour was a squad of 17 players (12 from Newcastle and 5 from Hunter) that was unbeaten in four matches. The team played three matches in Queensland between 5/8/1911 and 12/8/1911, defeating Queensland twice and a Queensland Country representative side once. They then travelled to Sydney to play the Sydney Metropolitan team, again winning 31–24.[8]

Both sides were originally made up of the best players playing in the Country Rugby League and the Sydney-based NSWRL Premiership. However, the increasing drain of players from rural areas to the NSWRL clubs led to the City side becoming increasingly dominant and the Country side uncompetitive. [9]

On 21 November 2016, the [[National Rugby League|NRL}} announced that the City versus Country annual match would be scrapped, with the 2017 match to be the final edition.[10] The fixture would be revived without NRL participation in 2021, with players selected entirely from NSWRL competitions.[11]

The first ever country divisional match (described as such in the Maitland Daily Mercury of 31/7/1911) was played at Newcastle on 29/7/1911 between Newcastle[12] and Hunter, the home side winning 29–14.

Regions

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The CRL administered the following senior competitions:

* = Top-level Country leagues; Premiers eligible for Clayton Cup as best regional team in the state.

Major leagues in bold.

NRL Victoria Competitions Involving NSW Teams

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Disbanded Groups

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Team of the Century

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In 2008, rugby league football's centenary year in Australia, the Country Rugby League named its 'Team of the Century':[13]

  1. Clive Churchill (Central Newcastle)
  2. Brian Carlson (North Newcastle)
  3. Eddie Lumsden (Kurri Kurri)
  4. Michael Cronin (Gerringong)
  5. Graeme Langlands (Wollongong)
  6. Bob Fulton (Wests Wollongong)
  7. Andrew Johns (Cessnock)
  8. Steve Roach (Wests Wollongong)
  9. Ian Walsh (Condobolin)
  10. Glenn Lazarus (Queanbeyan Blues)
  11. Herb Narvo (North Newcastle)
  12. Bradley Clyde (Belconnen United)
  13. Wally Prigg (Wests Newcastle/Centrals Newcastle)

Junior competitions

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  • Andrew Johns Cup – named after Andrew Johns, made up of players aged under 16 from NSW-based clubs and includes both junior regional representative teams and junior teams of National Rugby League (NRL).[14][15]
  • Laurie Daley Cup – named after Laurie Daley, the competition includes both junior representative teams from regional rugby league clubs and junior teams of National Rugby League clubs, made up players under 18.

Player of the Year Award

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Year Player Club
1965 Laurie Moraschi Griffith
1966 Terry Pannowitz Maitland
1967 Allan Thomson Newcastle
1968 Allan Thomson Newcastle
1969 John Cootes Newcastle
1970 Les Hutchings Condobolin
1971 Dick Jeffrey Glen Innes
1972 Brian Burke Maitland
1973 John Donnelly Gunnedah
1974 Mick Cronin Gerringong
1975 Steve Hewson Queanbeyan
1976 Peter Kennedy Forbes
1977 Barry Pearson Illawarra
1978 Ray Brown Griffith
1979 Pat Smith Maitland
1980 Perry Haddock Erina
1981 Terry Regan Cessnock
1982 Willie Tarry Cessnock
1983 Paul Field Cootamundra
1984 Ross Gibson Wyong
1985 Peter Hawthorne Griffith
1986 Neil Moy Parkes
1987 Steve Walters Lakes United
1988 Chris Cumming Aberdeen
1989 Mark Ryan Moree
1990 Paul Danes Wagga Wagga
1991 Richard Jones South Newcastle
1992 Trevor Crow South Newcastle
1993 Warren Douch Erina
1994 Brian Quinton Kurri Kurri
1995 Jamy Forbes Cessnock
1996 Brett Gallard Orange
1997 Darren Leaney Bellingen
1998 Paul Skovgaard Western Suburbs Newcastle
1999 Troy Clear Belconnen
2000 Jarrod O'Doherty Western Suburbs Newcastle
2001 Jamie O'Connor Burleigh Heads
2002 Ryan Dagwell Newcastle
2003 John Johnson Scone
2004 Phil Stonham Queanbeyan
2005 Chris Bailey Northern Blues
2006 Darren Jackson & Dean Amos Cobar / Northern Blues
2007 David McLean Berkeley
2008 Grant Wooden Wagga Wagga
2009 Grant Wooden Wagga Wagga
2010 Mitch Williams Wyong
2011 Jimmy Grehan Wests Illawarra
2012 Todd Maloney Umina
2013 Rory O'Brien & Riley Brown Collegians Illawarra / Cessnock
2014 Chris Adams Cessnock
2015 Jarrod Thompson Collegians Illawarra
2016 Chris Adams Lakes United
2017 Tori Freeman-Quay Belconnen
2018 Caleb Ziebell Cudgen
2019 Cameron Vazzoler Illawarra South Coast

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Committees". Country Rugby League of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  2. ^ "COUNTRY RUGBY LEAGUE OF NEW SOUTH WALES INC CONSTITUTION – ADOPTED 27/11/99" (PDF). Country Rugby League of New South Wales. 8 February 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  3. ^ "Reference Centre > NRL History & Structure". National Rugby League. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  4. ^ ILLAWARRA RUGBY LEAGUE HISTORY Archived February 28, 2001, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "NSWRL and CRL Agree to MOU". New South Wales Rugby League. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Country Rugby League merge with NSW Rugby League is official". Manning River Times. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  7. ^ Campton, Nick (12 May 2022). "The life and death of City v Country — how the legacy of league's much loved rep game lives on". Australia: ABC News.
  8. ^ Cessnock Rugby League Football – The Early Years; Mark Bennis; 2011
  9. ^ "New South Wales Country". rugbyleagueproject.org. Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson and Bill Bates. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  10. ^ "NRL scraps City v Country fixture, last edition to be played in Mudgee in 2017". Australia: ABC News. 21 November 2016.
  11. ^ Campton, Nick (12 May 2022). "The life and death of City v Country — how the legacy of league's much loved rep game lives on". Australia: ABC News.
  12. ^ "Newcastle Firsts". rugbyleagueproject.org. Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson and Bill Bates. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  13. ^ abc.net.au (1 May 2008). "Three Immortals in best Country side". ABC News. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  14. ^ "NSWRL cancels nine competitions for 2020 season". New South Wales Rugby League. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Andrew Johns Cup". New South Wales Rugby League. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
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