With no rugby league – or any sport for that matter – on the horizon, our travels through the alphabet of rugby league stops at D as we discuss Defunct NRL Clubs and Disused Grounds.

Because who wouldn’t want a double up on the letter D?

After discussing Ads, Broadcasters and Cult Heroes, it is time to explore those teams and grounds that are no longer with us.

There are some beloved clubs that are missed, and some clubs who will barely be remembered. Throw in a disused ground or two and you have the latest edition of the A to Z of the NRL.

DEFUNCT TEAMS

NORTH SYDNEY BEARS

There would hardly be a more universally liked former rugby league club than the North Sydney Bears. And many of their fans are still loyal.

They had to be loyal, as for all their longevity in the NSWRL/ARL/NRL from 1908 to 1999, they won just the two premierships: 1921 and 1922.

Despite the lack of premierships, the Bears always seemed there and thereabouts at finals time, from our recollection of the 1980s and 1990s.

And we remember so many of their players fondly.

Queenslanders tend to lean towards Origin legends Gary Larson and Billy Moore, but there was also Greg Florimo, Mark Soden, Martin Bella, Brett Dallas, David Farleigh, Peter Jackson (also a Queensland Origin legend), and even Sean Hoppe.

They also had the record-breaking Jason Taylor (now North Sydney’s NSW Cup coach), but we are trying to get people to like the Bears here.

A lot of players did move onto other clubs, and it seems that Manly-Warringah was a key destination, which fits in nicely with the demise of the Bears in the NRL. 

The post-Super League shake up saw Manly merge with North Sydney (as the Northern Eagles), which was an unhappy four-year marriage, playing out of Gosford. Eventually Manly ended it, went back to Brookvale, and got to keep their NRL status, while the Bears ran out of influence and were out of the first-grade comp.

Ironically Gosford could be the future of the Bears, if they ever get a chance to revive the famous club. There was some chat about a relocation to the Gold Coast, which made some sense given the Tweed Heads Seagulls links with North Sydney, and the other local team (Burleigh) is already called the Bears.

As for their true home, North Sydney Oval, there are still many fond memories of rugby league there as well, and thankfully it is still used for the NSW Cup side, women’s rugby league games and cricket.

While the Bears are still around, they aren’t in the top grade, so they make our list as a Defunct NRL Club.

GOLD COAST GIANTS/SEAGULLS/GLADIATORS/CHARGERS

The Gold Coast have had a few sporting teams over the years, the Gold Coast Rollers NBL side, and Daikyo Dolphins Baseball teams are our favourite.

Aside from those great names from other sports, the Gold Coast have also had three incarnations of their rugby league team before the current Titans.

First was the Giants, as part of the expansion in 1988 that also saw Broncos and Newcastle join.

The Giants lasted two seasons before becoming the Gold Coast Seagulls in 1990, changing colours from the grey of the Giants to the red, white and black of the Seagulls, and getting Wally Lewis to come on board after a falling out with Wayne Bennett at Brisbane.

The Seagulls finished second last in their first year, and dead last in the three following seasons. 

There was some improvement in their last two seasons as the Seagulls: finishing second last in 1994, and 17th out of 20 in the bloated 1995 comp.

Something we forgot as we dived into Gold Coast rugby league was that the Gold Coast were going to be called the Gladiators in 1996.

They eventually went with the Chargers for 1996 onwards, where most remember the distinctive teal outfits, and the memorable “Dancin’ Homer”-style mascot Captain Charger. The Chargers were the only Gold Coast team to make the finals in the pre-Titans era.

The Gold Coast Titans were originally going to be called the Dolphins, before Queensland Cup side Redcliffe threatened legal action.

NEWTOWN JETS

Like the North Sydney Bears, the Newtown Jets still exist at NSW Cup level, but it isn’t quite the same as when they were in the top tier of rugby league in Australia.

Also like the Bears, they are a foundation club, with some premiership success, albeit all before WWII. They do lead the Bears by one premiership (with three).

The Newtown Jets were evicted from the NSWRL in 1983, just two seasons after beaten a beaten grand finalist to Parramatta.

They resurfaced in 1990 and have been playing in lower tier competitions since serving as feeder team to a variety of NRL clubs.

2019 was a big year for the Jets, with a NSW Cup win and the NRL State Championship title over Queensland’s Burleigh Bears.

Interestingly, the Jets tried to move to Campbelltown after their initial demise, but it didn’t work out, and the equally struggling Western Suburbs team beat them there and stayed afloat.

SUPER LEAGUE CASUALTIES

SOUTH QUEENSLAND CRUSHERS

Last in our list of defunct rugby league clubs is certainly not the least, as it is a bundle of the clubs that didn’t survive the merging of the ARL and Super League comps in the 1990s.

The South Queensland Crushers never quite captured the imagination of Brisbane folk, and it is a lesson out there to those who want a second Brisbane team. 

Perhaps it was the underwhelming recruiting, or the baby vomit gold-brown with dark blue stripes, the fact they were called South Queensland Crushers (which meant nothing really for geography or nickname), or News Ltd’s lack of support for them as shareholders of the Broncos, but they lasted just three seasons. Mario Fenech was a big name signing but is more known for “The Falcon” than any on-field action. The Crushers finished last in two of their three seasons.

Other great forgotten Crushers names were Gurgler favourite Dale Shearer, Mark Protheroe, Mark Hohn, Travis Norton and Steele Retchless.

HUNTER MARINERS

The Hunter Mariners were around for just the one Super League season (1997) as a way of having Newcastle representation in the new competition after the Knights stayed with the ARL.

While the Mariners had a decent record for a start-up team, and came second in the Super League Club Championship, their rivals had a memorable win in their ARL Grand Final.

The Mariners won seven of 18 games in their only season and finished sixth in the 10-team competiton, but they did feature forgotten rugby league gems like Nick Zisti, Noel Goldthorpe, Robbie Ross and Neil Piccinelli. They were also famed for having not one, but two Kimmorleys.

WESTERN REDS

The Western Reds came into the competition in 1995 with the expansion that saw the Cowboys, Crushers and Auckland admitted, and they last just three seasons, being another victim of the Super League war, although they were already tight on finances, having to pay for opposition team’s travel.

They became the Perth Reds for Super League, but success didn’t come, and finances weren’t great, so they were cut when the two competitions merged.

A decent first season saw them win 50% of their games but finish 11th (just two points from the top eight) in a bloated competition. 

Their jersey was distinctive from memory: predominantly white with a giant Cash Converters logo with black, red and yellow stripes.

Key players were the brothers Geyer, Julian O’Neill, Rodney Howe, Robbie Kearns, Brett Goldspink, Dale Fritz, and Matthew Rodwell. Some more obscure names were Tim Horan (no, not that one; this Horan played 33 games), Matt Daylight (11 games), Brendon Tuuta (11 games), and Barrie-Jon Mather (24 games).

There has been a lot of talk about a team from Perth/WA, either a new franchise or a current one moved, but none have happened yet, And with crowds hot and cold in recent visits, it is hard to justify a team there for now.

ADELAIDE RAMS

That leaves Adelaide – aka The Rams – who served two seasons: one in Super League (1997) and one in the NRL (1998). 

Having a side in the South Australian capital could have worked in this day and age, but back then it didn’t last .

They weren’t completely hopeless, and were lucky to survive one more year than the other clubs on the Super League casualty list.

Some key figures include Luke Williamson (who made our cult hero list), Kerrod Walters, Dean Schifilliti, Noel Goldthorpe, Rod Maybon, Alan Cann, and Tony Iro.

Some more forgotten names were current Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire, Mark Corvo, Graham Appo, and Brett Galea.

THE RECORDS

SOUTH QUEENSLAND CRUSHERS

1995 – 16th/20 – 6 Wins (27%)
1996 – 20th/20 – 3 Wins (14%)
1997 – 12th/12 – 4 Wins (18%)

HUNTER MARINERS

1997 – 6th/10 – 7 Wins (39%)
World Club Championship – 2nd/22 – 8 Wins (89%)

WESTERN REDS / PERTH

1995 – 11th/20 – 11 Wins (50%)
1996 – 16th/20 – 6 Wins (28%) and 1 Draw
1997 – 8th/10 – 7 Wins (39%)

ADELAIDE RAMS

1997 – 9th/10 – 6 Wins (33%) and 1 Draw
1998 – 17th/20 – 7 Wins (29%)

DISUSED GROUNDS

ANZ STADIUM aka QEII

So, not that ANZ Stadium, but the big metallic shell that sits in the south of Brisbane that once hosted the Super League Grand , and the 1982 Commonwealth Games.

Many can remember – or have seen the footage of – the big winking Matilda wheeling around QEII Stadium, as it was known then.

But we wonder how many can remember that the Broncos played out of ANZ Stadium for over 10 seasons, from 1993-2003? And that the reason the Broncos went there from Lang Park was because of Power’s Bitter – Power’s being the Broncos main sponsor at the time, XXXX being associated with the QRL and Lang Park. Fancy a stoush over that beer?

The Broncos did very well there, losing just 22 games from 122 for a strike rate of 78%.

It was also famous for the triumphant return of Allan Langer from the UK, as he flew back to win the 2001 State of Origin series for Queensland in sensational style.

We also remember it for a Broncos flogging of South Sydney where the horse running around the track looked to be a heart attack concern from too much celebrating, my third cousin tearing it up for the Broncos reserves, and the crowd booing Willie Nelson for too many songs off the new album before receiving universal cheers for ‘On The Road Again.’

LIDCOMBE OVAL / REDFERN OVAL

Lidcombe Oval was the home of the Western Suburbs Magpies from 1967 to 1986, before they moved 40 kilometres away to Campbelltown, one of a few grounds that disappeared in the 1980s.

Lidcombe Oval wasn’t wasted completely, as it was used by local side Auburn until 2018 before the club disappeared. But it has made a comeback in the NSW Cup in recent seasons with occasional games.

Redfern Oval was the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ home ground for many years, a ground that remains in the heart of the origins of South Sydney.

The Rabbitohs played there between 1948 and 1987, until they moved to the Sydney Football Stadium, and then onto an even bigger ground, with more empty seats, at the Olympic Stadium.

They do play occasional trial games there under the banner of Return to Redfern. But given the number of fans that head out west to Homebush, surely there is room for a few NRL games each year at Redfern? It is still used for the lower grade Rabbitohs sides.

Perhaps an upside of the Coronavirus will see the NRL return to some of these grounds soon, since it appears having no fans is not as important as the games getting played.

SEIFFERT OVAL

Queanbeyan’s Seiffert Oval was Canberra’s home ground from 1982 to 1989.  While it only had a capacity of 15,000, over 18,000 fans packed it when the Raiders played Brisbane in round 12, 1989. The Raiders rewarded their fans with a 27-6 win.

Canberra’s final premiership game at Seiffert was against Illawarra in August that year. Canberra beat the Steelers 16-6. It was Canberra’s fourth straight win in a streak of nine that would result in their first premiership.

The Raiders moved to their current home Bruce Stadium (also known as Canberra Stadium and GIO Stadium Canberra) in 1990.

While Canberra have since played a few trials at Sieffert, the ground is now home to the Queanbeyan Blues United Rugby League Club.