The New England Group 19 Rugby League competition is a Rugby league competition which is run under the auspices of the NSWRL, which absorbed the NSWCRL in 2019. It is based in the New England region. It was originally called the Group 5 Rugby League Premiership but that competition merged with another local competition to form New England Group 19. The competition is generally played on Sundays throughout the winter months, with strong local rivalries as well as inter – town rivalries.
History
Group 5 Rugby League Historically, rugby league in the Northern Tablelands and North West was administered under the Group 5 Rugby League banner.
Group 19 emerged from Group 5 in the early 1980s, and initially featured roughly half of all the clubs from the Northern Tablelands and North West NSW. Group 5 eventually merged into the Group 19 competition after the 1981 season and the league has been known as New England Group 19 ever since.
Group 19 Rugby League In the 1980's, Noel Cleal and his brother Les emerged from Warialda to rise to prominence in the NSWRL Premiership. But it was the Armidale clubs who dominated the 80’s with Narwan winning 5 premierships in a row from 1980 to 84.
The early 1990's were dominated by Glen Innes and the two Moree sides, the Boomerangs and Boars, before the Armidale, Warialda and Inverell sides rose to the top of the league in the mid to late 1990's.
Guyra, known as the Super Spuds, won a hat trick of Premierships from 2002-2004. Glen Innes, Tingha and Inverell dominated the late 2000's and early 2010's with the Moree Boomerangs emerging as the dominant side with back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014.
In just their second season in Group 19 the MacIntyre Warriors claimed the A Grade honours, winning a tight contest over the returning Narwan Eels in 2017. The Eels returned to the competition after several years hiatus due to unruly supporters and unsportsmanlike behaviour.
Unfortunately the MacIntyre Warriors folded in 2018, as a result of many players rejoining the nearby Goondiwindi league side. Their absence paved the way for a return to the premiers circuit for the Moree Boomerangs, a team that wear their indigenous flag themed jerseys with pride.
Ashford folded after the COVID-19 plagued 2021 season, and Moree Boars left the year prior to join Group 4.
The 2023 Under 18's competition was won by the Glen Innes Magpies against Narwan Eels.
Clubs
Current clubs in Group 19 The Tooheys New England Group 19 Premiership currently contains eleven clubs, two of which are in Armidale (the Armidale Rams and Narwan Eels), and nine from the surrounding area.
Team Moniker Ground Men's LLTGroup 5 / 19 Premierships BarrabaBulldogsBarraba Recreation GroundYesYesNone GuyraSuper SpudsGuyra Sports Ground YesYes6 (1969, 1988, 2002-04, 2006) Glen Innes Magpies Kerry Meade Park, Glen Innes Yes Yes6 (1959, 1989, 1991, 2008, 2010, 2012) Inverell Hawks Varley Oval, Inverell Yes Yes 6 (1975, 1998, 2000, 2011, 2016, 2025) Moree Boomerangs Burt Jovanovich Oval, Moree Yes Yes 6 (1992, 1994, 2013-14, 2018-19) Tingha Tigers Tingha Sports Ground Yes Yes 1 (2009) Uralla Tigers Woodville Oval, Uralla Yes Yes 3 (1985, 1990, 2026) Warialda Wombats Rugby League Park, Warialda Yes Yes 13 (1961-65, 1973-74, 1980, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2024)In Recess 2026 Armidale Rams Harris Park, Armidale No No None BingaraBulletsBingara Sports Ground NoNoNone Narwan Eels Newling Oval, Armidale No No 8 (1980-84, 2005, 2022, 2023) Walcha RoosWalcha Showground, WalchaNoNoNone
Former clubs Part of Final 2nd Division Season in 2019 Ashford Roosters (promoted to A Grade 2020-21, then folded) Bundarra Bears (promoted to A Grade, then folded) Tenterfield Tigers (moved to QRL-administered Border Rugby League) (Plus Bingara, Bundarra, Guyra, Tingha, Walcha and Warialda who have moved up to the A Grade competition)
Other Former Clubs
Armidale Galloping Greens (merged with YCW Armidale) Gilgai Wolves (folded) Gwydir Gumbies (demerged to re-form separate Bingara and Warialda clubs) Goondiwindi Boars (Toowoomba Rugby League) MacIntyre Warriors (Boggabilla, Border Rugby League) Moree Boars (Group 4) Uralla-Walcha TigerRoos (demerged to re-form separate Uralla and Walcha clubs) Wright College Redmen Armidale (folded) YCW Armidale (merged with Armidale Galloping Greens)
Champions Group 19 Rugby League Champions Season Champions Score Runners-up 1980 Narwan 23-12 Armidale 1981 Narwan 23–8 Wright College Armidale 1982 Narwan 20–17 Glen Innes 1983 Narwan 16–12 Walcha 1984 Narwan 50–12 Guyra 1985 Uralla 20–4 Glen Innes 1986 YCW Armidale 4–0 Guyra 1987 YCW Armidale 20–18 Uralla 1988 Guyra 36–18 Tingha 1989 Glen Innes 35–6 Armidale1990 Uralla12–4 Glen Innes1991 Glen Innes28–12 Tingha1992 Moree Boomerangs26–18 Glen Innes1993 Moree Boars22–20 Armidale1994 Moree Boomerangs30–20 Inverell RSM1995 Armidale36–28 Glen Innes1996 Warialda36–20 Inverell RSM1997 Armidale34–24 Guyra1998 Inverell RSM 28–14 Armidale1999 Warialda22–20 Inverell RSM 2000 Inverell RSM24–12 Glen Innes2001 Warialda50–14 Guyra2002 Guyra56–24 Narwan2003 Guyra44–36 Narwan2004 Guyra46–22 Narwan2005 Narwan35–22 Guyra2006 Guyra28–8 Inverell RSM2007 Warialda38–24 Guyra2008 Glen Innes26–10 Tingha2009 Tingha46–14 Guyra2010 Glen Innes14–4 Guyra2011 Inverell RSM33–26 Glen Innes2012 Glen Innes60–12 Guyra2013 Moree Boomerangs48–22 Gwydir2014 Moree Boomerangs56–18 Inverell RSM2015 Inverell RSM26–24 Moree Boomerangs2016 Inverell RSM42–28 MacIntyre2017 MacIntyre26–22 Narwan2018 Moree Boomerangs36–28 Glen Innes 2019 Moree Boomerangs36–34 Glen Innes 2020 and 2021 seasons cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic2022 Narwan22–20 Moree Boomerangs2023 Narwan36–22 Inverell RSM2024 Warialda60–32 Inverell RSM2025 Inverell RSM22–12 Tingha2026 Uralla25–24 Inverell RSM
Group 5 Rugby League The competition in the area was previously known as Group 5. Once the Group 19 name became available after the demise of the previous competitions of that name, a breakaway competition from Group 5 became known as New England Group 19. Group 5 merged into this league two years later. The 'Moree' listed is the predecessor of the Moree Boars.
Group 5 Rugby League Champions Season Champions Score Runners-up1957 Walcha11-9 Inverell RSM1958 Walcha13-9 Moree1959 Glen Innes8-2 Moree1960 Moree11-2 Armidale1961 Warialda22–8 Moree1962 Warialda17–6 Armidale1963 Warialda16–11 Guyra 1964 Warialda 21–2 Guyra 1965 Warialda 28–9 Armidale 1966 Armidale 15–10 Warialda 1967 Armidale 7–6 Glen Innes 1968 Moree Mission Jets 9–4 Armidale 1969 Guyra 20–7 Warialda 1970 Armidale 13–3 Glen Innes 1971 Armidale 4–2 Guyra 1972 Moree 11–7 Inverell RSM 1973 Warialda36–7 Inverell RSM 1974 Warialda 17–8 Glen Innes 1975 Inverell RSM 9–8 Moree 1976 Armidale 12–11 Moree 1977 Moree 18–13 Inverell RSM 1978 Moree 37–10 Glen Innes 1979 Moree 12–5 Glen Innes 1980 Warialda 14–9 Glen Innes 1981 Moree 30–13 Inverell RSM
Group 19 Junior League
Current Teams
Armidale Rams Tingha Tigers Glen Innes Magpies Guyra Superspuds Inverell Hawks Moree Boars (Seniors: Group 4) Warialda Wombats
See also
Rugby League Competitions in Australia
References
www.whereistheleague.com.au
External links