The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales . They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top tier competition in 1988, 79 years after the previous Newcastle based team, the Newcastle Rebels had departed the Sydney competition with the formation of a separate league competition based in the Newcastle region.The club has won two premierships over its history (1997 and 2001) and is one of only two clubs (the other being the Wests Tigers ) that has never lost a Grand Final in which it has participated. It has also produced such players as Paul Harragon , Robbie O'Davis , Danny Buderus and rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns . The team's home ground is Hunter Stadium.

History

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A Newcastle rugby league team had been assembled from players in the Newcastle Rugby League to compete in various competitions for most of the 20th century. The Newcastle Knights entered the NSWRL competition in 1988 with Allan McMahon as coach. Newcastle had previously been invited to field a team in the NSWRL competition for the 1982 season but declined, worried it would weaken the area's local league competition. The Canberra Raiders were admitted to the 1982 competition in their place.The team was a success from the start, becoming one of the most popular clubs in its first season. By 1990, the team was strong enough to enter a play-off for fifth spot.The club won their first competition, the Nissan Sevens, in 1991 and made the playoffs in 1992, where they were beaten by the St. George Dragons . The Knights made the semi-finals again in 1995 when the competition became the Australian Rugby League (ARL), and won the reserve grade premiership the same year.The club stayed loyal to the ARL when Rupert Murdoch started Super League in an attempt to win pay television rights to rugby league. This decision was very popular in the Newcastle and Hunter Region areas. News Limited formed the Hunter Mariners to compete with the Knights in the one and only season of Super League in Australia, but the Mariners failed to win much support in the area.From 1997-2003, the Knights achieved a finals berth for seven consecutive years. The Knights won the 1997 Australian Rugby League premiership , defeating the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 22-16 in the Grand Final. The match is best remembered for its classic finish - Darren Albert breaking a 16-all deadlock with his try just seven seconds from full-time. This win was a huge morale boost to the district following the closure of the area's biggest employer, the BHP Steelworks, being announced earlier the same year. Seventy per cent of the winning squad were Newcastle juniors. In this year Robbie O'Davis won the Clive Churchill Medal .The following season, Knights players Robbie O'Davis , Wayne Richards and Adam MacDougall tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs; however, all three maintained they started use after the Knights' 1997 victory. The three were suspended, despite O'Davis' claims the club was not notified his drug was banned until after his positive test, and MacDougall's medical reason for taking the steroids (his usage continued after he completed his suspension, now approved by the NRL). In addition, the Knights terminated Wayne Richards' contract.-In 1998, the Knights finished equal on competition points with the Brisbane Broncos , but finished second on points differential (sum of points scored less points scored against). In 1999, the Knights were in with a huge chance going into the final rounds only to lose their final two games of the regular season to finish 7th, before being knocked out a week later by Parramatta. The Knights came third in 2000, followed by a National Rugby League Premiership victory over the Parramatta Eels in 2001, with Andrew Johns winning the Clive Churchill Medal . Newcastle were handed heavy underdog status, but shocked the Eels with a 24-0 halftime lead, and the eventual 30-24 win. In 2002, the club finished equal with the New Zealand Warriors on competition points but, once again, finished second in the minor premiership due to inferior points differential. Andrew Johns won the Dally M Medal for best player in the National Rugby League twice in a row in 1998 and 1999, and won an unprecedented third Dally M Medal in 2002. In addition, Johns also won the Provan-Summons Medal (the people's choice award for player of the year) four years in a row from 1998 to 2001, the best performance by any player in the history of the award.In 2004, injuries plagued the club, with Andrew Johns and Ben Kennedy out for extended periods of time. The club missed the finals, finishing 10th despite strong performances from Matthew Gidley , Kurt Gidley and New South Wales' State of Origin captain, Danny Buderus .Following further injuries and a lack of experienced players, the club failed to win a single match in the first half of the 2005 premiership, losing 13 consecutive matches—the worst start to a season by any club since the 1960s. That losing streak finally came to an end with a win away from home over the Penrith Panthers , when they came from 14-0 down at halftime to win 28-24. In a tribute to the club's followers, crowds remained high throughout the losing streak and, while the Knights were unable to avoid finishing last, fans were rewarded for their stoicism as the team managed to win eight of their last eleven games, including a six-game winning streak brought to an end in round 26 by the St George Illawarra Dragons .2006 boded well for the Novocastrians, with the side recruiting Great Britain and Irish winger Brian Carney and former Raider Luke Davico , as well as re-signing 2005 recruit Milton Thaiday and managing to retain the many promising young juniors (led by the likes of Brad Tighe, Jarrod Mullen, Reegan Tanner, and Riley Brown) that have come through in the club's worst ever season. Newcastle ultimately finished the season in fourth position, a stunning reversal in form, but were eliminated from the finals after losing in the semi-final to the Brisbane Broncos , going down 50-6.Prior to the 2006 season kick-off it was announced that the club's longest serving coach, Michael Hagan would depart the club following the 2006 season to begin a three-year contract with the Parramatta Eels . Ironically, during the week of the 2006 season-opening game against Parramatta, the Knights confirmed Parramatta coach Brian Smith would take over coaching duties in 2007.2007 was a year of turmoil for the club both on and off the field. After making a promising start to the season with victories over contenders such as the Canterbury Bulldogs - the club and rugby league world was rocked by the shock retirement of Andrew Johns . The departure of their captain and most influential player had an obvious effect on the team, and although they managed to stay in touch with the top eight until the last third of the season, their season was irreparably damaged by his absence. In addition to this, the Knights endured the worst injury toll in the 2007 season fielding thirty seven players in first grade by season's end.The club also struggled off-field, with Brian Smith's decision to release players such as Clint Newton , Kirk Reynoldson , and Josh Perry meeting with displeasure from the Sydney media and some sections of the Newcastle support base. Newton's defection to Melbourne and Reynoldson's threats of legal action over the club refusing to play him in the fifteen games required to trigger his fourth contract year saw the club's reputation dragged through the mud. The Daily Telegraph campaigned strongly for the sacking of Smith whilst Bluetongue brewery owner John Singleton also threatened legal action after the releases lead to a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign with his company being cancelled.Before the final round of 2007, Tab Sportsbet's Glenn Munsie was reported in The Daily Telegraph saying that the Knights were certainties for the 'wooden spoon' (coming last in the season) and "it was pointless taking money on the wooden spoon gong given Newcastle would be firmly planted at the bottom of the ladder by the end of the weekend". Despite these pressures, the Knights managed to avoid a second wooden spoon in three years - offloading the dreaded piece of 'silverware' to the Penrith Panthers with a last round victory over the Wests Tigers .2008 was a resurgence year for the Knights. They were unlucky to miss out on the finals, going down to the Brisbane Broncos 24-2 in the final round of the competition, which allowed the New Zealand Warriors (who easily overcame the Parramatta Eels ) to take 8th place.The Knights started the 2009 season convincingly, they were placed 2nd in the ladder at round 10. During the season the Knights equalled their best home winning streak of nine wins in 1995. Towards the end of the season coach Brian Smith announced he was leaving the Knights to join the troubled Sydney Roosters in 2010 after their horrific season. Over the next few weeks assistant coach Rick Stone was announced as the new coach of the Knights. Toward the end of the season the Knights lost three games in a row which put them in doubt for the finals, which they had looked like making all year. They then had an outstanding comeback to beat eventual grand finalists, Parramatta up the ladder. They finished the year 7th out of 16 after losing to the Bulldogs in week one of the finals. Rick Stone said he was looking forward to his first off-season in-charge of the team. On 16 December 2009 it was announced player Danny Wicks was caught-up in a drug bust involving amphetamines, cocaine and ecstasy. He was stood down. Eventually Wicks terminated his own contract as he did not want to keep bringing shame on the club and sponsors.For the 2010 season the Knights signed McDonalds and Coca-Cola as major sponsors.In March 2010 Chris Houston was served with notice to attend court on charges of supplying ecstasy and cocaine . He was stood down indefinitely.June 2010 capped of a good period for the Knights after they confirmed the signings of 2009 Toyota Cup Player of the Year Beau Henry on a three-year contract, 2009 Toyota Cup Centre of the Year Siuatonga Likiliki on a two-year contract and former Australian international prop Antonio Kaufusi on a two-year contract. In the next few days, the Knights also confirmed the signings of current Queensland Maroons star Neville Costigan on a three-year contract, and the promising young backrower Kyle O'Donnell on a two-year contract.The Knights finished 11th in the 2010 season. While the club did not play in the finals, Adam MacDougall recorded the most tries for the club and Akuila Uate equalled the most tries in a season marking an otherwise forgetful year for the Knights.In December 2010, former Knight Chris Houston was cleared of all drug charges and re-signed with the club for two years.On 31 March 2011, the Knights were officially taken over by mining magnate Nathan Tinkler after a member's vote in which Tinkler won by 97%.On 12 April 2011, the Knights confirmed the signing of 'supercoach' Wayne Bennett. They finished 8th in 2011, being eliminated in the first week of the finals. After the 2011 season, the Knights cleaned out 15 players, but nine other renowned players were signed including club legends Danny Buderus and Timana Tahu , Kangaroos winger Darius Boyd and Kangaroos forward Kade Snowden .The Knights celebrated 25 years in the NRL competition in 2012. However, the season was a forgettable one. Captain Kurt Gidley succumbed to a shoulder injury early in the season which resulted in him missing the remainder of the year. The team failed to click and won only 10 of their 24 games to finish 12th. During the year, the club signed Willie Mason and Dane Gagai and both proved to be rare highlights in a poor season.The 2013 season was a much better season for the Knights, finishing 7th on the ladder and making the third week of the finals by beating the Melbourne Storm in Melbourne in the 2nd week of the finals. This was the first time the Knights had done this since 2004, however, they were to fall to the Roosters in the following week.In Round 3 of the 2014 NRL Season, the Knights played against the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park, the Storm's home ground. Shortly before half time, Knights forward Alex McKinnon was involved in a three-man tackle that involved Jordan McLean and the Bromwich brothers (Jesse and Kenny). McKinnon was dropped on his shoulders after being flipped upside down, but ducked his head and suffered fractures to his C4 and C5 vertebrae. McLean was overcome with grief when fronting the NRL judiciary that he refused to look at numerous replays of the accident. McLean was given a seven match suspension as a result.Later in Round 19, the NRL held the 'Rise for Alex Round', where for every ticket sold, $1 would be donated to McKinnon to assist with his continuous medical bills and rehabilitation funds. McKinnon accompanied the Knights in their loss against the Gold Coast Titans .On July 7, 2015 coach Rick Stone was sacked after a string of disappointing results, and Danny Buderus will coach for the remainder of the 2015 season.

Recent Matches

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Newcastle Knights Last 5 Results

Date	Home	Score	Away	Notes	Details
30 May 2016	Newcastle Knights	18 - 20	Parramatta Eels		Details
30 Apr 2016	Sydney Roosters	38 - 0	Newcastle Knights		Details
28 Mar 2016	New Zealand Warriors	40 - 18	Newcastle Knights		Details
25 Apr 2016	Newcastle Knights	10 - 26	Manly Sea Eagles		Details
21 May 2016	Wests Tigers	20 - 12	Newcastle Knights		Details

Newcastle Knights Next 5 Matches

Date	Home	vs	Away	Notes	Details
01 Sep 2016	St. George Illawarra Dragons	vs	Newcastle Knights		Details
03 Jul 2016	Canberra Raiders	vs	Newcastle Knights		Details
04 Aug 2016	Newcastle Knights	vs	Canterbury Bulldogs		Details
11 Aug 2016	Newcastle Knights	vs	Penrith Panthers		Details
17 Jul 2016	Newcastle Knights	vs	Melbourne Storm		Details

Emblem and Colours

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In 1988, the Newcastle Knights were re-established to represent rugby league in the Hunter region once more. Newcastle adopted 'The Knights' moniker as a reference to its ‘steel city' industrial heritage. The jersey colours of red and blue were adopted from the district's representative side that wore red jerseys, white shorts and blue socks.

Players

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Current squad

Newcastle Knights current squad

Captains All players that have captained the Newcastle Knights in first-grade. 1. Sortname Sam Stewart Sam Stewart (rugby league) 1988-90 Round 1 40 2. Sortname Glenn Miller Glenn Miller (rugby league) 1988 Round 17 3 3. Sortname Michael Hagan 1989-93 Round 15 91 4. Sortname Peter Johnston Peter Johnston (rugby league) 1990 Round 8 1 5. Sortname Mark Sargent 1994-95 Round 1 26 6. Sortname Robbie McCormack 1994 Round 4 3 7. Sortname Paul Harragon 1995-99 Round 7 71 8. Sortname Matthew Johns 1995-99 Round 18 21 9. Sortname Tony Butterfield 1997, 1999-00 Round 3 46 10. Sortname Andrew Johns 1998, 2000-07 Round 23 106 11. Sortname Bill Peden 2000-02 Round 10 13 12. Sortname Ben Kennedy 2001, 2003-04 Round 24 9 13. Sortname Matt Parsons 2002-03 Finals Week 2 5 14. Sortname Steve Simpson Steve Simpson (rugby league) 2003, 2006-10 Round 15 18 15. Sortname Danny Buderus 2004-08, 2012 Round 7 67 16. Sortname Robbie O'Davis 2004 Round 14 1 17. Sortname Matthew Gidley 2004-05 Round 17 2 18. Sortname Craig Smith Craig Smith (rugby league born 1971) 2005 Round 14 3 19. Sortname Jarrod Mullen 2007, 2010-11, 2013-14 Round 11 21 20. Sortname Kirk Reynoldson 2007 Round 13 1 21. Sortname Adam Woolnough 2007 Round 16 1 22. Sortname Kurt Gidley 2007-15 Round 19 123 23. Sortname Chris Houston Chris Houston (rugby league) 2008-09, 2012-13 Round 13 5 24. Sortname Daniel Tolar 2010 Round 14 1 25. Sortname Wes Naiqama 2011 Round 16 2 26. Sortname Beau Scott 2015 Round 1 2 27. Sortname Trent Hodkinson 2016 Round 1 12 28. Sortname Jeremy Smith Jeremy Smith (rugby league, born 1980) 2016 Round 1 11 29. Sortname Tariq Sims 2016 Round 6 8 Team of the Era In August 2007 the Knights announced their team of 20 years. This team was:Rugby league squad startRugby league squad player | no=68 | nat=Australia | pos=FB | name= Robbie O'Davis Rugby league squad player | no=128 | nat=Australia | pos=WG | name= Timana Tahu Rugby league squad player | no=98 | nat=Australia | pos=CE | name= Matthew Gidley Rugby league squad player | no=108 | nat=Australia | pos=CE | name=Mark HughesRugby league squad player | no=102 | nat=Australia | pos=WG | name= Adam MacDougall Rugby league squad player | no=73 | nat=Australia | pos=FE | name= Matthew Johns Rugby league squad player | no=75 | nat=Australia | pos=HB | name= Andrew Johns Rugby league squad player | no=39 | nat=Australia | pos=PR | name= Mark Sargent Rugby league squad player | no=103 | nat=Australia | pos=HK | name= Danny Buderus Rugby league squad midRugby league squad player | no=35 | nat=Australia | pos=PR | name= Paul Harragon Rugby league squad player | no=126 | nat=Australia | pos=SR | name=Steve SimpsonRugby league squad player | no=130 | nat=Australia | pos=SR | name= Ben Kennedy Rugby league squad player | no=26 | nat=Australia | pos=LK | name= Marc Glanville Rugby league squad player | no=37 | nat=Australia | pos=RE | name= Michael Hagan Rugby league squad player | no=143 | nat=Australia | pos=RE | name= Kurt Gidley Rugby league squad player | no=2 | nat=Australia | pos=RE | name= Tony Butterfield Rugby league squad player | no=70 | nat=Australia | pos=RE | name= Adam Muir Rugby league squad player | no= | nat=England | pos=CO | name=Malcolm "Mal" Reilly | other=coachRugby league squad end Representative Players Coaches Allan McMahon (1988-1991) David Waite (1991-1994) Mal Reilly (1995-1998) Warren Ryan (1999-2000) Michael Hagan (2001-2006) Brian Smith (2007-14 August 2009) Rick Stone (15 August 2009 - 2011) Wayne Bennett (2012-2014) Rick Stone (2015-26 July 2015) Danny Buderus (27 July 2015 - 2015) Nathan Brown (2016-present) Jersey Manufacturers Good Fellows (1988-94) Peerless (1995-1996) Canterbury (1997-1999) Fila (2000-2001) ISC (2002-2007) KooGa (2008-2010) XBlades (2011) ISC (2012-present) Newcastle Knights - Home Jerseys 2008-2010 2011-2012 2013-2014 2015-present Newcastle Knights - Away Jerseys 2010-2011 2012 2013 2014-2015 2016-present - Newcastle Knights - Other Jerseys 2014 Women In League - Alltime Wins and Losses Record Games Wins Drawn Losses 683 340 15 328 Last updated on 6 September 2015. Major Sponsors Henny Penny (1988-1990) BP (1991-1993) Stockland (1995-1997) Impulse Airlines (1998-2001) Flight Centre (2001) QantasLink (2002-2004) Coal & Allied (2005-2011) Hunter Ports (2012-2014) Newpave Asphalt (2015-present) Awards and Player's Achievements Club Premiership Honours Premierships: 2 (1997*, 2001)Finals Series: 12 (1992, 1995, 1997*, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2013)Wooden Spoons: 2 (2005, 2015) ARL season only Club Records and Statistics Individual records Career Most Games Danny Buderus 257Most Points Andrew Johns 2,176Most Tries Akuila Uate 109Most Goals Andrew Johns 917---- Season Most Points Andrew Johns (2001) 279Most Tries Akuila Uate (2010) 21 Timana Tahu (2002) 21 ---- Match Most Points Andrew Johns (Rd 21, 2001) 34 v CanberraMost Tries James McManus (Rd 16, 2013) 4 v Gold Coast Akuila Uate (Rd 26, 2011) 4 v South Sydney Cooper Vuna (Rd 24, 2010) 4 v Brisbane Andrew Johns (Rd 21, 2001) 4 v Canberra Adam MacDougall (Rd 20, 2001) 4 v New Zealand Darren Albert (Rd 3, 2000) 4 v Wests Tigers Most Goals Andrew Johns (Rd 2, 2006) 11 v Canberra Club Song Go Hard, Go Knights (1995 - present) Playin' hard, playin' tough,Just plain good is not good enough,We're gonna show you what league's all about,If there's a lesson to be learned we're handing it out.This game is our game,This town is our town,Turn the heat up and listen to the crowd.Go hard, Go Knights, Go proud.This game is our game,This town is our town,Turn the heat up and listen to the crowd.Go hard, Go Knights, Go proud. Supporters Newcastle Knights fans have been described as being among the most rabid in the NRL and in 2008, 2011 and 2012, were the third best supported club in the league. In 2008, the average home game attendance was 18,750, 19,186 in 2011 and 20,919 in 2012. In 2012, the Knights also had the largest Monday Night Football crowd of the year with 18,637 fans turning up in Round 16.Some notable supporters of the club include;| valign=top | Nathan Tinkler , Australian Miner Magnate* Kim Beazley , Former Australian Politician Michael Costa, Former Australian Politician * Jennifer Hawkins , Former Miss Universe Felicity Ward , Australian Comedian* Josh Pyke , Australian Musician Thomas Fraser-Holmes ,Former Australian Swimmer*James Duckworth, Former Australian Tennis Player Daniel Johns , Australian Musician*Dr. Chris Brown, Australian Celebrity Veterinarian Joel Fitzgibbon , Australian Politician*Tim Clark, Australian Jockey Mark Richards, Australian Surfer Ben Gillies , Australian Musician Citation needed|date=November 2012 | valign=top | Sam Worthington , Australian Actor Citation needed|date=November 2012*Brad Cranfield & Lara Welham, The Block Season 5 winners Kurt Fearnley , Australian Paralympian* Catherine Britt , Australian Musician Mike Rabbitt, Australian Sports Journalist* John Stuart Tate , Lord City Mayor of Newcastle Warren Smith, Surfest Organiser* Jack Newton , Former Australian Golfer Paul Wilson, Former Australian Cricketer