Newtown Rugby League Football Club - Established 1908
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Newtown's off-season
Topics will be listed as they are posted.
- RIP Victor Henderson
- RIP Jim Evans
- RIP Alan Cameron
- Behind the scenes with the Jets
- Origin with a Jets flavour
- A touch of royal blue you might happen upon...
- Watch the Rd11 tries - Jets v Bears
- "It's all about rugby league!"
- Ford & Kheirallah just miss out
- Justin Carney wins hearts in the UK too!
- Former Jets help send Toulouse Olympique to semis
- Tuppy dog's playing tactics for 2013 Jets squad
- Special corporate offer for Belmore trial
- 2013 Newtown Jets trial games
- 2013 NSW Cup draw sets up season full of hope
- 2013 newsletter from NSWRL
- Full NSWRL 2013 VB NSW Cup draw out now
- 2013 Trial Matches
- 2013 Jets train at Tamarama
- 13 NSW Cup teams in 2013
- Francis Vaiotu off to France
- Special gesture that has touched everyone
- Former Jets named to play in Cook Islands v Lebanon Cedars test
RIP Victor Henderson
The Newtown RLFC regrets to announce the recent passing of Victor Henderson, who had a long association with the club through the 1950s and 1960s, and into the early 1970s. Vic was a trainer and masseur during a period when the club made two first grade grand finals and produced several internationals. The club extends sincere condolences to the family of the late Victor Henderson.
RIP Jim Evans
The Newtown RLFC notes with regret the recent passing of Jim Evans, a former front-rower and captain of the Newtown RLFC and a NSW representative player in 1954. Jim had previously played with South Sydney and in the Newcastle competition before joining the Newtown club in the early 1950’s. He captained Newtown in the NSWRL 1954 first grade Grand Final against South Sydney. The club extends sincere condolences to his family members and friends.
RIP Alan Cameron
The Newtown RLFC has been advised of the passing of Alan Cameron, a former first grader with the club. Alan played with Parramatta from 1952 to 1955, and with the Newtown RLFC from 1956 to 1960. The club extends sincere condolences to his family members and friends.
Behind the scenes with the Jets
Jesse Penfold from Rugby League Creative is putting together about what transpires behind the scenes of the football operations of Australia’s oldest Rugby League Club. Jesse began filming at the Rd22, Jets-v-Sea Eagles game at Henson Park..
View his first filming session
View his second filming session
Visit the Facebook page of Rugby League Creative [RLC] for more photos and to see other sessions as they are posted.
Origin with a Jets flavour
The Jets and Roosters forward, Tinirau Arona, was part of the NSW Residents representative team that defeated their Queensland counterparts, 22-18, in the curtain-raiser to Origin III.
Ardent Newtown supporters like Sandra Ashley and Wayne Leong were on hand to cheer Tinirau and record his victory smile after the match. And "T" was pretty happy about the win and his 80-minute performance as you can see in the video interview on the Roosters website.
Photos by Wayne Leong
Something to look out for... a touch of royal blue!
If you are strolling down Shepherd Street, Marrickville, not far from Henson Park and the Henson Park Hotel, you will come upon a curious touch of the Newtown Jets' colours created as a stark, modernistic mural.
The artist, David Attwood, is based in Perth but is currently in Sydney as part of the Marrickville council's Artist in Residence program.
David explains: "During my residency, I am making work about local rugby league team the Newtown ‘Bluebags’ Jets and the local folklore that surrounds the iconic club. The mural is a large scale abstraction of the Jet’s bright blue jersey. I am also creating more artworks based on the Bluebags during my time in Sydney, for an exhibition to be held at Marrickville gallery Sydney Non Objective in January of 2014."
David has shown his work both nationally and internationally, and there are more examples of his work on his website but be warned. His website pages scroll to the right so look for the scroll bar at the bottom of your browser otherwise you will think there is only one image on each page!
You can also visit the Marrickville gallery Sydney Non Objective [SNO] website.
I guess David's interest in the Jets just shows how appealing the mighty royal blue colours are!!!!
Watch the Rd11 tries - Jets v Bears
Get a sense of the Rd11 drama as it unfolded at North Sydney Oval by watching the video of the tries as they were scored. See the Jets pile on the tries in the final quarter of the game.
Justin Carney wins hearts in the UK too!
Justin Carney has certainly won over the Castleford fans in the UK and not just with his ability to score wonderful tries. Read about his recent generous gesture towards a young disabled fan - an action that reflects the same spirit he showed in his whole-hearted involvement in the Roosters community program.
"It's all about rugby league!"
Again in 2013, the Newtown Rugby League Football Club is taking a home game to the NSW regional centre of Parkes. Club Director, Terry Rowney, explains why in this short video clip.
Have you made plans for a quick trip to Parkes to cheer the boys to a win? Make a weekend of it - there's a central-western NSW boxing tournament on at Parkes Leagues Club on the Friday night, 7th June, a major race meeting at the Parkes Race Course on Saturday, 8th June, and the Jets v Wolves NSW Cup game is preceded on the sunday at Pioneer Oval by junior RL curtain-raisers.
Ford & Kheirallah just miss out
In a strongly contested game last sunday, 28 April, Toulouse Olympique succumbed to the Pia Donkeys in golden point.
The scores were level at half-time [10-10] and at full-time [22-22] but when Maxime Greseque, the Pia winger, took a penalty kick in extra time and hit the post, the Toulousians were too slow to react and Pia took the rebound and scored a match-winning try.
So there was no happy ending for Johnathon Ford and Mark Kheirallah, who were named in a Pia match preview as the danger men in the TO team. ["Where is TO's strength? Their halves combination, Mark Kheirallah - Johnathon Ford, who enabled TO to beat [top teams] Avignon and Carcassonne."].
However, Willie Mataka, another former Newtown player [2011] is a member of the victorious Pia Donkeys and now goes on to contest the grand final next saturday, 4 May, against the Catalan Dragons feeder team, St Estève XIII Catalan.
Top of pageFormer Jets help send Toulouse Olympique to semis
Mark Kheirallah and Johnno Ford are celebrating today in the knowledge that as half-back and five-eighth, they were instrumental in their team, Toulouse Olympique [TO], winning a place in France's 2013 Élite 1 semi-finals.
"In a tension-filled match, Toulouse Olympique snatched its place for a semi-final at Arnauné Stadium thanks to a victory at Avignon and a field goal by Mark Kheirallah a few seconds before the siren."
Dans un match à suspense, le Toulouse Olympique arrache sa place pour une demi-finale au Stade Arnauné grâce à une victoire à Avignon sur un drop de Mark KHEIRALLAH à quelques secondes de la sirène. Read the match report on the TO website.
Johnno scored 2 tries and Mark, in addition to his match-winning field goal, set up three tries: one with a long pass to his winger who ran 60 metres to the line, one, a perfect pass to Bastien Ader for his second try and one, a short kick to Johnno for his double - a perfect halfback's performance.
Tuppy Dog's playing tactics for 2013 Jets squad
Tuppy Dog is at it again. Ever a proactive Jets supporter, he is seen here demonstrating playing tactics for the 2013 season.
The Newtown coaching staff and players have been studying Tuppy's demo and are working hard to emulate his brilliant sidestep, his nimble high ball takes and his utter commitment to winning!
Just skip the YouTube ads to video 4.
Special corporate offer for Belmore trial
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are offering outdoor corporate boxes with a 4hr food and beverage package for the Belmore game, 10 February.
Cost is $140 + GST per person and include a bonus offer of 2 General Admission tickets per corporate ticket purchased!
Interested Jets supporters should contact Andrew Mortimer on 0414 672 625.
2013 Trials
Trial 1: Newtown v Canterbury-Bankstown
10 February, 5.00pm
General Admission: from $10 - $40
Tickets available now from the Pro Ticket website or by calling Proticket on 1300 12 10 12.
The day's program
11.15am - Gates Open
11.30am – Harold Mathews v Melbourne Storm (Round 1 competition match)
1.00pm – SG Ball v Melbourne Storm (Round 1 competition match)
3.00pm – NYC v Auburn Warriors (Bundaberg Red Cup side)
5.00pm – NRL v Newtown Jets
Trial 2: Newtown v Wests Tigers
23 February, 3.00pm
General Admission: $14.00 - $40.50
Tickets on sale from Monday 21 January from the Ticketek website or by calling Ticketek on 13 28 49.
Tickets for both games also available from the ground.
Prices do not include agency or booking fees..
2013 NSW Cup draw sets up season full of hope
The full draw for the 2013 Jets season of the VB NSW Cup is now on the website.
As in 2012, one of the Jets home games, Round 13, will be played in Parkes, home of the Parkes Newtown Jets Leagues club and the season will climax with a great Reunion Day fixture - Newtown Jets V Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
Plan to cheer on the Jets at our famous home ground, Henson Park, as often as you can. Everyone praises the gameday experience of Henson. Don't miss it and make sure your kids experience it too.
2012 was a wonderful year - up and down performances until we made the finals and then the team, staff and club powered on to their magnificent Grand Final win.
Alas this year, the demise of Balmain and Wests as independent NSW Cup entities will see us miss out on those great clashes for the Ryan-Pringle Shield and the Tom Raudonikis Cup.
2013 newsletter from NSWRL
The New South Wales Rugby League will start the new year with a new newsletter called BLUES NEWS. It will bring rugby league enthusiasts stories, results and information on a fortnightly basis pre-season and weekly during the season.
You can sign up now on the NSWRL website.
Full NSWRL 2013 NSW Cup draw out now
2013 will start with a bang for the Newtown Jets.
We start with an away match at WIN stadium against the team we beat to make the finals and then eliminated in the first week of the playoffs - Illawarra.
Round One – Saturday, 9 March 2013. WIN stadium. Kick-off 3.00pm.
Another away game in Round 2, this time at Eden Park, Auckland against the Vulcans - a triple heaader with the Roosters NRL and NYC against the Warriors.
Round Two – Saturday, 16 March. Eden Park. Kick-off at 3.00pm (NZ Time).
Finally, in Round 3, we are back at Henson, and what a game this will be.
In Week 1 of the 2012 Finals, we faced North Sydney who had won back the Frank Hyde Shield in 2012. We came from behind, Mose ran down an attempted field goal from the Bears, the match went to golden point and Morts kicked an amazing penalty to take us to victory 32-30. Can the 2013 team repeat that performance - may be with a little less heart-stopping tension?
Round Three – Saturday, 23 March 2013. Henson Park. Kick-off at 3.00pm.
Full draw available on the NSWRL website and will shortly be posted on our own.
Changes to 2013 Trial Matches - 2 trials currently scheduled
Sunday, 10 February 2013
Canterbury-Bankstown v Newtown
Belmore Oval
Kick-off time to be confirmed before Christmas
Saturday, 23 February 2013
Wests Tigers v Newtown
Allianz Stadium
Kick-off time to be confirmed
2013 Jets train at Tamarama
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The Newtown Jets 2013 squad even train on Sundays!!!! Here they climb up from Tamarama Beach after a Sunday morning training session. Photo courtesy of NRLFC Director, Jeff Gabriel |
13 NSW Cup teams in 2013
13 teams will contest the 2013 NSW VB Cup competition, including the newest team, the Wyong Roos, and Albury is negotiating with the NSWRL to join the competition in 2014. Wyong is not currently affiliated with any club but if Albury's participation is ratified, it will link up with the Melbourne Storm.
Alas, in 2012, rugby league supporters saw the Wests Magpies competing as a separate entity for the last time - in 2013 and beyond, Wests and Balmain will field a single Wests Tigers team. Wests Magpies are no more.
Check the article on the NSWRL site for detailed information about the 2013 competition and for a list of the competing teams and their NRL affiliations.
Francis Vaiotu off to France
After missing a large part of the 2012 season through injury, Francis Vaiotu came back strongly in the Jets Finals campaign and scored a try in THAT Newtown Jets Grand Final victory.
Francis has since been signed as a Centre/back rower for the strong French Élite 1 competition by the Pia Donkeys who had a very successful 2012 campaign.
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| Francis brought strength and speed to the action in the 2012 Semi-Final | Francis shows off the Pia Donkeys red and green strip | Map of S-W France, showing Pia. Underlined cities show location of some of the Élite 1 clubs. |
Pia is north of Perpignan where Jason Baitieri has just finished a wonderful season playing for the Catalan Dragons. Jason had an outstanding season, earning recognition and plaudits for his performance at Lock for the French national team. The Dragons were coached in 2011 & 2012 by new Roosters coach, Trent Robinson.
Brad Barrett also played in the 2012 Élite 1 competition, representing Montpellier. Montpellier's season ended on a low note but Brad's did not when he came home to rejoin the Jets and play an important part in the Grand Final win.
Jets fans will remember that Newtown had 5 former players playing in the 2012 Élite 1 competition: Steve Naughton [Pia Donkeys], Brad Barrett [Montpellier], Johnathon Ford [Toulouse], Willie Mataka [Avignon], Luke Towers [Limoux]
Samiu Latu is also off to France to play in the 2012-2013 competition.
Read about the 2012 exploits of our former players.
Special gesture that has touched everyone
For those of us who know and respect our Club Captain, Khalid Deeb, the Grand Final win had one disappointment - that a mid-season injury had prevented Khalid from being part of the victorious team, after he had captained the team through the early rounds and been part of the team that came so close to reaching the Grand Final in 2011.
However, as is tradition for Grand Finals, Khalid received a winner's medallion, along with other players named on the extended bench who had contributed to the success of the season and finals campaign.
Like so many of our fine young footballers who quietly perform acts of generosity and caring without seeking recognition, Khalid made a gesture in the dressing room after the game that has touched us all - he gave his winner's medallion to Jack Kelly, the young fellow whom we see at every Henson Park game and frequently too at away games, sitting in his wheelchair, cheering on the Jets.
Comments by two proud rugby league men say it all.
From France, Tas Batieri, Jason's father, wrote "A terrific gesture by Khalid... the sign of a wonderful human being. Jackson will never forget the moment. Newtown in lights once again by the fabric of the people it touches... and moulds…"
Our Newtown president, Barry Vining, commented "What a great gesture. As Jack Gibson once said "I pick the man before the player," of course this must be taken in balance and context but it must be said Khalid is the man. Keep rejoicing."
Former Jets named to play in Cook Islands v Lebanon Cedars test
With less than 400 days until the start of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, Cook Islands - who face Wales, USA and Tonga in Group D - took on Lebanon in a warm up Test at the Crest Stadium, Bankstown, Sunday, 7 October.
The clash marked the end of a sensational "world tour" for Lebanese rugby league whose national team has nown played a match on every continent this year, a unique achievement in the sport's history.
Newtown RLFC has several links with the two teams.
- Former Newtown favourite, Ray Moujalli, and current Newtown lock, Ahmed Ellaz, were selected in the Cedars squad but Ahmed had to withdraw because of a knee injury.
- Our own Club captain, Khalid Deeb, captained the Cedars earlier in 2012 when they narrowly missed out on World Cup qualification in their game against Italy. Roosters fullback Anthony Minichiello captained the Italian side. Ahmed also played in that very close game.
- A number of Newtown players have played in Cook Island teams in recent years. Tinirau Arona who had such a wonderful year for Newtown in 2011, before signing with the Roosters, played in the Cook Islands 2011 team and was selected again for the 2012 test against the Cedars, along with young Rooster, Chris Taripo.
The result of the match was close, 28-24, with Cook Islands just managing to hold out a fast finishing Cedars team.
Watch the Cook Islands players doing their haka
Photo shows Tinirau with two of his Cook Island teammates.