The Aston Bulls were a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

football team based in Aston Township in

Delaware County, Pennsylvania Delaware County, colloquially referred to as Delco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With a population of 576,830 as of the 2020 census, it is the fifth-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the third=smallest in area. Del ...

. The team played in the

American National Rugby League The American National Rugby League (AMNRL) was a rugby league organization in the United States that operated from 1997 to 2014. The country's first domestic rugby league competition, it hosted an annual league from 1998 through 2013. Throughout it ...

(AMNRL), the United States' oldest competition, from 1998 until 2013. They were known as the Glen Mills Bulls until 2006. The Glen Mills Bulls began play in the 1998 season as a charter member of the competition that eventually became the AMNRL. The team was affiliated with the

Glen Mills Schools The Glen Mills Schools is a youth detention center for juvenile delinquents located near Glen Mills in Thornbury Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, for boys between 12 and 21 years of age. The school was founded in 1826 ...

in the Glen Mills until 2006, when they relocated to nearby Aston Township and became the Aston Bulls. The team ceased operations when the

AMNRL The American National Rugby League (AMNRL) was a rugby league organization in the United States that operated from 1997 to 2014. The country's first domestic rugby league competition, it hosted an annual league from 1998 through 2013. Throughout it ...

folded its domestic competition in 2013. During their run the Bulls were the AMNRL's most successful team on the field, advancing to the Grand Final eleven times (every year from 1998 to 2008) and winning the league championship six times. The club record for most tries in the regular season is 14, which is held by Liam Mulhall who came to the club from Brisbane Norths Devils and played in the 2008 AMNRL season.

History

The team was founded in 1998 by Australian former

footballer David Niu. Niu had been involved in promoting rugby league in the United States since the early 1990s, and introduced the sport to the

in the Glen Mills area of

, where he was employed as a teacher.Hannan, Tony (April 2002)
"Niu York, Niu York!"
''Rugby League World''. Retrieved June 13, 2011. In 1998 Niu's former teammate, Matthew Elliott, coach of England's

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...

team, visited Philadelphia and saw Niu's plans for the sport. Elliott and the Bulls agreed to support the Glen Mills club in its first year, providing them jerseys and the Bulls name. For the first nine years of operation the Bulls team and staff were made up of employees of the Glen Mills Schools, and the team played its games at the school's Jack Pearson Stadium in Concordville.About the Aston Bulls RLFC
/ref> The Bulls were one of the charter franchises of

Super League America The American National Rugby League (AMNRL) was a rugby league organization in the United States that operated from 1997 to 2014. The country's first domestic rugby league competition, it hosted an annual league from 1998 through 2013. Throughout it ...

, now the

, and quickly became the most dominant team in the competition. They won the league championship six times: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005.Aston Bulls RLFC Records & Achievements
/ref> Additionally, they competed in the Grand Final in 2002, 2003 and 2006, when they hosted the 2006 American National Rugby League championship match, at which they lost narrowly to the

Connecticut Wildcats Rugby league has been played in the United States by club teams since the 1970s. In that time a number of amateur and semi-professional clubs have been established and ended up going defunct. American National Rugby League * Aston Bulls (1998– ...

in front of a crowd of 2,500. After the 2006 season the Bulls ended their affiliation with the Glen Mills Schools and relocated to nearby Aston Township, renaming themselves the Aston Bulls. Since the relocation they have continued their uninterrupted streak of playoff appearances, advancing to the Grand Final in 2007 and 2008.

Uniform and colors

In their inaugural season the Bulls wore jerseys donated by the

. Thereafter they adopted the colors of blue and white with the uniforms being predominantly blue, similar in style to the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

team the Canterbury Bulldogs, after the two clubs agreed to an affiliate partnership with each other.AMNRL - American National Rugby League
/ref> After the name change to the Aston Bulls, the club adopted the new colors of gold and white for their home uniform.

Current roster

Honors

* AMNRL Championship titles: 6 :: The club won 6 AMNRL titles when known as the Glen Mills Bulls. They have additionally advanced to the Grand Final 3 further times.

References

External links