Gateshead Thunder was a professional

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 112 ...

club founded in 1999 in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...

, England, which competed in the 1999 Super League but then merged with

Hull Sharks Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in Kingston upon Hull, West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League ...

after only one season. To retain rugby league in Gateshead, a new Gateshead Thunder club (now Newcastle Thunder) played in Gateshead from 2001 until 2014.

History

In 1998, Gateshead were officially granted a franchise in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

ahead of bids from Swansea and Cardiff. The club was named Gateshead Thunder, the name chosen in a contest, with

Shaun McRae Shaun McRae (born 21 December 1959) is a rugby league coach, who is a former director of rugby at Hull F.C. after a spell with the Salford City Reds. Career Shaun McRae, nicknamed 'Bomber', was born in 1959 and began his rugby league coaching ...

as head coach. Fan attendance in the early part of the season was poor, but rose to 3,895 by season's end. The Thunder finished in sixth position, just two points outside the play off places. They had defeated St. Helens home and away, as well as beating

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...

in the 'on the road' fixture at Tynecastle,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. Matt Daylight was the joint leading try scorer in

Super League IV JJB Sports Super League IV was the official name for the year 1999's Super League championship season, the 105th season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the fourth championship run by the Super League. The start of ...

and winger Ian Herron was one of the leading goal kickers in the league. Gateshead vs limoux

During their sole season in Super League in 1999, the Thunder claimed to have lost £700,000, so on 15 November 1999, the board announced their intention to merge the Thunder with the

, for which they were paid £1.25 million by Super League Europe. The Association of Premiership Clubs blocked attempts for the newly merged company to enter a separate Hull-based team in the

Northern Ford Premiership The Rugby Football League Championship Second Division was founded in 1902 and was the second tier of professional rugby league in the UK until 2003. During the 1990s a third division was established and there is automatic promotion between ...

and so the new club would be called '

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and wer ...

' and play all their home games in Hull itself. The 'merger' has since been accepted to be a simple takeover of Thunder by Hull F.C. to allow them to retain their Super League status. Fans of the original Gateshead club who were opposed to the merger established Thunder Storm, a grassroots organization to keep the clubs separate. Although this ultimately proved to be unsuccessful, the degree of local fan support resulted in the formation of a new Gateshead Thunder club. The new Gateshead Thunder was accepted to play in the Northern Ford Premiership for the 2001 season.

Results

Season summary

1999 season

Coach

Players

* Richard Allwood * Sean Allwood *

Deon Bird Deon Bird (born 27 January 1976) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at club level for Paris Saint-Germain, the Adelaide Rams ( Heritage № 38), Gateshead Thunder, Hull F.C. ...

* Brian Carney *

Garreth Carvell Garreth Carvell (born 21 April 1980) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Wales. Then, he played his entire pr ...

Justin Collins Steve Collins (born 9 April 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at club level for Canberra Raiders, Parramatta Eels, Featherstone Rovers ( Heritage No. 766), Gateshead ...

Ben Sammut Ben Sammut (born 13 February 1975) is a former professional 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 p ...

* Will Robinson *

Matthew Daylight Matthew "Matt" Daylight (born 2 March 1974) is a former Scotland rugby league footballer who played on the . A speedy outside back, he played for five different clubs throughout his career in both Australia and England. Career Australia Dayligh ...

Luke Felsch Luke Felsch (born 5 April 1974) is a former professional Australian rugby league footballer. Career Felsch came to St. George Dragons via Woodlawn College, in Lismore, New South Wales where he played in the Commonwealth Bank Cup. Felsch played ...

Brett Green Brett derives from a Middle English surname meaning "Briton" or "Breton", referring to the Celtic people of Britain and Brittany, France. Brette can be a feminine name. People with the surname * Adrian Brett (born 1945) English flutist and writer ...

Tony Grimaldi Tony Grimaldi (born 21 November 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL. Grimaldi's career spanned over 12 seasons primari ...

* Brett Grogan *

Ian Herron Ian Herron (born 1 October 1971) is a Northern Irish former professional rugby league footballer. Background Herron was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. While attending James Cook High School in Kogarah, New South Wales, he played for the A ...

Andrew Hick Andrew Hick (born ) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played professionally in England and Australia. Playing career Hick played for the Engadine Dragons before making his début for the local Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in th ...

* Mick Jenkins * Danny Lee *

Adam Maher Adam Maher (born 20 July 1993) is a Dutch professional Association football, footballer who plays for Saudi Professional League club Damac FC as a midfielder. Club career Maher made his professional debut for AZ (football club), AZ on 15 Decem ...

* David Maiden * Danny McAllister *

Steve O'Neill Stephen Francis O'Neill (July 6, 1891 – January 26, 1962) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, most notably with the Cleveland Indians. As a manager, he led the Detroit Tig ...

* Craig Wilson

References

{{British Rugby League links 1999 establishments in England Defunct rugby league teams in England Gateshead Thunder Rugby clubs established in 1999 Rugby league teams in Tyne and Wear Super League teams