Group 9 is 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 ...

competition based in

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, and surrounding areas. The competition is played in five grades, with these being Under 17s, Under 19s, Women's League-Tag, Reserve-Grade and First-Grade. Currently a home and away season consisting of sixteen rounds is played. The best four teams then play-off according to the Page-McIntyre system, culminating in the Group 9 Grand final, which is traditionally held at McDonald's Park in Wagga Wagga.

History

1920s-1950s: Foundations

Group 9 Rugby League was formed at a meeting at the Grand Hotel, Harden, following a four-hour meeting on 26 April 1923, which finished at 12:20 am the following morning. The foundation clubs were Harden,

Murrumburrah Murrumburrah is a township in New South Wales, Australia, part of a twin town with Harden. The town is in Hilltops Council local government area in the South West Slopes area of NSW. It is on the Burley Griffin Way, the major link from the R ...

Binalong Binalong (Bine-a-long) is a village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, 37 km north-west of Yass in Yass Valley Shire. At the , Binalong and the surrounding area had a population of 543. History Original inhabit ...

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

, Wambanumba, Monteagle, Bendick Murrell, Cootamundra,

Junee Junee () is a medium-sized town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town's prosperity and mixed services economy is based on a combination of agriculture, rail transport, light industry and government services, and in par ...

Gundagai Gundagai is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Although a small town, Gundagai is a popular topic for writers and has become a representative icon of a typical Australian country town. Located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong, Hon ...

Tumut Tumut () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the banks of the Tumut River. Tumut sits on the north-west foothills of the Snowy Mountains and is located on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri, Wolgalu ...

Adelong Adelong is a small town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the banks of the Adelong Creek. Adelong sits on the Snowy Mountains Highway and is a part of the Snowy Valleys Council. At the , Adelong had an urban popu ...

West Wyalong West Wyalong is the main town of the Bland Shire in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Located west of Sydney and above sea level, it is situated on the crossroads of the Newell Highway between Melbourne and Brisbane, and th ...

Barmedman Barmedman is a rural village in the Bland Shire in the New South Wales state of Australia, located approximately half-way between West Wyalong and Temora. Barmedman began as a service centre for gold-mining operations in the area. Nowadays the ...

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Rid ...

, Temora, Leeton,

Ariah Park Ariah Park () is a small town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, west of Temora and south of West Wyalong. The town is within the Temora Shire near Burley Griffin Way. On Census night 2011, Ariah Park had a population of 26 ...

and Mildil. Aerial view of Anzac Park Oval in Gundagai (1)

Competition in the early years of Group 9 consisted of various challenge type matches, and it was not until 1933 that regular inter-club competition commenced.

1960s-1980s: Murrumbidgee Breakaway and Reformation

In 1966, the rebel Murrumbidgee Rugby League broke away from the competition, leading to four years of reshuffled boundaries from 1967-70. New competitions formed were the Murrumbidgee Rugby League, Group 8/9, Group 9/20 and Riverina Zone 3. Temora and West Wyalong joined the

Group 20 Rugby League Group 20 is a rugby league competition in the region of Griffith, New South Wales, Australia. The competition is played in five grades, with these being Under 16s, Under 18s, Women's League-Tag, Reserve Grade and First Grade. Currently, a hom ...

during this period, leading to the 9/20 name, while other Group 9 clubs played in the Group 8/9 competition. In 1970, when the Group 9 and 20 competitions regained control of football in the district, West Wyalong remained in Group 20, while Temora returned and the Wagga Magpies and Kangaroos joined from Group 20.

1990s-present: Absorption of Group 13 and Decline

After the

Group 13 Rugby League The Group 13 Rugby league Competition is a defunct New South Wales Country Rugby League group competition which was run under the auspices of the Club Rugby League. It was disbanded after the 1991 Season. It covered an area which was the Souther ...

competition collapsed in 1991, the Albury Blues (renamed Greater Southern Rams upon entry due to Tumut already being the Blues), Wagga Brothers, a merged outfit from Adelong and Batlow, and Tumbarumba, joined the competition. However, the competition declined from a peak of 14 clubs in the late 1990s to 9 clubs in 2022. Clubs to leave in this period included

Batlow Batlow is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, on the edge of the Great Dividing Range, 775 m above sea level. Batlow is well known for its apples. About 50 growers in the district supply 1.6 million cas ...

(folded), Harden-

( George Tooke Shield), Tumbarumba (

Murray Cup The Murray Cup is a rugby union club knockout competition which takes places in KwaZulu-Natal, and is affiliated with the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union (KZNRU). History The Murray Cup was founded in 1890, and is named after Sir TK Murray. Murray wa ...

) and Cootamundra (George Tooke Shield).

Turvey Park Turvey Park is an inner southern suburb of Wagga Wagga in southern New South Wales, Australia. Its boundaries are defined by Fernleigh Road to the south, Glenfield Road to the west, Coleman Street to the north and to the east by Willans Hill. Tu ...

and Wagga Magpies also merged in 2005 to form the South City Bulls. Albury Thunder, the successor to Greater Southern Rams and Lavington Panthers, won a threepeat of titles from 2012-2014. Group 9's crisis became even more apparent following powerhouse Junee's decision not to field a First Grade team in 2021 and 2022. However, this strategy paid off as the club won the Reserve Grade title in 2022, with plans to return to First Grade football in 2023.

Current clubs

Previous clubs

First Grade Grand Finals

Team Performance

Reserve Grade Grand Finals

Team Performance

Under 18/19s Grand Finals

Group Nine has run two under-age competitions since 1971. Clubs in the older division compete for the Weissel Cup. This is not to be confused with the ''Weissel Medal'', an award for the First Grade Player of the Year. Both awards are named in honour of the late

Eric Weissel Eric Weissel (;) (1903–1972) was an Australian rugby league footballer, a state and national representative goal-kicking . He played his club career in country New South Wales and is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the ...

, an Australian representative who played and coached several clubs in the region.

Team Performance

Under 16/17s Grand Finals

Team Performance

Ladies League Tag Grand Finals

Team Performance

Juniors

Junior League Clubs

The following clubs participate in the Group 9 Junior Rugby League competition. Where applicable, the club's differing senior team or competition is listed in brackets. * Albury Thunder JRL * Cootamundra Bulldogs ( George Tooke Shield) * Gundagai-Adelong Tigers JRL * Harden-Boorowa ( George Tooke Shield) * Junee Diesels JRL * Temora Dragons JRL * Tumbarumba-Batlow Minor League (

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

) * Tumut Minor League * Turvey Park Lions (South City Bulls) * Wagga Wagga Brothers JRL * Wagga Wagga Kangaroos JRL * Wagga Wagga Magpies (South City Bulls) * Young Cherrypickers JRL

Notable Group 9 Juniors

Albury Thunder * Adrian Purtell Cootamundra Bulldogs * Mark Bryant *

Les Boyd Les Boyd (born 17 November 1956) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played representative football for the Australian national side in international matches as well as the New South Wales si ...

* Glen Buttriss * Jack De Belin * Paul Beath *Luke Berkrey *Dennis Luck Junee Diesels *

Laurie Daley Laurie William Daley AM (born 20 October 1969), also known by the nicknames of "Lozza" and "Loz", is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and a former player who played as a and in the 1980s and 1990s. He represented Au ...

* Jason Lidden * Rick Keast * Adam Perry * Michael Dobson *Craig Breen *Phil Crowe South City Bulls (Turvey Park/Wagga Magpies * Nick Skinner Temora Dragons *

Mark Stimson Mark Nicholas Stimson (born 27 December 1967) is an English former footballer and is currently manager of Hornchurch. He signed his first professional contract with Tottenham Hotspur in 1985, but was unable to gain a regular place in the team. I ...

Trent Barrett Trent Barrett (born 18 November 1977) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is a former head coach and a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He was previously the head ...

Todd Payten Todd Payten (born 18 January 1979) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL and former professional rugby league footballer. As a player he played as a and forward for ...

* Josh McCrone * Steve Reardon *

Ryan Hinchcliffe Ryan Hinchcliffe (born 7 October 1984) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League, as a and , and previously played for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugb ...

* Mark Nicholls *

Ben Hampton Ben Hampton (born 29 February 1992) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a utility for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL. Hampton previously played for the Melbourne Storm and has played in a number of posi ...

* Trevor Barnes * Peter Wynn *

Graeme Wynn Graeme Wynn (born 19 April 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the St. George Dragons and the Western Suburbs Magpies in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership. His position of choice was at ...

Brendon Reeves Brendon Reeves (born 16 July 1976) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Illawarra Steelers, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Northern Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL). He played at fullback. ...

Peter Stimson Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

* Gavin Price-Jones * Steve Reardon * Joe Stimson *

Liam Martin Liam Martin (born 5 March 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a forward and for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League and Australia at international level. He won both the 2021 and the 2022 NR ...

Zac Lomax Zac Lomax (born 24 September 1999) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL). Early life Lomax was born in Temora, New South Wales, Australia. ...

Wagga Wagga Brothers * Jack Littlejohn Wagga Wagga Kangaroos * Peter Sterling *

Steve Mortimer Stephen Charles Mortimer (born 15 July 1956), also nicknamed "Turvey", is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played as a . Mortimer played a Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs club record 272 first-grade games between 1976–88, winni ...

* John Bush *

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

* Greg Watt * Geoff Lawson * Jeff Case * Paul Upfield * Marc Glanville * Luke Priddis *

Jamie Soward Jamie Soward (born 13 November 1984) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. A New South Wales State of Origin and Indigenous All-Stars representative , he previously played for the Sydney Roosters, Penrith Panthers and ...

Nigel Plum Nigel Plum is a journeyman Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He played for the Sydney Roosters, Canberra Raiders and Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League. He was known for his tackling technique, most notably cutt ...

Cameron King Cameron King (born 17 September 1991) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 2010s and 2020s. He made his debut for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL in 2010 with whom he won the 2011 ...

Young Cherrypickers * Rod Slater * Peter Spring *

Brett Mullins Brett Mullins (born 21 January 1972) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, and early 2000s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative back, he played his club ...

Simon Woolford Simon Woolford (born 7 April 1975) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who was most recently the head coach of the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League, and a former professional rugby league footballer. He played in the NRL ...

Jordan McLean Jordan McLean (born 8 October 1991) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level. He has previously played for ...

* Angus Crichton

References

External links

Group 9 Homepage
{{Rugby League in New South Wales Sport in Wagga Wagga Rugby league competitions in New South Wales

History

1920s-1950s: Foundations

1960s-1980s: Murrumbidgee Breakaway and Reformation

1990s-present: Absorption of Group 13 and Decline

Current clubs

Previous clubs

First Grade Grand Finals

Team Performance

Reserve Grade Grand Finals

Team Performance

Under 18/19s Grand Finals

Team Performance

Under 16/17s Grand Finals

Team Performance

Ladies League Tag Grand Finals

Team Performance

Juniors

Junior League Clubs

Notable Group 9 Juniors

See also

References

External links