The Newcastle Thunder are 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 based in
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
, England. They play in the
Betfred Championship competition, the second tier of rugby league in the United Kingdom. They play their home matches at
Kingston Park, also home to rugby union side
Newcastle Falcons. The club was known as Gateshead Thunder until 2015.
History
The club was formerly known as Gateshead Thunder, and played their home games at
Gateshead International Stadium in
Gateshead
Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary ...
. The club was formed by supporters of the
original Gateshead Thunder after that organisation made the decision to relocate to Hull at the end of the 1999 season. The new club entered the
Northern Ford Premiership for the
2001 season, however they struggled to compete, and eventually finished 17th out of the 19 clubs.
Gateshead continued to struggle in the following season, finishing bottom of the league in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
. When the Northern Ford Premiership was split into two divisions for the
2003 season the club joined
National League Two, and again finished in the bottom two, being kept off the bottom only by new entrants
London Skolars. The club's fortunes began to improve in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...
, a seventh-place finish being enough to gain a first ever place in the play-offs, before losing to
Workington Town in their first ever play-off game. The club again finished seventh in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
, but went on to lose 46–18 to
Featherstone Rovers in the play-offs.
In 2008 the club won its first silverware, finishing the season as League 1 champions. As champions, the club were promoted to the
Championship, and avoided on-field relegation by finishing seventh under coach Steve McCormack Thunder's joy at securing a second season in the second tier was however short-lived, as the club was wound up following a dispute between the directors. A new company was formed to continue the club, however the club had to restart as a Championship 1 side, effectively being relegated for the
2010 season.
Gateshead Thunder were taken over by the owners of rugby union side
Newcastle Falcons in 2015. The club was rebranded as Newcastle Thunder and applied for permission to use
Kingston Park in
Newcastle as their home ground.
Further silverware was earned in 2016, when Newcastle defeated
North Wales Crusaders
The North Wales Crusaders ( cy, Croesgadwyr Gogledd Cymru Rygbi'r Gynghrair) is a professional rugby league club based in Colwyn Bay, Wales. They are the successors to the former Super League club Crusaders Rugby League. Crusaders compete in B ...
to win the
League 1 Shield
The League 1 Shield was a competition that is played at the end of the regular rugby league season in the League 1 Super 8s of the League 1 (rugby league).
Structure
The teams that do not qualify for the Super 8s in League 1 play each other ...
On 10 December 2020 Thunder were promoted to the
Championship by a committee to replace
Leigh Centurions who were, in turn, promoted to
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 w ...
to replace
Toronto Wolfpack, who went out of business. The Thunder will play in the 2021 Championship season.
Kit manufacturers and sponsors
2022 squad
2023 transfers
In
Out
Players
Notable former players
*
Kerrod Walters
Kerrod Walters (born 20 October 1967) is an Australian former rugby league footballer. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative , he played most of his club football with the Brisbane Broncos, with whom he won the ...
*
Russell Aitken
*
Ryan Bailey
*
Matt Barron
*
David Bates
*
Luke Branighan
*
Tabua Cakacaka
* Sam Crowther
* Simon Donaghy
*
Scott Dyson
*
Ian Dickinson-Hall
*
Paul Franze
*
Andrew Henderson
*
Kris Kahler
*
Wade Liddell
Wade "Wade-o" Liddell born 1 June 1979 is a former Scotland international rugby league footballer who played as a for the Easts Tigers in the Queensland Cup. He has previously played for the Gateshead Thunder.
Background
Wade Liddell was ...
*
David Mycoe
*
Kevin Neighbour
*
Chris Parker
*
Damien Reid
*
Stewart Sanderson
*
Netani Suka
*
Nick Youngquest
Nick Youngquest (born 28 July 1983) is an Australian model and former professional rugby league footballer. He played in the National Rugby League for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, St. George Illawarra Dragons, Penrith Panthers and the Cante ...
Past coaches
Also see ''
:Newcastle Thunder coaches''
*
Andy Kelly (2001-2002)
*
Dean Thomas (2005-2006)
*
Dave Woods (2006)
*
Chris Hood (2009)
*
Steve McCormack (2009)
*
Richard Pell (2010-2011)
*
Stanley Gene (2013-2014)
*
Simon Finnigan (2019-2020)
*
Eamon O'Carroll
Eamon O'Carroll (born 13 June 1987) is a former Ireland national rugby league team, Ireland international rugby league footballer who last played for the Widnes Vikings. Eamon progressed through the Wigan Warriors Academy after signing in 2002 ...
(2020–present)
Records
:''Correct to September 2017''
Player records
* Most tries in a match: 5 by
Andy Walker vs
London Skolars 22 June 2003
* Most points in a season: 246 by Chris Birch, 2005
* Most career tries: 64 by
Kevin Neighbour, 2001-2013
* Most career goals: 137 by
Paul Thorman, 2001–2004
* Most career points: 365 by Paul Thorman, 2001–2004
Team records
*Biggest win:
::98-6 ''v.''
West Wales
West Wales ( cy, Gorllewin Cymru) is not clearly defined as a particular region of Wales. Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of '' Dehe ...
(at
Kingston Park Stadium, 23 September 2018)
*Biggest defeat:
::132-0 ''v.''
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...
(at Memorial Stadium, 16 May 2010)
Attendance records
*Highest all-time attendance:
::6,631 ''v.''
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
(at
Gateshead International Stadium, 16 May 1999)
Seasons
Honours
*
RFL League 1
RFL League One (for sponsorship reasons currently known as the Betfred League One) is a professional rugby league competition based in the United Kingdom. Part of the British rugby league pyramid, the competition features clubs from England an ...
:
::Winners (1): 2008
::*
League 1 Shield
The League 1 Shield was a competition that is played at the end of the regular rugby league season in the League 1 Super 8s of the League 1 (rugby league).
Structure
The teams that do not qualify for the Super 8s in League 1 play each other ...
:
:::Winners (1): 2016
Juniors
Newcastle Thunder run player development programmes for U12 through to U16's
Thunder also run a U16 Scholarship side and an U19 Academy side that play in the Super League U19's structure
The 2018 u16 team has seen wins against London Broncos, Widnes Vikings and Leeds Rhinos and the u19's picking up an early season win against Wakefield Trinity
Notes
References
External links
Newcastle Thunder websiteGateshead Thunder on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newcastle Thunder
Rugby league teams in Tyne and Wear
English rugby league teams
Rugby clubs established in 1999
1999 establishments in England
Gateshead Thunder
Sport in Newcastle upon Tyne