Oberon Tigers is an Australian

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 ...

football team based in the Central West town of

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fair ...

. The Tigers first played in the

Country Rugby League The Country Rugby League of New South Wales (CRL), formed in 1934 and disbanded in 2019, was the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in areas of New South Wales outside the Sydney metropolitan area until it merged with NSW Rug ...

-controlled

Group 10 Rugby League Group 10 is a rugby league competition in the Central West area of New South Wales, under the auspices of the New South Wales Rugby League. It had been under the control of Country Rugby League but that changed after the NSWRL agreed to a new con ...

in the competition's inaugural season in 1947, before dropping out at the end of the 1951 season. The Tigers returned in 1954 and competed in Group 10 until the end of the 1996 season. It also had another two spells in the competition from 2005-2008 and 2011-2019. They now play in the

Woodbridge Cup The Woodbridge Cup is a rugby league competition run by the New South Wales Country Rugby League. It encompasses smaller senior clubs in the Mid-West and Central West of the state. The neighbouring Mid-West Cup competition's remaining clubs mer ...

. The club is one of the most successful teams in Group 10 history, having won 11 top grade titles, including a Group-record seven consecutive premierships from 1961 to 1967 and playing in a record 12 consecutive grand finals from 1960 to 1971. However, the club has not won a Premier League title since 1975 and the Tigers' last grade success was when its Under 18s side won the 1989 grand final. Oberon was captain-coached by former

NRL 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 ...

forward

Josh Starling Josh Starling (born 18 May 1990) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League and his position was prop. B ...

for 2019, who previously played for South Sydney, Manly and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. Starling left the club at the end of 2019 due to family reasons. The team withdrew from Group 10 at the end of 2019 season and competed in the

Mid West Cup The Mid West Community Cup is a rugby league competition in the Central West area of New South Wales. The premiers are awarded the Blayney Citizens' Cup, the oldest continuously awarded trophy in Country Rugby League, with Neville the first rec ...

from 2020-2021.

History

Oberon Tigers were one of inaugural sides of

in 1947. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the Tigers asserted itself as one of the best teams in

, let alone Group 10. From 1958 to 1971, Oberon featured in all but one grand final, missing out in the 1959 decider. The club would achieve a Group 10 record seven consecutive premierships from 1961 and 1967 and featured in 12 consecutive grand finals from 1960 to 1971. The Tigers would also win the prestigious

Clayton Cup The Clayton Cup is a trophy that was awarded by the Country Rugby League to the NSW country rugby league team with the best overall record for that season. To be eligible, the team must win the highest level of competition in its region. Usually t ...

in 1964, a trophy awarded by

to the

NSW ) , 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 ...

country

team with the best overall record. The club would begin its incredible run in 1961, claiming a 22−7 win over Lithgow Workmen's Club in Bathurst, with star of the match being captain-coach Tony Paskins. The Tigers would enjoy further success Workmen's, defeating the Lithgow-based side in the 1962 decider 14−7 at

Wade Park Wade Park is a sports ground originally constructed for cricket located in the town of Orange, New South Wales, Australia. Cricket The park has hosted Sheffield shield matches, an International T20 match between Hong Kong and Sydney Thunder ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

, the 1963 decider 23−2 in Bathurst, the 1964 decider 30−2, and the 1965 decider 29−5. Oberon would face a different opponent in 1965, this time taking on Bathurst Charlestons at the Bathurst Sportsground, where Oberon prevailed 23−10. The Bathurst Sportsground hosted more than 4,000 for the 1967 decider to see Oberon completely outclass Charlestons 23−2. However, Oberon's record run on seven consecutive Group 10 premierships would come to an end, as Bathurst St Patrick's managed a narrow 9−8 win in the 1968 decider. While the Tigers outscored St Patrick's with two tries to one, the goal-kicking from the Bathurst team proved the difference. Oberon would win three more titles in the 1970s, a 7−6 win over Cowra in 1970, a 12−5 win over Cowra in 1971 and a 17−4 win over Ex-Service's. The 1975 premiership would remains the Tigers last premiership as of the 2018 season. The club would then go on to struggle for many years and left

in the early 2000s, joining the second-tier Mid West Cup for several seasons, before returning to the top-flight in 2012. In earlier 2016, Oberon, who were considered the competition's cellar-dwellers, pulled off the signing of the season when it recruit former Manly,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

St George Illawarra The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George, Sydney, St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since NR ...

forward George Rose. Rose joined his brothers Matt and Trent for the 2016 season, however, he would leave the club at the end of the season. Oberon would pull-off another signing coupe when it recruited former

playmaker Luke Branighan to the club for the 2017. Branighan had spent the past four years as the coach of

Group 9 Rugby League Group 9 is a rugby league competition based in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, 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. ...

club Young Cherrypickers. Branighan would lead Oberon to the 2017 premiership decider against Orange CYMS, the club's first grand final since 1975, however, the Tigers would surrender a 22−8 lead with 20 minutes remaining to lose 23−22 by a last-gasp field goal from CYMS' captain

Mick Sullivan Michael Sullivan (12 January 1934 – 5 April 2016), also known by the nickname of "Sully", was an English World Cup winning professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s, and coached in the 1970s. He set the record fo ...

. The Tigers string of top signings continued in 2018, with Josh Starling recruited to the club. However, the Tigers was unable to match its 2017 run and were knocked out of the finals in the opening week by eventual premiers

Bathurst Panthers Bathurst Panthers is an Australian rugby league football team based in the Central West city of Bathurst. The Panthers have played in the Country Rugby League-controlled Group 10 Rugby League since 2000, following the amalgamation of the Ba ...

. Branighan would depart the club at the end of the season, after signing on to coach Bathurst St Patrick's for the 2019 season, meaning Starling was promoted to the captain-coach role for 2019.

Team of the century

Oberon Tigers' Team of the Century was announced in August 2008, in conjunction with the

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...

's celebration of 100 years of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

.A big night planned for Tigers
in
Western Advocate
', 13 November 2008

Team records

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

: (11) 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975

Runners-up A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

: (4) 1958, 1960, 1968, 2017 Minor premiers: (8) 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1975, 1976

: (1) 1964

: (2) 2003, 2020 First Division: (4) 1962, 1966, 1975, 1976 Under 18s: (2) 1972, 1989

References

External links

Group 10 ladder
- from Sporting Pulse
Group 10
on Country Rugby League's official site {{Country Rugby League Rugby league teams in New South Wales

History

Team of the century

Team records

See also

References

External links