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Originally coming into the competition in 1908, the Newcastle Rebels only lasted until 1909. But in 1988 the Newcastle Knights joined the then NSWRL along with the Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Seagulls.
In the 1997 ARL season, partly due to the Super League wars, the Knights were able to capture their first premiership. They stole the game away from Manly in the last seven seconds with what was one of the best tries in history.
The Knights would again find premiership success in 2001. Many players have been through the ranks of the Newcastle Knights and here are their top ten players.
10. Kurt Gidley
Gidley started his career in 2001 and would end up playing 251 games for the club, the second highest in the club’s history. He scored 80 tries (equal fourth with Andrew Johns) and was the second highest points-scorer for the club with 1228 points.
One of the few members on this list to not win a grand final with the club, Gidley still managed to play twelve Tests for Australia and 12 games for NSW.
9. Mark Sargent
Originally a Newcastle junior, Sargent signed with the club in 1989 after three seasons with the Canterbury Bulldogs. That year he co-won the Rothman’s Medal for best and fairest alongside the Cronulla Sharks’ Gavin Miller.
In 1990, Sargent came off the bench in Game 3 of State of Origin for NSW. At the end of the 1990 NSWRL season, he went on the 1990 Kangaroo tour, becoming the Knights’ first international representative. Sargent played in 11 games on that tour, scoring three tries.
Upon retirement Sargent had played 126 games for the Knights. He also shared the captaincy with Paul Harragon in 1995.
8. Darren Albert
Debuting in 1996, Albert’s speed on the field would lead him to obtaining the title of ‘League’s Fastest Man’. He could run the length of the field in 10.7 seconds.
Although he only had six seasons at the club he was a prominent part of getting the Knights to the 1997 ARL grand final. He was the man he score the wining try in the dying seconds of the 1997 grand final. A speedster on the field, Albert only played one game for NSW and finished his career at the Knights with 86 games and 69 tries.
7. Matthew Johns
Joining the club in 1992, Johns was the Knights’ five-eighth outside his younger brother Andrew for nine seasons. He was a part of the 1997 grand final wining team and ended up playing 176 games for the club.
A skilful player and the perfect accompaniment to his brother, Matthew Johns will always be fondly remembered by the club. He played four Origin matches for NSW and nine Tests for Australia, eight coming in the 1995 World Cup.
6. Akilua Uate
Uate is highest try-scorer for the club, and was the club’s leading try-scorer in 2010 and 2011. At the 2010 Dally M awards, Uate won ‘Winger of the Year’ as well as top try-scorer. He would repeat the same feat the following year for both awards.
In 2012 Uate won ‘Winger of the Year’ for a third consecutive year. After 161 games for the club he scored 110 and still holds the club record to this day. In 2017 he signed a two-year deal with Manly. He has played five times for both NSW and Australia
5. Adam MacDougall
A duel premiership player, MacDougall had two stints with Newcastle. The first was the most successful as he captured the 1997 and 2001 premierships. Arguably MacDougall’s best seasons came in 2000 and 2001, where he scored 30 tries in 41 games and starred in NSW’s comprehensive 3-0 Origin win over Queensland in 2000.
In 2003, MacDougall leaft the club for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, but he made a return in 2007 to finish his career with the Knights. He would play 159 games for the club and represent NSW and Australia 11 times each. He is now the creator of the “Man Shake”, a regular feature on the Sunday Footy Show.
4. Robbie O’Davis
Probably the best fullback that the club has ever had, an instrumental part of the Knights’ 1997 grand final win. He scored two tries in the match, which saw him win the Clive Churchill Medal.
O’Davis also played in the 2001 grand final. A total loyalist to the club he played 223 games and scored 73 tries. O’Davis played 12 Origins for Queensland and eight Tests for Australia.
3. Danny Buderus
Debuting in 1997, Buderus scored his first try for the club in 1998. In 2001 he played at hooker in the grand final. In 2002, Buderus was named the Dally M Hooker of the Year and Dally M Representative Player of the Year.
The 2004 season was his best year with the Knights, becoming only the second hooker in history to win the Dally M Medal for Player of the Year. He also won the Dally M for Hooker of the Year. At the end of the 2008 season Buderus would go to Super League, but he returned in 2012 to play 37 more games for the Knights.
Over his two stints, Buderus played 257 games with the Knights, overtaking O’Davis’ old record, and scored 61 tries. Buderus played 21 consecutive State of Origin games between Game 1 in 2002 and Game 3 in 2008, a NSW Origin record.
2. Paul ‘The Chief’ Harragon
Every team needs a leader up front to be a success and for the Knights it was ‘The Chief’. A one-club loyalist, Harragon came to the Knights in 1988 but did not officially debut until 1989. As a big man he had some of the most fearsome clashes of all time, especially with Manly’s Mark Carroll.
Harragon captained the Knights to their first ever premiership in 1997 and retired in 1999 after playing 169 games. He excelled at State of Origin level, making 20 consecutive appearances for NSW between Game 1 in 1992 and Game 2 in 1998.
Harragon holds the record for the second most consecutive Origin games by a New South Welshman and most appearances by a NSW forward. He also played twenty Tests for Australia. After retirement Harragon became a regular on The Footy Show between 1999 and 2009. He created the “That’s Gold” segment that is still featured today.
1. Andrew Johns
Despite what he did in his personal time, Joey Johns was and is the best man to ever put on a Newcastle jersey. Two premierships, a Clive Churchill Medalist (2001) three-time Dally M Player of the Year (1998, 1999 and 2002), two Golden Boots and an Immortal.
By the time Johns retired he was the NRL’s all time points-scorer with 2176 and he won many more countless awards. A player of a generation and many say the best NSW player of all time, second only to the King, Wally Lewis.
Johns played 23 games for NSW and 24 Tests for Australia, captaining each to victory.
(As with all my lists not everybody can make the grade so here are some honourable mentions: Ben Kennedy, Mark Hughes, Matthew Gidley and Tony Butterfield.)
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