After 40 years in the wilderness, the notion of the Newtown Jets re-entering the top flight of rugby league in Australia is perhaps the most exciting thing that could happen to the game since … well, the Dolphins.
With the club reportedly eyeing off the developments in Perth around a potential 18th NRL franchise and officials keen to maintain the iconic brand, the game could do far worse than use it to add some passion and history to the next expansion move.
In 1908, the team then known as the Bluebags was born at the Newtown Town Hall. It was as working class an area as you could find at the time and far from the eclectic melting pot Newtown has now become.
Now, my kids head there in the search of rare vinyl records, a soy latte and a gluten free, dairy free or vegan treat to bring home to their dad. However back in the day, the people of Newtown were hard-core rugby league folk who flocked to the team’s home ground at Henson Park.
It is simply wonderful that a trip to the ground to this very day presents a terrific spectacle and a brilliant day of nostalgia. Newtown became the Jets in 1973 and after a departure from the NSWRL competition at the end of the 1983 season, was reborn in the 1990s and is now competing in the NSW Cup in 2023.
A spectator holds an Order of Service booklet as he attends the Tommy Raudonikis Memorial Service at the SCG in 2021. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Little were Jets fans to know during the Tommy Raudonikis-inspired brilliant run to the decider in 1981, where the Eels won the first of a hat-trick of premierships, that it was to be their last hurrah, as the powers at be grew ever concerned about the long-term future of the club.
As the game grew, the financial pressures of competing in the top tier simply became too great and the changing demographic of the area had a significant impact of attendance and the provision of local players likely to work their way into the team.
My grandmother’s house sat on the corner of Pine Street and Wardell Road in Marrickville, just a six-minute walk from Henson Park. I still have vivid memories of watching all three grades after the short walk, seated on the expansive hill and being inspired as a very young and ambitious footballer.
Once, a violent storm swept across Henson, sending the entire attendance into the grandstand on the opposite side of the ground. How we all fit in I will never know.
On another occasion when the Bulldogs were visiting, I recall watching Canterbury great Garry Hughes running around in reserve grade and being stunned when, after his boot had slipped from his foot, a Newtown player threw it into the crowd and it landed with a thud alongside me.
My old man was a Jets fan from birth and he bought me a jersey at five, in a desperate attempt to steer me away from the Bulldogs, who I had fallen in love with after being born in Canterbury Hospital and living in the club’s catchment area.
Mum was far less interested in the game, yet attended matches at Henson with her extended family. Her ‘Uncle Snow’ was blind and apparently, after finding a relatively flat spot to sit and watch the game in the concourse, they would face him the wrong way, as poor Snow kept asking for updates on the progress of the game.
Strange family my lot.
Yet, in a funny way, that history is exactly what the game of rugby league thrives on and could benefit from again with a return of the Jets in Perth.
The NRL is a better competition for having foundation clubs South Sydney and Eastern Suburbs still competing, it is perhaps the most passionate match of any season. Whilst someone diluted, the presence of Western Suburbs and Balmain in the morphed Wests Tigers is also important and keeps many long-term supporters still interested in the game.
There is rarely a more passionate contest than when the Rabbitohs meet the Roosters. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Despite numerous efforts, it has been sad that the Bears have not made what seemed like a logical return to the competition, based on the Central Coast.
However, casting aside the frustration of long-standing North Sydney fans, the NRL has a golden opportunity to reconnect with the Jets mob and build a whole new wave of support in Perth, a town not unfamiliar with a rugby league presence.
Just imagine the Perth Jets returning to Sydney for a couple of annual home matches at Henson Park (after a stadium upgrade no doubt) and taking on the Roosters or Bunnies. It is simply a mouth-watering concept.
While not too far from a pipe dream at this stage, there does appear to be hope. Should a Perth-based Jets come to fruition, the Bears would be the last remaining foundation club still in existence that could be brought back into the fold.
There would be something circular about that and it would remove some of the disenfranchisement that was brought about during the Super League era, the mergers and the extinguishing of clubs that took place late last century.
Please bring back the Jets and make them a success in Perth. The NRL will be better off for it.
Redcap
Roar Guru
"someone willing to waste that much time to accomplish so little" Maybe so, but at least I put forward an argument. You're not even capable of that and you've been at it just as long. What an intellectual lightweight you are.
Emcie
Roar Guru
Lower level/grade/division/bracket/classification, pick whichever one takes your fancy. I don't understand why you find it necessary to try mock anyone who disagrees with you by misconstruing the most benign statements. I've been on this site since 2014, yeah there's been an article or two on tribalism. Its hardly an obscure topic on a sports forum, yet your interpretation would fly in the face of any I've seen promoted before. You haven't argued the merits at all. You justified your original comment by saying Rellum was "by definition" wrong, and now you've already walked that definition back to "my interpretation". What point am I supposed to be arguing? All I did was try and clarify what "we get behind our teams, all of them" meant, only to be met with four multi-paragraph responses of negligible substance that boil down to "this is my truth and you're both dumb". I mean come on mate, your grand, irrefutable defence is arguing your interpretations of what the specific definitions of an anthropological term metaphorically applied to supporting a sports team should be. I'm not interested in pursuing any discussion with someone willing to waste that much time to accomplish so little. Not without an independent mediator anyway. So no, I'm not going to keep a dead comment section on life support just to play charades with you. I'm sorry if that bothers you, but seriously, who gets hung up on someone not replying in a comment section a month ago...
Redcap
Roar Guru
Good grief. Lower levels? You’ve read a few articles and now you’re an expert? __ I provided my interpretation of what the concept means in RL. I may well be wrong, but I will continue to argue the merits of my point. I note that yet again you have not argued any particular point – just attempted to argue that mine is somehow invalid based on some vague allusions to your own supposed authority. __ I also read all of the comments – I’m not now picking one and twisting it suit some vague addendum I’ve contrived. Say what you will about poor Rell – he/she may not have the faintest what it’s talking about, but at least it takes a firm position. __ I also responded in some detail to your rather insipid argument about an alleged lack of recognition of, well, something or other, though I’m still no wiser about what the exact issue is, or what should supposedly be done about it.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
I have replied, but it is in the ether.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Yes, the national competition demanded a name change. Did the Sydney Tigers ever play the Sydney Bulldogs? My frivolous comments were about the early history of the Sydney Rugby League. It was a residential competition, so you had to play for the club in the rugby league area in which you lived. The NSWRL gave Souths most of the suburbs to the east of the smaller Glebe and Newtown districts whereas Eastern Suburbs were given a relatively small area. Compare Souths juniors to the Easts juniors. Wests got a large district, but sparsely populated. No wonder Souths had the biggest supporter base.
Emcie
Roar Guru
It was a separate issue? The comment you jumped in to pull Rellum up on was in direct response to to Brett talking about Logan and Ipswich combining. You took the words in a comment specifically about comparing tribalism within Brisbane and Sydney club comps out of context and attached your usual complaints about "Queensland-exceptionalism". Queensland/Origin hadn't even been mentioned at that point. I'm not sure it's me reframing things here... You seem to have a very narrow definition of tribalism in sport. I've read a lot of articles on whether or not tribalism in sport is healthy at international, domestic or local levels, but I've never seen someone try and argue that it cannot exist at all if supporters follow different teams at a lower level. I doubt that would hold up in any discussion on the matter
Redcap
Roar Guru
BTW, there is no state rivalry, dear Rell. It's a figment of your imagination.
Redcap
Roar Guru
No, I've read all the comments and understand the issues raised. The bit about Ipswich/Logan was a related but separate issue. Your attempts to reframe them to suit your current argument are very amusing, though. Tribalism can indeed exist on different levels, but there are some preconditions. No group exists independently of one another, of course, but a diversity of groupings with distinct and competing preferences (tribalism) does not exist where there is a unifying, central theme which, according to poor Rellum, is a key feature of RL in Qld. This makes Qld RL supporters far more akin to sects within a common organised religion, rather than distinct 'tribes.'
Emcie
Roar Guru
You're conflating two separate comments. Brett first compared rivalries in Sydney to State of Origin, Rellum said they're not in the same class. Tribalism can exist on multiple levels. In a separate comment Rellum said that "we get behind all our teams, it's far more tribal" in a thread where he's arguing that Logan wouldn't support a joint team with Ipswich. You couldn't have read that more wrong if you tried. You jumped into a thread 13 comments deep by reading something the wrong way and belittled his English skills. I "chimed in" to clarify what Rellum said, in a thread I was already partaking in. Your low opinion of me aside, I didn't see any reason why I'd be unqualified to comment.
Redcap
Roar Guru
"What specific flaw are you referring to?" Rellum was describing a system of distributed but common loyalty/patronage based on a central theme (Qweenslander!) as an an example of tribalism, when it is, as already explained, by definition, the opposite, especially compared to the syndicalist tribalism which exists elsewhere, including NSW. There is no interstate tribalism because there is no unifying central theme in NSW. "I thought this was a public internet forum, didn’t realise I needed permission to comment." Back to playing the victim I see. Nobody's suggesting you need permission, I simply expressed surprise you chimed into something which didn't involve you and which, based on what I've observed of your analytical capability, you couldn't substantively contribute to. "The fact that you seem to judge an [sic] opinions validity on the basis of the sentence structure and grammar used to express it instead of the intended meaning..." You're aware that logic and the language associated with it involve a little more than structure and grammar, right? I was well aware of the intended meaning and, as I've already pointed out, the intended meaning was wrong. "an impressive knack for only interpreting things in a way that benefits your own preconceptions" Oh, pardon me, Mr Total Perspective. Next time I'll try to forget all my preconceptions and engage just as you always do, with no preconceived biases at all. :laughing:
Redcap
Roar Guru
"Saying the NRL is just a continuation of the NSWRL is simplifying it a bit." I agree, which is why I said "the NRL is primarily a continuation of the NSWRL". Which the ARL was and the NRL is - the NSWRL teams (including Brisbane) and a very similar competition structure incorporated into a different operating and governance model, along with four additional teams from Qld, NZ and WA - and still largely is, as reflected in the composition of the ARLC. "it’s only very recently that QRL statistics have even been incorporated into historical players profiles by the ARL" I agree that was a problem and it still is to some extent. It was and is more a problem of availability than recognition. There are still big gaps in the historical records of rugby league in Queensland. Very gradually, dedicated people are piecing things together, but it seems likely some of those gaps won't ever be adequately filled. Which is a shame - if you're familiar with my work on this site, you'll see I love history. I'd like to be able to apply some of my ideas to the BRL/QRL, but it's just not possible in the absence of a complete historical record. There's also another problem which I'd hesitate to define in absolute terms. A relative paucity of will or historical curiosity, perhaps. Whatever it is, the result is history that is not only incomplete but diffuse. I would posit that I know more about the great Jim Craig's career, including his time in Qld, than most people alive today, but not through any official history or online source. Even to the disappointment of somebody from NSW, there is no equivalent of Ian Heads' masterpiece on the history of the NSWRL. "[the BRL] was still the premier competition in the state for the majority of its existence" Now, this is an interesting issue. Those who want the BRL to be considered the equivalent of the NSWRL tend to cherry-pick periods, for example the 1980s, when it was incredibly strong, perhaps even broadly equivalent in strength. What one never hears about in such arguments is that there were also times when the BRL was not even the premier competition in Queensland. For example, the Ipswich and Toowoomba competitions were probably both stronger than the BRL at the same and different times in the '20 and '30s, which obviously complicates arguments about equivalance. As do statements like this, "clearly producing players of a high enough calibre for richer Sydney clubs to pursue ahead of local players." Hmm...
criag
Roar Rookie
Kind of agree with you on Easts, actually. I was quite happy with the change in name to ‘Sydney City’, as ‘Eastern Suburbs’ doesn’t really work in a national competition and it kind of described them anyway – and commentators actually called them that! Now they just call them ‘The Roosters’. The Tigers and Bulldogs both tried the ‘Sydney’ name and sensibly abandoned it. They also toyed with going smaller and changing the name to the ‘Bondi Roosters’ (though not sure Bondi Utd would’ve loved that).
criag
Roar Rookie
The atmosphere at Henson Park is great the way it is and has been embraced by locals old and new. I wouldn't mess with it, and I suggest any neutral fan get there some time when their team isn't playing. They may be a feeder team to Cronulla, but they have been a feeder team for other NRL teams in the past, and have their own identity. Perth's previous rugby league team was relatively successful on the field, but the airfare costs were huge, so they'd need to sort that out, but I'd prefer a new team rather than a transplanted one.
Emcie
Roar Guru
What specific flaw are you referring to? Can’t see what insults you’re referring to, but suggesting it’s arragance to say the NRL is essentially the NSWRL doesn’t seem like a stretch. “You don’t talk good” doesn’t exactly refute the specifics of the argument. I thought this was a public internet forum, didn’t realise I needed permission to comment. I didn’t get a notification you replied to the other comment, but I have now. During the Dragons saga I was out the back of Longreach and completely reliant on the availability of free WiFi. Had I known I was on call I could have organised something more reliable. But I seem to recall saying we should agree to disagree and leave it at that. The fact that you seem to judge an opinions validity on the basis of the sentence structure and grammar used to express it instead of the intended meaning, as well as an impressive knack for only interpreting things in a way that benefits your own preconceptions, may have played a part in that.
criag
Roar Rookie
I can tell you with authority that 8,972 supporters turn up to Henson Park every week.
Emcie
Roar Guru
The lions weren't transplanted, they were a merger between the existing bears and Fitzroy. It's not quite the same scenario
Emcie
Roar Guru
Saying the NRL is just a continuation of the NSWRL is simplifying it a bit. The ARL taking over the Winfield Cup had more to do with competing against the national Superleague proposal than elevating the NSWRL. Prior to the mid 80s NSWRL and QRL competitions were solely state based affairs. National rugby league in Australia was jointly operated by the NSWRL and QRL from its beginning, before officially setting up the ARL together. And yet it's only very recently that QRL statistics have even been incorporated into historical players profiles by the ARL. For the longest time looking up official Wally Lewis stats would show a four year professional career starting in '88. So I would say probably more recognition then being mostly ignored for the majority of the NRLs existence. The BRL may have been a shell of its former self by the 90s but it did take part in establishing League in Australia and was still the premier competition in the state for the majority of its existence. It was also clearly producing players of a high enough calibre for richer Sydney clubs to pursue ahead of local players
Redcap
Roar Guru
There is a logical flaw in Rellum’s argument, and much the same logical flaw now exists in yours. I have no basis to make any assertions about educational attainment, which is why I didn’t, but an issue with the application of language and logic is nonetheless evident. __ If poor old Rellum wants to have a rant at me and throw around some insults (per the above), that’s fine. In some ways I don’t mind being called arrogant (I am), just not when the premise is faulty, so I responded in kind. __ Quite why you’re now involving yourself escapes me, given you’ve repeatedly demonstrated you can’t back up your own assertions, like the questions I asked you the other day about ‘recognition’ which you’re still evidently unable to answer, or like when you inevitably weren’t able to defend your assertions about the Dragons a few weeks back.
Dionysus
Roar Rookie
Sorry Simoc, I vehemently disagree with your "talent thin on the ground" statement and I think this common misconception needs to be very firmly knocked on the head once and for all. There is no evidence that talent for extra teams is not available today and certainly not in 5 years time. The big thing you do not know is how much talent has walked away from the game because they could not get a break ? Remember Cameron Smith and Billy Slater were both rejected by the Broncos and would probably have been lost to RL if a club in Melbourne hadn't recently been added to the comp. Billy was all set to be a jockey but for that offer. Second, where are the blow out scores ? We haven't seen them this year. There is plenty of talent to add 3 new teams now. That talent is sat playing second or third string in clubs (remember Nico Hynes, 3rd string full back until Paps gets his injury). Talent overseas or in Union or currently planning to do something else because there is not enough opportunity in the NRL. One thing is often over looked when looking at clubs and some of the average players in them is the salary cap. Once a club has bought x number of top class players then they have to add mediocre players to the squad because they cannot afford anything else. This gives the illusion that talent is not available, what isn't available is the cash to recruit them.
Emcie
Roar Guru
If you’re going to demean someone and call them uneducated at least pick a comment you aren’t taking completely out of context. Rellum is clearly saying that all the clubs are supported (not just the trendy ones) as opposed to saying everyone supports every club. Rellum speaks very well for someone from Logan, and some basic comprehension skills on your part wouldn’t have gone astray