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Newcastle Thunder

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For the former club, see Gateshead Thunder (1999).
Newcastle Thunder
Club information
Full nameNewcastle Thunder Rugby League Football Club
Nickname(s)Thunder
Short nameNewcastle
Colours
Founded2000 (2000) (as Gateshead Thunder)
Websitethunderrugby.co.uk
Current details
Ground(s)
ChairmanSemore Kurdi
CoachChris Thorman
CaptainAlex Foster
2023 season14th (relegated)
Uniforms
Home colours
Away colours
Records
Challenge CupsQuarter finalists (2009)
League 11 (2008)
Most capped234 – Joe Brown
Highest points scorer449 – Benn Hardcastle

The Newcastle Thunder is a professional rugby league club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was founded in 2000 as Gateshead Thunder, after the merger of the original Gateshead Thunder into Hull F.C. in 1999.[1][2] The Thunder were based in Gateshead until 2014. In 2015, the club relocated and changed its name to Newcastle Thunder. In 2024, the Newcastle Thunder made a return to Gateshead as their playing base. They currently play home matches at Gateshead International Stadium. The club currently competes in League 1, the third tier of rugby league in the United Kingdom.

History

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The club was formed by the Thunder 2000 working group, formed by supporters of the original Gateshead Thunder after that organisation made the decision to merge with Hull Sharks at the end of the 1999 season.[3] The new club, like the former club, played their home games at Gateshead International Stadium, also the home ground of Gateshead F.C. The Thunder entered the Northern Ford Premiership for the 2001 season; however, they struggled to compete, and eventually finished 17th out of the 19 clubs.[4]

Gateshead continued to struggle in the following season, finishing bottom of the league in 2002.[5] 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.[6] The club's fortunes began to improve in 2005, 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.[7] The club again finished seventh in 2006, but went on to lose 46–18 to Featherstone Rovers in the play-offs.[8]

In 2008 the club won its first silverware, finishing the season as League 1 champions.[9] As champions, the club were promoted to the Championship, and avoided on-field relegation by finishing seventh under coach Steve McCormack.[10] 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.[11]

Kingston Park became the Thunder's home ground in 2015

Gateshead Thunder were taken over by the owners of rugby union side Newcastle Falcons in 2015.[12] The club was rebranded as Newcastle Thunder and applied for permission to use Kingston Park in Newcastle as their home ground.[13]

Further silverware was earned in 2016, when Newcastle defeated North Wales Crusaders to win the League 1 Shield[14]

On 10 December 2020, Thunder were promoted to the Championship by a committee to replace Leigh who were, in turn, promoted to Super League to replace Toronto Wolfpack, who went out of business. Newcastle began playing in the 2021 Championship season.[15]

For the 2022 season, Newcastle announced they were adopting the full time professional model in order to aid promotion to the Super League.[16] This lasted for one year with the club reverting back to part time semi professional status for 2023.[17]

Following the 2023 RFL Championship season, Newcastle were relegated to League One after winning five of 27 matches.[18] On 13 October 2023, the club announced that they had withdrawn from League One for the 2024 season. A club statement said "Unfortunately, the impact of COVID-19, combined with the low levels of regional growth and development in the game, means it just isn't feasible to continue."[19] An attempt to revive the club was immediately launched under former chairman, Keith Christie.[20] Despite an application to rejoin the league not having been accepted by the RFL, the RFL did include the club in the fixture lists for the 1895 Cup and the 2024 League One season when these were announced at the start of December 2023.[21] In December 2023 the RFL approved the club's change of ownership and confirmed Newcastle's participation in the 2024 season competitions.[22]

On 16 May 2024, the club announced that it would return to the Gateshead International Stadium for the rest of the 2024 season.[23]

Kit manufacturers and sponsors

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2009 shirt
Gateshead Thunder emblem
Years Kit Manufacturer Main Shirt Sponsor
1999 Avec Northern Electric & Gas
2000–2001 exito none
2004–2005 Halbro Halbro
2006 Nike none
2010 XBlades GMC Transport Limited
2011–2012 Puma
2013 Stag Jack Coupe and Sons
2014 Gateshead College
2015 Impact Gizmowizard
2016 Errea Greene King IPA
2017 ISC PTM Group
2018–2019 Tyne Metropolitan College
2020–2023 Macron

Players

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Notable former players

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(in alphabetical order)

Past coaches

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Also see Category:Newcastle Thunder coaches

Records

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Correct to September 2017 [24]

Player records

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  • 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

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  • Biggest win:
98-6 v. West Wales (at Kingston Park Stadium, 23 September 2018)
  • Biggest defeat:
132-0 v. Blackpool (at Memorial Stadium, 16 May 2010)

Attendance records

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  • Highest all-time attendance:
6,631 v. Bradford (at Gateshead International Stadium, 16 May 1999)

Seasons

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See also: Gateshead Thunder (1999) § Season summary
Season
(As Gateshead Thunder) 		League Challenge Cup Other competitions
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Play-offs
2001 Northern Ford Premiership 28 2 0 26 346 990 4 17th Did not qualify R4
2002 Northern Ford Premiership 27 0 1 26 338 1108 1 18th Did not qualify R3
2003 National League Two 18 3 1 14 365 663 7 9th Did not qualify R3
2004 National League Two 18 1 0 17 298 715 2 10th Did not qualify R3
2005 National League Two 18 8 1 9 516 508 17 6th Lost in elimination playoffs R3
2006 National League Two 22 11 0 11 547 540 22 7th Lost in elimination playoffs R3
2007 National League Two 22 6 0 16 381 692 21 11th Did not qualify R4
2008 National League Two 22 19 0 3 767 415 59 1st N/A[a] R3
2009 Championship 20 9 2 9 4610 657 32 7th[b] Did not qualify QF
2010 Championship 1 20 1 0 19 236 1232 -2 11th Did not qualify R3
2011 Championship 1 20 0 1 19 268 1094 2 10th Did not qualify R4
2012 Championship 1 18 1 0 17 276 824 5 10th Did not qualify R4
2013 Championship 1 16 4 1 11 356 542 20 7th Did not qualify R3
2014 Championship 1 20 11 9 0 615 576 36 4th Lost in semi-final R3
Season
(As Newcastle Thunder) 		League Challenge Cup Other competitions
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Play-offs
2015 Championship 1 22 11 11 0 555 552 22 8th Did not qualify R4
2016 League 1 14 7 1 6 404 368 15 9th Won in Shield Final R3
2017 League 1 15 9 0 6 459 328 18 6th Fifth in Super 8s R4
2018 League 1 26 14 0 12 841 520 28 8th Did not qualify R4
2019 League 1 20 14 1 5 741 364 29 3rd Lost in play-off final R4 1895 Cup R2
2020 League 1 League abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic [c] R6
2021 Championship 20 7 1 12 431 627 15 11th Did not qualify R3[d] 1895 Cup R1
2022 Championship 27 7 1 19 559 877 15 12th Did not qualify R4
2023 Championship 25 4 1 20 361 862 9 14th Did not qualify R5
2024 League One 20 0 0 20 190 1124 0 9th Did not qualify R3 1895 Cup GS

Honours

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Winners (1): 2008
Promotion(1): 2020
Winners (1): 2016

Notes

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  1. ^ League leaders do more enter third division playoffs
  2. ^ Enforced Relegation due to Salary Cap Breach
  3. ^ Newcastle were promoted by an independent panel following Toronto Wolfpack's expulsion.[25]
  4. ^ Officially round 1 due to the competitions temporary restructure in 2021.

References

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  1. ^ "Heritage - Newcastle Thunder". Newcastle Thunder Rugby.
  2. ^ Hall, Jane (28 March 2022). "Former Gateshead Thunder rugby star swaps sporting success for social work". Chronicle Live.
  3. ^ "Club History". Newcastle Thunder. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  4. ^ "2001 Season". Cherry & White (RLFans). Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  5. ^ "2002 Season". Cherry & White (RLFans). Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  6. ^ "2003 Season". Cherry & White (RLFans). Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  7. ^ "2005 Season". Cherry & White (RLFans). Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  8. ^ "2006 Season". Cherry & White (RLFans). Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  9. ^ "Newcastle Thunder". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  10. ^ "McCormack joy as Thunder survive". BBC Sport. 7 September 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  11. ^ "Gateshead rescue bid gathers pace". BBC Sport. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  12. ^ "Newcastle Thunder to soar under new ownership, predicts Brian Carney". Evening Chronicle. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  13. ^ "Newcastle Thunder: Gateshead rugby league side relocates". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  14. ^ "Sunday 18th September 2016 Match Report". Rugby Football League. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  15. ^ "Thunder awarded Championship place". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  16. ^ "Newcastle Thunder Confirm 2022 Full-Time Status".
  17. ^ "Newcastle Thunder Announce Reversion to Part Time Status".
  18. ^ "Championship relegation confirmed following latest defeat to promotion hopefuls Featherstone Rovers". www.loverugbyleague.com. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  19. ^ "Newcastle Thunder: Relegated Championship rugby league team pull out of 2024 season". BBC Sport. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  20. ^ "Thunder edging nearer to relaunch". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3404. 6 November 2023. p. 3.
  21. ^ Walker, Callum (3 December 2023). "Newcastle Thunder still not accepted by RFL for 2024 despite inclusion in 1895 Cup and League One fixtures". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  22. ^ "RFL approve change of ownership at Newcastle Thunder". Rugby-League.com. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  23. ^ "Newcastle Thunder return to Gateshead International Stadium". BBC Sport. 16 May 2024.
  24. ^ "Records and Honours". Newcastle Thunder. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  25. ^ "Newcastle Thunder to join Betfred Championship in 2021". www.rugby-league.com. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
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