Group 19 Rugby League
Rugby tournament in Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The New England Group 19 Rugby League competition is a Rugby league competition which is run under the auspices of the NSWRL, which absorbed the NSWCRL in 2019. It is based in the New England region. It was originally called the Group 5 Rugby League Premiership but that competition merged with another local competition to form New England Group 19. The competition is generally played on Sundays throughout the winter months, with strong local rivalries as well as inter – town rivalries.
| |
| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Formerly known as | Group 5 Rugby League |
| Instituted | 1980 |
| Inaugural season | 1980 |
| Number of teams | 12 (8 active) |
| Country | Australia |
| Premiers |  Uralla Tigers (2026) |
| Most titles |  Warialda Wombats (9 titles) |
| Website | Group 19 |
History
Group 5 Rugby League
Historically, rugby league in the Northern Tablelands and North West was administered under the Group 5 Rugby League banner.
Group 19 emerged from Group 5 in the early 1980s, and initially featured roughly half of all the clubs from the Northern Tablelands and North West NSW. Group 5 eventually merged into the Group 19 competition after the 1981 season and the league has been known as New England Group 19 ever since.
Group 19 Rugby League
In the 1980's, Noel Cleal and his brother Les emerged from Warialda to rise to prominence in the NSWRL Premiership. But it was the Armidale clubs who dominated the 80’s with Narwan winning 5 premierships in a row from 1980 to 84.
The early 1990's were dominated by Glen Innes and the two Moree sides, the Boomerangs and Boars, before the Armidale, Warialda and Inverell sides rose to the top of the league in the mid to late 1990's.
Guyra, known as the Super Spuds, won a hat trick of Premierships from 2002-2004. Glen Innes, Tingha and Inverell dominated the late 2000's and early 2010's with the Moree Boomerangs emerging as the dominant side with back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014.
In just their second season in Group 19 the MacIntyre Warriors claimed the A Grade honours, winning a tight contest over the returning Narwan Eels in 2017. The Eels returned to the competition after several years hiatus due to unruly supporters and unsportsmanlike behaviour.
Unfortunately the MacIntyre Warriors folded in 2018, as a result of many players rejoining the nearby Goondiwindi league side. Their absence paved the way for a return to the premiers circuit for the Moree Boomerangs, a team that wear their indigenous flag themed jerseys with pride.
Ashford folded after the COVID-19 plagued 2021 season, and Moree Boars left the year prior to join Group 4.
The 2023 Under 18's competition was won by the Glen Innes Magpies against Narwan Eels.
Clubs
Current clubs in Group 19
The Tooheys New England Group 19 Premiership currently contains eleven clubs, two of which are in Armidale (the Armidale Rams and Narwan Eels), and nine from the surrounding area.
| Team | Moniker | Ground | Men's | LLT | Group 5 / 19 Premierships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Barraba |
Bulldogs | Barraba Recreation Ground | Yes | Yes | None |
 Guyra |
Super Spuds | Guyra Sports Ground | Yes | Yes | 6 (1969, 1988, 2002-04, 2006) |
 Glen Innes | Magpies | Kerry Meade Park, Glen Innes | Yes | Yes | 6 (1959, 1989, 1991, 2008, 2010, 2012) |
 Inverell | Hawks | Varley Oval, Inverell | Yes | Yes | 6 (1975, 1998, 2000, 2011, 2016, 2025) |
 Moree | Boomerangs | Burt Jovanovich Oval, Moree | Yes | Yes | 6 (1992, 1994, 2013-14, 2018-19) |
 Tingha | Tigers | Tingha Sports Ground | Yes | Yes | 1 (2009) |
| Uralla | Tigers | Woodville Oval, Uralla | Yes | Yes | 3 (1985, 1990, 2026) |
| Warialda | Wombats | Rugby League Park, Warialda | Yes | Yes | 13 (1961-65, 1973-74, 1980, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2024) |
| In Recess 2026 | |||||
 Armidale | Rams | Harris Park, Armidale | No | No | None |
 Bingara |
Bullets | Bingara Sports Ground | No | No | None |
 Narwan | Eels | Newling Oval, Armidale | No | No | 8 (1980-84, 2005, 2022, 2023) |
 Walcha |
Roos | Walcha Showground, Walcha | No | No | None |
Former clubs
Part of Final 2nd Division Season in 2019
Ashford Roosters (promoted to A Grade 2020-21, then folded)
Bundarra Bears (promoted to A Grade, then folded)
Tenterfield Tigers (moved to QRL-administered Border Rugby League)
(Plus Bingara, Bundarra, Guyra, Tingha, Walcha and Warialda who have moved up to the A Grade competition)
Other Former Clubs
Armidale Galloping Greens (merged with YCW Armidale)
Gilgai Wolves (folded)- Gwydir Gumbies (demerged to re-form separate Bingara and Warialda clubs)
Goondiwindi Boars (Toowoomba Rugby League)
MacIntyre Warriors (Boggabilla, Border Rugby League)
Moree Boars (Group 4)
Uralla-Walcha TigerRoos (demerged to re-form separate Uralla and Walcha clubs)
Wright College Redmen Armidale (folded)- YCW Armidale (merged with Armidale Galloping Greens)
Champions
Group 19 Rugby League Champions
| Season | Champions | Score | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Narwan |
23-12 |  Armidale |
| 1981 | Narwan |
23–8 |  Wright College Armidale |
| 1982 | Narwan |
20–17 | Glen Innes |
| 1983 | Narwan |
16–12 | Walcha |
| 1984 | Narwan |
50–12 | Guyra |
| 1985 | Uralla |
20–4 | Glen Innes |
| 1986 | YCW Armidale |
4–0 | Guyra |
| 1987 | YCW Armidale |
20–18 | Uralla |
| 1988 | Guyra |
36–18 | Tingha |
| 1989 | Glen Innes |
35–6 | Armidale |
| 1990 | Uralla |
12–4 | Glen Innes |
| 1991 | Glen Innes |
28–12 | Tingha |
| 1992 | Moree Boomerangs |
26–18 | Glen Innes |
| 1993 | Moree Boars |
22–20 | Armidale |
| 1994 | Moree Boomerangs |
30–20 | Inverell RSM |
| 1995 | Armidale |
36–28 | Glen Innes |
| 1996 | Warialda |
36–20 | Inverell RSM |
| 1997 | Armidale |
34–24 | Guyra |
| 1998[1] | Inverell RSM |
28–14 | Armidale |
| 1999 | Warialda |
22–20 | Inverell RSM |
| 2000 | Inverell RSM |
24–12 | Glen Innes |
| 2001 | Warialda |
50–14 | Guyra |
| 2002 | Guyra |
56–24 | Narwan |
| 2003 | Guyra |
44–36 | Narwan |
| 2004 | Guyra |
46–22 | Narwan |
| 2005 | Narwan |
35–22 | Guyra |
| 2006 | Guyra |
28–8 | Inverell RSM |
| 2007 | Warialda |
38–24 | Guyra |
| 2008 | Glen Innes |
26–10 | Tingha |
| 2009 | Tingha |
46–14 | Guyra |
| 2010 | Glen Innes |
14–4 | Guyra |
| 2011 | Inverell RSM |
33–26 | Glen Innes |
| 2012[2] | Glen Innes |
60–12 | Guyra |
| 2013[3][4] | Moree Boomerangs |
48–22 |  Gwydir |
| 2014[5] | Moree Boomerangs |
56–18 | Inverell RSM |
| 2015 | Inverell RSM |
26–24 | Moree Boomerangs |
| 2016[6] | Inverell RSM |
42–28 |  MacIntyre |
| 2017[7] | MacIntyre |
26–22 | Narwan |
| 2018[8] | Moree Boomerangs |
36–28 | Glen Innes |
| 2019 | Moree Boomerangs |
36–34 | Glen Innes |
| 2020 and 2021 seasons cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2022 | Narwan |
22-20 | Moree Boomerangs |
| 2023[9] | Narwan |
36-22 | Inverell RSM |
| 2024[10] | Warialda |
60-32 | Inverell RSM |
| 2025[11] | Inverell RSM |
22-12 | Tingha |
| 2026 | Uralla |
25-24 | Inverell RSM |
Group 5 Rugby League
The competition in the area was previously known as Group 5. Once the Group 19 name became available after the demise of the previous competitions of that name, a breakaway competition from Group 5 became known as New England Group 19. Group 5 merged into this league two years later. The 'Moree' listed is the predecessor of the Moree Boars.
Group 5 Rugby League Champions
| Season | Champions | Score | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Walcha |
11-9 | Inverell RSM |
| 1958 | Walcha |
13-9 | Moree |
| 1959 | Glen Innes |
8-2 | Moree |
| 1960 | Moree |
11-2 | Armidale |
| 1961 | Warialda |
22–8 | Moree |
| 1962 | Warialda |
17–6 | Armidale |
| 1963 | Warialda |
16–11 | Guyra |
| 1964 | Warialda |
21–2 | Guyra |
| 1965 | Warialda |
28–9 | Armidale |
| 1966 | Armidale |
15–10 | Warialda |
| 1967 | Armidale |
7–6 | Glen Innes |
| 1968 |  Moree Mission Jets |
9–4 | Armidale |
| 1969 | Guyra |
20–7 | Warialda |
| 1970 | Armidale |
13–3 | Glen Innes |
| 1971 | Armidale |
4–2 | Guyra |
| 1972 | Moree |
11–7 | Inverell RSM |
| 1973 | Warialda |
36–7 | Inverell RSM |
| 1974 | Warialda |
17–8 | Glen Innes |
| 1975 | Inverell RSM |
9–8 | Moree |
| 1976 | Armidale |
12–11 | Moree |
| 1977 | Moree |
18–13 | Inverell RSM |
| 1978 | Moree |
37–10 | Glen Innes |
| 1979 | Moree |
12–5 | Glen Innes |
| 1980 | Warialda |
14–9 | Glen Innes |
| 1981 | Moree |
30–13 | Inverell RSM |
Group 19 Junior League
Current Teams
Armidale Rams
Tingha Tigers
Glen Innes Magpies
Guyra Superspuds
Inverell Hawks- Moree Boars (Seniors: Group 4)
Warialda Wombats
