Group 21 Rugby League

Group 21 – Hunter Valley Rugby League

Sport	Rugby league
Formerly known as	Upper Hunter Football Association
Instituted	1920
Inaugural season	1897 (Union), 1920 (League)
Number of teams	8 (6 in First Grade)
Country	Australia
Premiers	Scone Thoroughbreds (2019)
Most titles	Scone Thoroughbreds (36 titles)
Website	Group 21
Broadcast partner	Bar TV Sports (Australia)

Group 21 Rugby League is a local rugby league competition, run under the control of the Country Rugby League. It covers the Upper Hunter area of New South Wales, and has three divisions, first grade, reserves and Under 18s. For sponsorship reasons, it is known as the Bengalla Group 21 Competition.

The Scone Thoroughbreds have won the most titles, winning 36 titles, and are considered one of the most successful country rugby league teams.

In 2006, the Greta-Branxton Colts joined the competition.

Teams

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia the 2020 season did not commence as originally scheduled and was cancelled in mid-June.^[1] The 2021 season was also cancelled mid-season.

Eight clubs contest the competition, with six teams competing in First Grade, seven in Reserve Grade, five in Ladies League Tag and four in Under 18s as of 2023.

Club	Nickname	Home Ground	No. of Premierships	Premiership Years
First Grade Clubs
Aberdeen	Tigers	McKinnon Oval	24	1897–1902, 1904, 1906, 1909, 1911, 1926–27, 1933–34, 1949, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991–93, 2001, 2010, 2017
Denman	Devils	Denman Oval	11	1936, 1957, 1961–63, 1968, 1975, 1997, 2005, 2013, 2015
Greta-Branxton	Colts	Greta Central Oval	2	2009, 2014
Muswellbrook	Rams	Olympic Park	16	1910, 1913, 1925, 1928, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1953, 1956, 1959–60, 1967, 1983–84, 2002, 2004
Scone	Thoroughbreds	Scone Park	36	1905, 1907–08, 1912, 1914, 1922, 1930–32, 1938, 1940, 1950–52, 1954–55, 1958, 1966, 1969–70, 1972, 1976, 1979, 1988, 1994–96, 1998–2000, 2003, 2006, 2016, 2018–19, 2022
Singleton	Greyhounds	Pirtek Park	10	1947–48, 1971, 1973–74, 1990, 2007–08, 2011–12
Lower Grade Clubs
Merriwa	Magpies	Merriwa No.1 Oval	2	1964–65
Murrurundi	Mavericks	Wilson Memorial Oval	6	1903, 1914, 1920–21, 1923–24

Locations of the current Group 21 clubs.

45km
30miles

Singleton

Scone

Quirindi

Muswellbrook

Murrurundi

Merriwa

Greta-Branxton

Denman

Aberdeen

  

Former teams

• Muswellbrook Sharks (merged with the Rams)
• Bunnan Bears (1990s, merged with Scone)
• Quirindi Grasshoppers (5 premierships, Folded)
• Werris Creek Magpies (1980s, 2 premierships, Group 4)
• Raymond Terrace Magpies (entered competition in 2009, returned to NHRL after)
• Branxton (1 premiership)
• Army (Singleton Army base, 1940s, 1 premiership, also 1952–53 in 2nd Grade)
• Sandy Hollow (1946)
• Singleton St Patrick's (mid 1940s)
• Caroona (1990s)

Lower Grades

• Budgewoi Buff Point Bulldogs (2009, Under 18s only, returned to NHRL)
• Bendemeer (1997, 2nd Division)
• Willow Tree (late 1920s, 2nd Grade)
• Wybong (mid 1930s, 2nd Grade)
• Moonan Flat (mid 1930s, 2nd Grade)
• Jerry's Plains (late 1930s & 1948, 2nd Grade)

Competition winners

First Grade Premiers

Season	Grand Final Information						Minor Premiers
	Premiers	Score	Runners-up	Venue	Report	Coach
1920	Murrurundi	13–4	Aberdeen	Scone	[2]
1921	Murrurundi	10–5	Scone	Aberdeen	[3]
1922	Scone	No Final	Quirindi	Quirindi	[4]
1923	Murrurundi	No Final
1924	Murrurundi	No Final			[5]
1925	Muswellbrook	10–2	Scone	Scone Park	[6]
1926	Aberdeen	11–0	Scone		[7]
1927	Aberdeen	32–2	Murrurundi				Aberdeen
1928	Muswellbrook	No Final			[8]
1929	Quirindi	No Final			[9]
1930	Scone	15–9	Muswellbrook	Aberdeen	SA[10]	Lewis Boyd	Scone
1931	Scone	13–9	Aberdeen	Aberdeen	[11][12]	Lewis Boyd	Scone
1932	Scone	16–8	Aberdeen	Aberdeen	[13]	Lewis Boyd	Scone
1933	Aberdeen	15–12	Scone	Scone Park	[14][15]	Jack Coote	Scone
1934	Aberdeen	27–5	Scone	Muswellbrook	[16]	R. Jeffree	Aberdeen
1935	Muswellbrook	18–13	Singleton	Hill Street Ground; Muswellbrook	[17]	Norman Forbes	Muswellbrook
1936	Denman	20–16	Muswellbrook	Aberdeen	[18]	George King	Denman
1937	Muswellbrook	28–5	Singleton	Muswellbrook	[19]	Roger Brennan	Muswellbrook
1938	Scone	25–3	Singleton	Muswellbrook	[20]	Roy Sneddon	Scone
1939	Muswellbrook	11–2	Aberdeen		[21]		Muswellbrook
1940	Scone	3–2	Aberdeen	Town Park; Scone	[22]		Scone
1944	Branxton	8–4	St Pats Singleton		[23]
1945	Army I.	17–10	St Pats Singleton	St. Patrick's Ground	[24]	Jack Chadd	Army I.
1946	St.Pats Singleton	7–5	Scone	St. Patrick's Ground	[25]	William Geddes	St.Pats Singleton
1947	Singleton	3–0	Muswellbrook		[26]	Alan Reading	Muswellbrook
1948	Singleton	8–8	Aberdeen		[27]	William Geddes	Singleton
1949	Aberdeen	28–2	Singleton	Aberdeen	[28]	W. Woodward	Aberdeen
1950	Scone	30–0	Muswellbrook	Scone	[29]	Bruce Shepherd	Scone
1951	Scone	10–4	Muswellbrook	Aberdeen	[30]	Bob Watson	Scone
1952	Scone	10–2	Singleton	Aberdeen	[31]	Bob Watson	Scone
1953	Muswellbrook	14–2	Singleton	Aberdeen	[32]	Nev. Hogan	Singleton
1954	Scone	22–7	Muswellbrook	Howe Park; Singleton	[33]	Harry Melville	Scone
1955	Scone	19–7	Muswellbrook	Scone
1956	Muswellbrook	7–5	Denman
1957	Denman	13–6	Muswellbrook
1958	Scone	13–3	Singleton
1959	Muswellbrook	26–6	Singleton
1960	Muswellbrook	13–5	Merriwa
1961	Denman	7–2	Merriwa	Merriwa
1962	Denman	6–2	Merriwa
1963	Denman	20–13	Singleton	Olympic Park; Muswellbrook
1964	Merriwa	8–5	Denman	Olympic Park; Muswellbrook
1965	Merriwa	23–7	Denman	Olympic Park; Muswellbrook
1966	Scone	12–5	Merriwa	Scone Park
1967	Muswellbrook	6–5	Merriwa	Scone Park
1968	Denman	5–2	Scone	Olympic Park; Muswellbrook
1969	Scone	14–2	Singleton			Don Adams
1970	Scone	19–3	Singleton
1971	Singleton	29–11	Denman			Pat Kelly
1972	Scone	21–9	Singleton	Olympic Park; Muswellbrook
1973	Singleton	17–10	Scone
1974	Singleton	22–17	Scone			Pat Kelly	Muswellbrook
1975	Denman	19–13	Muswellbrook	Denman Sports Ground		J. McDonald
1976	Scone	16–11	Quirindi	Quirindi			Quirindi
1977	Quirindi	13–6	Singleton
1978	Quirindi	30–12	Scone			Bill Monie
1979	Scone	13–12	Muswellbrook	Scone Park		Les Cleal	Scone
1980	Quirindi	29–10	Singleton			Brian Purtell
1981	Quirindi	18–11	Muswellbrook	Olympic Park; Muswellbrook		Brian Purtell
1982	Werris Creek	16–13	Muswellbrook	Taylor Oval; Werris Creek
1983	Muswellbrook	32–22	Scone	Olympic Park; Muswellbrook		Arthur Earl
1984	Muswellbrook	13–12	Denman			Arthur Earl
1985	Aberdeen	4–2	Muswellbrook	Harrison Oval Aberdeen	[34]	Wayne Smith
1986	Werris Creek	24–15	Aberdeen	Werris Creek		Mark Gallienne
1987	Aberdeen	24–12	Muswellbrook	Olympic Park; Muswellbrook		Chris Cumming	Muswellbrook
1988	Scone	13–12	Singleton	Scone Park		Les Cleal	Singleton
1989	Aberdeen	21–20	Singleton	Singleton Showground		Chris Cumming
1990	Singleton	22–16	Aberdeen	Singleton Showground		Richard Jones	Singleton
1991	Aberdeen	14–13	Singleton	Olympic Park; Muswellbrook	[35]	Troy Logan
1992	Aberdeen	22–12	Muswellbrook	McKinnon Field; Aberdeen		Troy Logan
1993	Aberdeen	14–12	Muswellbrook	McKinnon Field; Aberdeen		Jason Hoogerwerf
1994	Scone	30–18	Aberdeen	McKinnon Field; Aberdeen	[36]	Darryl Rando
1995	Scone	20–8	Singleton			Darryl Rando
1996	Scone	27–14	Singleton			Darryl Rando
1997	Denman	34–16	Muswellbrook	Denman Oval		Ben Daniels
1998	Scone	40–2	Denman			Daryl Rando
1999	Scone	36–10	Quirindi			Darryl Rando
2000	Scone	12–2	Aberdeen	McKinnon Field; Aberdeen		Karne Gleeson	Scone
2001	Aberdeen	38–26	Muswellbrook	McKinnon Field; Aberdeen		Mark Feeney
2002	Muswellbrook	32–8	Scone	Olympic Park; Muswellbrook		Barry Edwards
2003	Scone	46–10	Aberdeen	Scone Park		Scott Pennell	Scone
2004	Muswellbrook	34–22	Scone	Olympic Park; Muswellbrook	[37]	Barry Edwards	Scone
2005	Denman	28–14	Singleton	Denman Oval	[38][39]	Scott Donnelly	Denman
2006	Scone	26–6	Singleton	Scone Park		John Johnson	Singleton
2007	Singleton	30–14	Aberdeen	Singleton Showground	[40]	Mark Newman	Singleton
2008	Singleton	36–10	Greta-Branxton	Resco Park; Singleton	[41]	Mark Newman	Singleton
2009	Greta-Branxton	22–16	Singleton	Greta Oval	[42]	Matt Lantry	Singleton
2010	Aberdeen	26–24	Denman	McKinnon Field; Aberdeen	[43]	Mark Wilton	Scone
2011	Singleton	26–4	Scone	Scone Park	[44]	Russell Richards	Singleton
2012	Singleton	26–6	Muswellbrook	Resco Park; Singleton	[45]	Mark Newman	Denman
2013	Denman	20–4	Greta-Branxton	Denman Oval	[46]	Dean Amos	Greta-Branxton
2014	Greta-Branxton	18–16	Denman	Greta Oval	[47]	Ron Griffiths	Scone
2015	Denman	24–20^	Scone	Scone Park	[48]	Paul Gallagher	Scone
2016	Scone	16–14	Muswellbrook	Olympic Park; Muswellbrook	[49][50]	Daniel Ritter	Scone
2017	Aberdeen	36–26	Muswellbrook		[51][52]	Daniel Hoogerwerf and Shane Hasselmann	Muswellbrook
2018	Scone	10–6	Aberdeen	McKinnon Field; Aberdeen	[53][54]	Aaron Watts	Aberdeen
2019	Scone	40–6	Aberdeen	Scone Park		Aaron Watts	Scone
2020 and 2021 seasons cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022	Scone	42–6	Denman	Scone Park		Adam Clydsdale	Scone
2023	Scone	30–28	Greta-Branxton	Greta Oval	[55]	Blake Johnston	Greta-Branxton

Rugby Union

A Rugby Union competition ran in the Upper Hunter from 1897 to 1914, and in 1919, as a direct predecessor to the Rugby League competition. Aberdeen, Muswellbrook, Scone and in some years Murrurundi participated. In the early stages Finals appear to be held only when the top two teams were equal on points at the conclusion of the round-robin matches. Union matches were played during the World War One, in the seasons 1915 to 1918, on an irregular and social basis. Singleton played in competitions centred in Maitland..

Season	Premiers	Score	Runners-up	Venue	Report	Minor Premier
1897	Aberdeen
1898	Aberdeen	16–0	Muswellbrook	Scone	MC[56]
1899	Aberdeen	No Final			MC[57]
1900	Aberdeen	3–0	Murrurundi	Muswellbrook	SA[58]
1901	Aberdeen
1902	Aberdeen	16–0	Murrurundi	Scone	SA[59]
1903	Murrurundi	14–0	Aberdeen	Scone	SA[60]
1904	Aberdeen	No Final			SA[61]
1905	Scone		Murrurundi		SA[62]
1906	Aberdeen	No Final			SA[63]
1907	Scone	No Final			SA[64]
1908	Scone	3–0	Aberdeen	Muswellbrook Showground	SA[65]
1909	Aberdeen	6–0	Muswellbrook	Aberdeen	SA[66]
1910	Muswellbrook				MC[67]
1911	Aberdeen
1912	Scone				SA[68]
1913	Muswellbrook				MC[69]
1914	Scone	Forfeit	Muswellbrook	Muswellbrook
1919	Murrurundi	8–0	Muswellbrook	Scone Park	MC[70]

Title Tally

Club	Premiership Tally			Years
	League 1920–2019, 2022–	Union 1897–1914, 1919	Totals	Union	League
First Grade Clubs
Aberdeen Tigers	14	10	24	1897–1902, 1904, 1906, 1909, 1911	1926–27, 1933–34, 1949, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991–93, 2001, 2010, 2017
Denman Devils	11	0	11	None	1936, 1957, 1961–63, 1968, 1975, 1997, 2005, 2013, 2015
Greta-Branxton Colts	2	0	2	None	2009, 2014
Muswellbrook Rams	14	2	16	1910, 1913	1925, 1928, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1953, 1956, 1959–60, 1967, 1983–84, 2002, 2004
Scone Thoroughbreds	31	5	36	1905, 1907–08, 1912, 1914	1922, 1930–32, 1938, 1940, 1950–52, 1954–55, 1958, 1966, 1969–70, 1972, 1976, 1979, 1988, 1994–96, 1998–2000, 2003, 2006, 2016, 2018-19, 2022
Singleton Greyhounds	10	0	10	None	1947–48, 1971, 1973–74, 1990, 2007–08, 2011–12
Lower Grade Clubs
Murrurundi Mavericks	4	2	6	1903, 1914	1920–21, 1923–24
Merriwa Magpies	2	0	2	None	1964–65

Junior League

The following clubs field teams in Group 21 Junior Competitions:

• Aberdeen Tigers
• Denman Devils
• Merriwa Magpies
• Muswellbrook Rams
• Scone Thoroughbreds
• Singleton Greyhounds

See also

• Rugby League Competitions in Australia

References

External links and Sources

• Group 21 homepage
• Rugby League Week at State Library of NSW Research and Collections

This page was last edited on 18 January 2024, at 15:22