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Group 6 is a Rugby League competition in New South Wales, Australia, run under the auspices of the Country Rugby League. The geographical area covered by Group 6 takes in much of the Southern Highlands and southern Macarthur regions of New South Wales, extending from Moss Vale, New South Wales in the south to Mt Annan/ the M5 in the north and Warragamba in the west. For the 2009 season, the Group 6 senior competition has been reunified with the Wests Junior League to form the Group 6/ Wests League. This will be the first time in 26 years that Group 6 clubs have competed against the Campbelltown clubs.
[edit] Senior ClubsThe following clubs in Group 6 field all or some teams in the senior 1st Grade, Reserve Grade and U/18s Macarthur League competitions. In 2009 Group 6 will feature two divisions- 1st Division and the 3rd Grade/ DNC Cup Competition (2nd Division). The 1st Division competition will comprise
[edit] Group 6 Junior LeagueThe following clubs in field teams in the Group 6 junior competition which runs competitions from the U/7s to U/16s. Fixtures are played of a Saturday from early April until September.
* Oakdale Workers RLFC do not field a junior division due to their close proximity to The Oaks Tigers RLFC. Junior Rugby League in this area was once played by the now defunct Burragorang JRLFC until the late 1980s [edit] Past ClubsClubs from the greater Campbelltown, New South Wales area participated in the 1st Division Group 6 competition from 1946- 1983. These clubs included:
Other clubs from Campbelltown to feature in the 2nd Division and 3rd Division leagues from 1973-1983 included:
Other clubs to have played in Group 6 include:
[edit] MatchdayA successful U/18s League also forms part of the senior Sunday matchday in Group 6. Gameday normally follows this schedule:
[edit] HistoryRugby Union was played in the area as far back as 1890, with the Berrima District Rugby League making its debut in 1914. Teams in the 1914 premiership were Picton, Robertson, Bowral, Mittagong, Moss Vale, Thirlmere and Wildes Meadow. In 1933 the Berrima league broke into Northen and Southern competitions. 1946- 1968: Highland Fling 'Group 6', as it is now known, officially commenced in 1946 with Campbelltown Kangaroos claiming the inaugural premiership undefeated. Bowral Blues and Mittagong Lions would dominate these years.
Captain- coached by former St George Dragons hooker Ray Corkery, the Kangaroos would win three successive Group 6 premierships- defeating Oakdale Workers in 1970 and the RSL Warriors in 1971. Now known as the Campbelltown City Kangaroos, the club started to enshrine its Group 6 dominance with the construction of a Leagues Club to finance its League teams. This club has now morphed into Wests Leagues Campbelltown. Contending for 4 straight premierships in 1972, the Roos were controversially defeated by Camden in the major semi final of that year. The RSL Warriors would go on to defeat Camden in the 1972 Grand Final. Campbelltown City soon struck back though with the signature of Canterbury & Australian test centre Johnny Greaves. Greaves, possibly the best player the Group has seen, captain- coached the 'Roos to another treble- defeating Campbelltown Collegians in 1973 and Ingleburn Bulldogs in 1974 & 1975. The Oaks would win their first premiership with a dogged 16-10 victory in the 1976 decider over Camden Rams. Captain- coached by the mercurial Les Williams, the Tigers had a week earlier thwarted City's attempts to become the first Group 6 club to win 4 consecutive premierships. Williams' men would repeat the dose in 1977 with a 22-3 thumping of Camden again. These years would prove bitter sweet for the Camden club, losing all 3 grades on Grand Final day in 1976 and 1977. Ingleburn Bulldogs lowered the Rams colours in consecutive reserve grade grand finals of 1976 & 1977. Camden would finally break the spell with victory over the Campbelltown RSL Warriors in the 1978 Premiership. Camden's jinx returned though with the Warriors claiming revenge in 1979 with a 9-2 victory over the Rams. Spurred into action by their first ever wooden spoon in 1979 (the first time they had missed the semi finals since 1963), Campbelltown City sought revenge for the 1980 premiership, indulging in a recruitment drive that brought former Australian schoolboy representative Paul Murray to the club as captain-coach and Bulldogs legend and hardman Phil Charlton to the club to beef up the front row. With local prominent solicitor John Marsden behind them, the 'Roos would become the first club in Group 6 history to go from last to first in one season. Murray's men lost only two games that season, going on to record a dominant 25-9 victory over the Picton Magpies in the 1980 Grand Final. By 1983, it was fairly apparent that there was a significant separation between the Campbelltown clubs and the rest of the Group, which was still essentially 'country' in nature. Ten out of 15 contested premierships had been won by Campbelltown City (8) or the RSL Warriors (2). There was no sign of this imbalance abating. The NSWRL ordered ailing premiership club Newtown Jets to form a merger with the Campbelltown club. The original plan was for Newtown to regroup in the 1984 season on the sidelines and then re-enter the NSWRL premiership in 1985 as the Newtown- Campbelltown Jets. This never eventuated. As a by-product of this merger, all Campbelltown clubs were ordered by the then NSWRL chairman Kevin Humphreys to join with the Liverpool Rugby League clubs contained within the Parramatta junior league. A Group 6 general committee vote then authorised the transfer of the Campbelltown clubs to the NSWRL. Fittingly, Campbelltown City Kangaroos would win the last Group 6 premiership they contested in 1983. Finishing the regular season second to the Clayton Cup bound Moss Vale, the 'Roos led by Tim Sheens lowered the Dragons colours 15-2 in dramatic circumstances at Loseby Park, Bowral in the major semi final of that year. The 'Roos would defeat The Oaks 24-6 in the Grand Final of 1983 at their spiritual base, Orana Park. This would be Campbelltown City's last game as a country Rugby League club. As a club they have never hit these heights again and were a major casualty of the abortive merger with Newtown. Campbelltown City now exist as a minor club in the Wests Junior League.
Group 6 clubs at this time were Moss Vale Dragons, Camden Rams, The Oaks Tigers, Oakdale Workers, Thirlmere Roosters, Picton Magpies, Bowral Blues, Narellan Jets, Mittagong Lions. Robertson Spuddies were still affiliated with the Group but were unable to field 1st Division senior teams until 1988. 1986 saw the NSWRL allow Warragamba Wombats to rejoin Group 6 from the Penrith Junior League. The Wombats were successful in their first season back, with their U/18 team defeating Campbelltown City in the Grand Final. City had been granted special dispensation by the CRL to compete in the U/18 competition only as the Campbelltown- Liverpool competition lacked the numbers to compose a competition in this grade. Warragamba wouldn't have to wait long for top grade success, claiming the 1989 Grand Final with a 22-12 victory over Oakdale Workers. This has been Warragamba's only 1st Grade premiership to date, with their club falling on tough times in the last decade. The Wombats still contest the Group 6 Second Division premiership. Mittagong under the coaching of Graham Andrewes would claim the Group's second Clayton Cup with a dominant undefeated season in 1991. The Lions had to overcome some nervous moments in the Grand Final of that season against a valiant Oakdale Workers team seeking its club's inaugural title. Mittagong would take both the 1st and Reserve Grade premierships that season. 1992 saw the introduction of the powerful Appin Warriors club. Formed from the remnants of the Campbelltown RSL Warriors A Grade, they would add value to the League, with the 1994 Grand Final loss to Camden Rams being their high water mark. The Warriors would come close to the senior treble that 1994 GF day, winning the U/18s and Reserve Grade against Camden, before the Rams claimed the one that mattered with a 26-4 rout of Appin. A major act of vandalism that night though by Warriors players against the very shops that sponsored them would eventually cost them their club, as they petared out at the end of the 1997 season. With the construction of new suburbs towards the northern end of Camden Council, both the Camden and Narellan clubs started to dominate the group towards the end of the 90s. A new club, Mt Annan Knights emerged, playing in the 1st Grade competition from 1998-2000. Mt Annan would struggle though alongside Narellan and Camden, eventually returning to 2nd Division. Coached by Jamie Horner, Thirlmere Roosters would claim the last Group 6 competition under the old format with a thrilling 19-16 victory over Oakdale Workers at Community Oval, Moss Vale. By around 2005, it was clear that both the former Campbelltown area of the Group and indeed the Group itself were struggling to compose viable senior competitions. The Wests JL had fielded varying 5-7 team A Grade competitions since 1997, with all games being played at the same venue. Furthermore, some years had seen Wests A Grade teams have to travel to the Canterbury or Parramatta Junior Leagues to compete. Group 6 had split into the haves and have nots, with the disparity of player payments at first producing an uneven competition, before the non-competitive clubs were forced into the DNC Cup. By 2007, Group 6 1st Grade competition (competed for by 12 senior clubs in 1992) had reduced to 5 teams. The Reserve Grade competition was as equally effected. Various overtures were made between the governing bodies to seek an agreement as to forming a joint competition from 2005 onwards. For whatever reasons, agreement was unable to be reached for some time. Following the end of the 2008 season, both areas took votes with regard to rejoining of the old competition. While the clubs of the Wests JL agreed, Group 6 clubs voted against. 2009: A New Era Commences After years of senior Rugby League decline in both the former Campbelltown area of the Group and the Group itself, the NSWRL and CRL agreed to form a joint senior competition for the Wests Junior League and Group 6 areas. This competition comprised of 10 1st Grade clubs. Picton Magpies RLFC under the coaching of local junior and former Wests Magpies NRL Second Rower Gary Dowse claimed the first reunified premiership with a 26-12 triumph over arch-rivals Thirlmere Roosters at Kirkham Park, Camden. The combined competition fielded 54 teams in 1st Grade, Reserve Grade, 3rd Grade and through four U/18 divisions. While the competition had its detractors, local and State League administrators viewed the reunification as a vital bulwark against the impending threat from the AFL as it seeks to establish a second team supported by Western Sydney. [edit] 1st Grade PremiershipsCampbelltown City Kangaroos and the Bowral Blues are Group 6's most successful ever clubs with ten premiership victories each.
*1991: Mittagong Lions RLFC (Non- playing coach: Grahame Andrews) CRL Clayton Cup Winners
*Campbelltown clubs left Group 6 at this point to form the Newtown- Campbelltown Junior League
*1966: Picton Magpies RLFC (Captain Coach- Billy Peel) CRL Clayton Cup Winners
[edit] Memorable Facts/ Unique Stories
Thomas George Houghton of Robertson Spuddies says "I'll fight you all!" Mount annan knights Rep [edit] External links
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