Group 7 Rugby League

Group 7 Rugby League
Sport	Rugby league football
Formerly known as	South Coast Rugby League
Instituted	1914
Inaugural season	1914 (as South Coast Rugby League), 1955 (as Group 7 Rugby League)
Number of teams	10
Country	Australia
Premiers	Gerringong Lions (2013)
Most titles	Gerringong Lions (17 titles)
Website	southcoast.leaguenet.com.au

South Coast Group 7 Rugby League (or Group 7 Rugby League for simplicity) is the divisional boundary drawn from the Southern Illawarra and South Coast regions (from the town of Warilla south to Batemans Bay) of New South Wales, Australia and is governed by the NSWCRL. The main competition, (named South Coast Group 7 VB First Grade for sponsorship reasons), comprises eight (10) teams from across the region. In 2011 the competition won't feature a team from central Shoalhaven for the first time in a long time. Group 7 Rugby League also administers Reserve Grade, Third Grade and Under-18's competitions, as well as looking over many junior competitions.

Teams

There are nine (10) teams competing in the 2013 South Coast Group 7 VB First Grade Competition:

Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles Albion Park, NSW Ground: Centenary Field First season: 1933	Batemans Bay Tigers Batemans Bay, NSW Ground: Mackay Park First season: 1978	Berry-Shoalhaven Heads Magpies Berry, NSW Ground: Berry Showground First season: 1914	Gerringong Lions Gerringong, NSW Ground: Michael Cronin Oval First season: 1914	Jamberoo Superoos Jamberoo, NSW Ground: Kevin Walsh Oval First season: 1914
Kiama Knights Kiama, NSW Ground: Kiama Showground First season: 1914	Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs Mollymook, NSW Ground: Bill Andriske Oval First season: 1930s	Nowra-Bomaderry Jets Nowra, NSW Ground: Nowra Showground First season: 2008	Port Kembla Blacks Port Kembla, NSW Ground: Noel Mulligan Oval First season: 2013	Warilla-Lake South Gorillas Lake Illawarra, NSW Ground: Cec Glenholmes Oval First season: 1970

In Reserve Grade, an extra two (2) teams participate in an eleven (11) team competition:

• Bay and Basin United Sharks (formed from merger between Wreck Bay and St Georges Basin Dragons)
• Culburra-Greenwell Point Pirates

Former Teams

• Naval College
• Kangaroo Valley
• Bombo (merged with Kiama in 1930)
• Nowra Warriors (merged with Bomaderry to form the Jets)
• Shellharbour Sharks (joined Illawarra Rugby League in 2009)
• Bay and Basin United
• Bomaderry Swamp Rats (merged with Nowra to from the Jets)

Foundation Clubs

Of the original eight teams that competed in the inaugural competition in 1914, only four teams remain playing in first grade. They are the Berry Magpies, Gerringong Lions, Jamberoo Superoos, and Kiama Knights. The Nowra Warriors were also a foundation club, but due to financial reasons were forced to merge with the Bomaderry Swamp Rats in 2007, creating the team Shoalhaven Jets which compete in Reserve Grade.

Club	Traditional Colours	Years Contested		Seasons
				Played	Premiers	Minor Premiers	Runners-Up
Berry Magpies		1914 – current		100	12		10
Bombo		1914–1929 (merged with Kiama)		16	1		0
Gerringong Lions		1914–1924, 1928–current		97	16		14
Jamberoo Superoos		1914–1989, 2009–current		81	8		9
Kiama Knights		1914–current		100	11		12
Kangaroo Valley		1914–?			0		1
Naval College		1914–?			0		0
Nowra Warriors		1914–2007 (formed Jets)		94	10		11

New teams

There have been a few teams to expand into the Group 7 Rugby League First Grade Premiership. Through the 20's-30's Albion Park were founded, joined the Illawarra Rugby League and returned to Group 7 in 1933. The Shellharbour Sharks are known to have joined the league at this time. Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs also joined from Group 16 Rugby League. The Warilla-Lake South Gorillas were first introduced into First Grade during the 1970s and in 1978 the Batemans Bay Tigers were another team to move from Group 16.

Club	Traditional Colours	Years Contested		Seasons
				Played	Premiers	Minor Premiers	Runners-Up
Shellharbour Sharks		1920–2008 (to Illawarra)		89	5		13
Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs		(from Group 16) c. 1930–current		84	5		2
Albion Park Eagles		(from Illawarra) 1933 – current		81	12		5
Warilla Gorillas		1964–current		44	7		7
Batemans Bay Tigers		(from Group 16) 1978–current		36	5		3
Nowra Saints		early 1980s		>5	0		1
Bomaderry Swamp Rats		?-2007 (formed Jets)			1		4
Bay and Basin United		?-2010, 2012			0		0
Nowra-Bomaderry Jets		2008–2010, 2012-		5	0		0
Port Kembla Blacks		(from Illawarra) 2013-		1	0		0

History

Formative years

Rugby league has been played in the South Coast region of New South Wales since 1913, with the first competition taking place between teams from the Shoalhaven district. In May 1914, with other rugby clubs from across the region also splitting from rugby union to join the new code, the South Coast Rugby League was formed. The first season of what is now known as the Group 7 competition began with eight teams competing. These teams included: Berry, Bombo, Gerringong, Jamberoo, Kiama, Kangaroo Valley, Naval College, and Nowra. The First round began on 30 May 1914, with Kiama defeating Gerringong 6–3, Naval College defeating Bombo 7–5, Jamberoo Superoos defeating Kangaroo Valley 3–0, and Nowra Warriors defeating Berry Magpies 3–0. The inaugural premiers were Gerringong, winning the final 11–10 at the Kiama Showground. As soon as the league began, they entered a two-year hiatus due to World War I. No competitions were held between 1916 and 1917. When the competition reformed in 1918, Gerringong again won the title. The Nowra Warriors were the next team to win the title in 1919.

1920s

Gerringong went on to win the title a third time in 1920, with a 3–0 win over Jamberoo. During 1925–26, some of the northern teams moved into Illawarra Rugby League competition, including Gerringong, who took out the Illawarra Premiership in 1925. Jamberoo won the premiership in 1927. As a result, they were the first team to represent the South Coast in the first championship between South Coast and Illawarra Premiers. Jamberoo (South Coast) defeated Port Kembla (Illawarra) 15–11. In 1929, Bombo won their first (and only) premiership.

1930s

After winning their first premiership in 1929, Bombo merged with Kiama in 1930. The new entity, Bombo-Kiama, took out the title in their first season. They followed this up with another in 1933. Albion Park became re-affiliated with South Coast Rugby League in 1933. Milton-Ulladulla joined the league in the 1930s from Group 16 Rugby League. Between 1935 and 1937, the Berry Magpies won the premiership three years consecutively. Junior aged competitions (U-17's, 18's, 19's) were first introduced in 1938. The Shellharbour Sharks won their first premiership in 1939.

1940s

Again, the competition faced a hiatus, this time between 1942–43, due to World War II. Albion Park won their maiden Premiership in 1944. Kiama (as a single entity) won the title in 1945. They went on to win a further three titles, becoming the first and only club to win four consecutive titles (1945–1948).

1950s – 1960s

For a second time, between 1952 and 1954, Berry record premiership wins three years consecutively. In 1955, the league was renamed Group 7 Rugby League. Shellharbour won the Premiership in 1962 after a 23-year drought. In 1967, Bomaderry record their first premiership win.

1970s – 1980s

In the 1970s, an expansion occurred when Warilla entered the first grade competition in 1970. They go on to win their first premiership in 1978. The Batemans Bay Tigers win their first premiership in 1979, after joining one year earlier in 1978 from Group 16. In 1980, the league was re-branded as South Coast Group Seven. Milton-Ulladulla record their first premiership win in 1987.

Modern Times

A hat-trick of premierships is again recorded, this time by the Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles between 1998–2000.

Source: Group 7 Rugby League History

Premierships

First Grade Premiers

Season	Grand Final Information			Minor Premiers
	Premiers	Score	Runners-Up
1914	Gerringong	11–10	Nowra
1915	Jamberoo	Forfeit	Gerringong
No competition held between 1916–1917
1918	Gerringong	12–3	Kiama
1919	Nowra	7–7 13–9	Kiama (Dinkums)
1920	Gerringong	3–0	Jamberoo
1921	Gerringong	8–7	Berry
1922	Gerringong	11–0	Berry
1923	Berry	6–5	Gerringong
1924	Gerringong	10–0	Berry
1925	Kiama	8–5	Kangaroo Valley
1926	Berry	13–10	Jamberoo
1927	Jamberoo	14–0	Berry
1928	Berry	5–2	Gerringong
1929	Bombo	12–7	Gerringong
1930	Kiama-Bombo	3–3 6–4	Nowra
1931	Jamberoo	10–0	Shellharbour
1932	Jamberoo	21–0	Shellharbour
1933	Kiama-Bombo	7–4	Nowra
1934	Nowra	16–10	Kiama-Bombo
1935	Berry	11–2	Kiama-Bombo
1936	Berry	22–4	Gerringong
1937	Berry	15–2	Nowra
1938	Nowra	12–5	Jamberoo	Nowra
1939	Shellharbour	4–2	Jamberoo
1940	Gerringong	6–2	Kiama
1941	Berry	10–7	Kiama
No competition held between 1942–1943
1944	Albion Park	4–3	Nowra
1945	Kiama	5–0	Nowra
1946	Kiama	3–0	Jamberoo	Kiama
1947	Kiama	19–5	Jamberoo
1948	Kiama	5–5 10–6	Berry
1949	Albion Park	2–0	Gerringong
1950	Kiama	5–5 2–0	Jamberoo
1951	Jamberoo	15–5	Kiama
1952	Berry	8–0	Gerringong
1953	Berry	12–2	Kiama
1954	Berry	13–0	Jamberoo
1955	Nowra	13–9	Shellharbour
1956	Gerringong	6–5	Jamberoo
1957	Nowra	19–10	Shellharbour
1958	Jamberoo	18–8	Berry
1959	Nowra	8–6	Bomaderry
1960	Gerringong	7–3	Nowra
1961	Jamberoo	7–2	Nowra
1962	Shellharbour	13–6	Albion Park
1963	Albion Park-Oak Flats	3–0	Berry
1964	Albion Park-Oak Flats	6–5	Berry
1965	Gerringong	14–9	Albion Park-Oak Flats
1966	Berry	4–0	Shellharbour
1967	Berry	15–7	Nowra
1968	Gerringong	15–9	Shellharbour
1969	Kiama	2–2 14–2	Bomaderry
1970	Gerringong	17–15	Shellharbour (Workers)
1971	Shellharbour (Workers)	8–0	Gerringong
1972	Gerringong	13–7	Shellharbour (Workers)
1973	Shellharbour (Workers)	36–7	Gerringong
1974	Jamberoo	13–5 (AET)	Albion Park-Oak Flats
1975	Albion Park-Oak Flats	19–8	Gerringong
1976	Bomaderry	14–12	Albion Park-Oak Flats
1977	Nowra	21–7	Kiama
1978	Warilla	10–2	Bomaderry
1979	Batemans Bay	10–0	Milton-Ulladulla
1980	Warilla-Lake South	14–10	Shellharbour (Workers)
1981	Nowra	20–3	Warilla-Lake South
1982	Warilla-Lake South	27–7	Nowra Saints	Warilla-Lake South
1983	Kiama	38–6	Shellharbour (Workers)
1984	Warilla-Lake South	30–6	Kiama
1985	Kiama	22–18	Nowra Warriors
1986	Batemans Bay	10–8	Warilla
1987	Milton-Ulladulla	13–12	Gerringong
1988	Batemans Bay	19–12	Gerringong
1989	Milton-Ulladulla	8–4	Gerringong
1990	Gerringong	19–16	Kiama
1991	Warilla-Lake South	22–1	Kiama
1992	Batemans Bay	26–6	Warilla-Lake South
1993	Nowra	16–12	Bomaderry	Batemans Bay
1994	Gerringong	9–6	Warilla-Lake South
1995	Warilla-Lake South	12–10	Nowra Warriors
1996	Nowra	42–6	Shellharbour
1997	Warilla-Lake South	18–16	Albion Park-Oak Flats	Warilla-Lake South
1998	Albion Park-Oak Flats	11–4	Warilla-Lake South	Warilla-Lake South
1999	Albion Park-Oak Flats	30–16	Batemans Bay
2000	Albion Park-Oak Flats	31–18	Batemans Bay
2001	Shellharbour City	22–20	Batemans Bay
2002	Batemans Bay	54–10	Milton-Ulladulla
2003	Albion Park-Oak Flats	14–10	Gerringong
2004	Milton-Ulladulla	50–12	Berry-Shoalhaven Heads	Milton-Ulladulla
2005	Milton-Ulladulla	34–22	Albion Park-Oak Flats	Albion Park-Oak Flats
2006	Albion Park-Oak Flats	30–0	Shellharbour City	Albion Park-Oak Flats
2007	Albion Park-Oak Flats	44–10	Berry-Shoalhaven Heads	Albion Park-Oak Flats
2008	Milton-Ulladulla	36–24	Shellharbour City	Shellharbour City
2009	Albion Park-Oak Flats	25–22	Warilla-Lake South	Warilla-Lake South
2010	Gerringong	21–20	Warilla-Lake South	Albion Park-Oak Flats
2011	Warilla-Lake South	36–6	Gerringong	Warilla-Lake South
2012	Gerringong	16-14	Albion Park-Oak Flats	Albion Park-Oak Flats
2013	Gerringong	16–14	Warilla-Lake South	Gerringong

Total Premierships Won

Team	Amount
Gerringong	17
Albion Park	13
Berry	12
Kiama	11
Nowra	10
Jamberoo	8
Warilla	7
Shellharbour	5
Milton-Ulladulla	5
Batemans Bay Tigers	5
Bomaderry	1
Bombo	1

External links

• South Coast Group 7 Webpage
• Country Rugby League Webpage