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Group 17 Rugby League

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Group 17 Rugby League
SportRugby league
Instituted1935
Inaugural season1959
Ceased2006
Re-formed2018
Number of teams7
Country Australia
Premiers Rankins Springs (2024)
Most titles Hay Magpies (12 titles)
WebsiteWestern Riverina Community Cup
Proten Community Cup Rugby League on facebook

Group 17 is a rugby league competition based in the Riverina and Central West regions of New South Wales, Australia. The competition collapsed in 2006 and reformed in 2018 as the Western Riverina Community Cup with six teams. It is currently sponsored by a chicken farm company called Proten which has been sponsoring the whole competition since 2018.

The season runs from mid-May to late July, and features a knockout, six regular season rounds, and a three week finals series culminating in the Grand Final which is hosted by a different team each year.

History

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Early History

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Group 17 was formed in 1935 and originally centred around Griffith and Leeton, but was suspended during World War II.[1] However, when rugby league returned to normal competition after the war, Leeton, along with Griffith, Yenda, Yanco and others, joined the Wagga Wagga competition, Group 20. Group 20 later became the Griffith and District competition after the Wagga clubs joined Group 9.

Rugby league in the Western Riverina district began as an inter-town competition between Hillston, Merriwagga, Goolgowi and Hay. The competition was suspended during World War 2.

It reformed in 1947 as the 'Western Zone' with teams from Hay, Darlington Point, Goolgowi, Carrathool and two teams from Hillston, 'Town' and 'Country'. Tullibigeal joined during the 1950s, and won the 1965 Clayton Cup, the Country Rugby League's highest honour, but later departed to form the TLU Sharks with Lake Cargelligo in Group 20. In 1959, the league became known as Group 17, and featured two zones, with Zone 1 being centred around Hillston and Zone 2 around Hay.

1968 Clayton Cup "Final"

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After both Euabalong and Darlington Point finished the 1968 season undefeated in Zones 1 and 2 respectively, and were left as the only two undefeated teams in the state, administrators were unsure of which side were more deserving of the coveted Clayton Cup as the best team in the Country Rugby League. The idea of settling who was the best overall Group 17 side had been resolved with a playoff match in the past, such as when Zone 1 side Tullibigeal defeated Hay (Zone 2) in 1967. Thus, a playoff final to determine the overall Group 17 Premier, and also the Clayton Cup winner, was set down for the 29th of September 1968 at Goolgowi.

29 September 1968
15:00 AEST (UTC+10:00)
Darlington Point 20–0 Euabalong Tigers
Goolgowi Recreation Ground
Attendance: 700
Referee: William "Bill" O'Brien (Weethalle)

In a one-way encounter, the Darlington Point Red & Blacks completed a 20-0 shutout of the Euabalong Tigers side, were awarded the Clayton Cup, and settled the annual dispute over which of the two zones was stronger. The match remains the only one of its kind to this day, which is significant given that the Clayton Cup has been awarded annually since 1937, and various other tiebreakers have been used on every other occasion two teams finish with identical records as the best team in the state.

Darlington Point were considered too strong for the competition after the result and joined Group 20 the following year in 1969. In around 1969-70 the two Group 17 "Zones" merged to form a single competition.

1970s-2006

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The Deniliquin Blue Heelers were the dominant force in the early 1970s winning three consecutive premierships from 1969-1971, before folding in 1975. Coleambally also left in 1972 and merged with Darlington Point to form a combined club in Group 20 known as the DPC Roosters. Tullibigeal and Lake Cargelligo also merged to form a combined side known as Tullibigeal-Lakes United, with the new club joining Group 20 in 1972.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the competition sustained a decent standard, with eight clubs participating. More Clayton Cups were won by Group 17 clubs, with Rankins Springs (1993), Barellan (1999 and 2002) and Hillston (2006) all claiming the trophy. But by the 2000s, the Millennial Drought had caused many of the teams to be weakened, due to farming, the primary industry in the region, becoming not only unprofitable, but almost impossible. The competition collapsed after the 2006 season.

Western Riverina Community Cup Era (2018-present)

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The competition was revived in 2018 as the Group 17 Western Riverina Community Cup, with six teams participating. The format involved a knockout and five rounds followed by semi-finals and a grand final. In each round, all three games were played at the same venue, similar to the NRL's Magic Round concept.[2][3] The season increased to six games the following year, where it has remained.[4]

Clubs

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Design Club Nickname Years Home Ground No of Premierships Premiership Years
Barellan Rams 1950s–2004, 2018–present Barellan Sports Ground 9 1973–74, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1984, 1999, 2002–03
Deniliquin Blueheelers 1960s–1977, 2025–present Rotary Park, Deniliquin 3 1969–71
Goolgowi-Merriwagga Rabbitohs 1955–2006, 2018–present Goolgowi Recreation Ground 8 1965–66, 1977, 1985, 1992, 2004–05, 2019
Hillston Bluebirds 1955–2006, 2018–present Stan Peters Oval, Hillston 8 1979–80, 1983, 1986–88, 1996, 2006
Ivanhoe Roosters 1950s–2004, 2018–present Sahara Oval, Ivanhoe 0 None
Narrandera Lizards 2001, 2018–present Narrandera Sports Ground 2 2022–23
Rankins Springs Dragons 1955–2006, 2018–present Rankins Springs Recreation Ground 7 1962, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2018, 2021, 2024

Previous Clubs

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Past participants in the Group 17 competition included:

Bold indicates that the club fielded a team in the 2006 First-Grade competition.

Grand Finals

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Group 17 Zone 2 Grand Finals 1959-1972
Season Premiers Score Runners-up Coach Report Minor Premiers
1959 Hay Magpies Ivanhoe Roosters
1960 Hay Magpies Darlington Point
1961 Hay Magpies Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1962 Rankins Springs Dragons Darlington Point
1963 Darlington Point Hay Magpies
1964 Darlington Point Hay Magpies
1965 Goolgowi Rabbitohs Rankins Springs Dragons
1966 Goolgowi Rabbitohs 5–3 Hay Magpies
1967 Hay Magpies 17–9 Coleambally
1968 Darlington Point* 32–12 Hay Magpies William "Bill" Watson Darlington Point*
1969 Deniliquin Blue Heelers Coleambally
1970 Deniliquin Blue Heelers 26–14 Goolgowi Rabbitohs Barry Cottam
1971 Deniliquin Blue Heelers 26–14 Goolgowi Rabbitohs Barry Cottam
1972 Hay Magpies 26–9 Deniliquin Blue Heelers B. Curtis
Group 17 Grand Finals 1973–present
Season Premiers Score Runners-up Coach Report Minor Premiers
1973 Barellan Rams 41–2 Goolgowi Rabbitohs R. Murdoch
1974 Barellan Rams 27–8 Hay Magpies R. Murdoch
1975 Hay Magpies 25–11 Goolgowi Rabbitohs M. Johnston
1976 Barellan Rams 9–3 Goolgowi-Merriwagga Rabbitohs Greg Smith
1977 Goolgowi-Merriwagga Rabbitohs 23–19 Hay Magpies Greg Byrnes
1978 Barellan Rams 9–5 Hillston Bluebirds J. Campbell
1979 Hillston Bluebirds 16–10 Rankins Springs Dragons G. Saddler
1980 Hillston Bluebirds 27–19 Rankins Springs Dragons John Sheridan
1981 Barellan Rams 27–3 Hillston Bluebirds P. O'Brien
1982 Hay Magpies 23–15 Hillston Bluebirds Kevin Goldspink
1983 Hillston Bluebirds 38–36 Weethalle Kangaroos Laurie Townsend TAN[5] Hay Magpies
1984 Barellan Rams 14–2 Goolgowi Rabbitohs Mick Trembath TAN[6] Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1985 Goolgowi Rabbitohs 8–6 Hay Magpies Mick Turner Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1986 Hillston Bluebirds 16–5 Barellan Rams Ray Schaefer Hillston Bluebirds
1987 Hillston Bluebirds 34–29 Ivanhoe Roosters Ray Schaefer Hillston Bluebirds
1988 Hillston Bluebirds 18–6 Goolgowi-Merriwagga Rabbitohs Ray Schaefer Hay Magpies
1989 Hay Magpies 20–18 Goolgowi-Merriwagga Rabbitohs Neil-John Nisbet Hay Magpies
1990 Hay Magpies 26–14 Goolgowi-Merriwagga Rabbitohs Neil-John Nisbet Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1991 Hay Magpies 14–6 Hillston Bluebirds Neil-John Nisbet Hay Magpies
1992 Goolgowi Rabbitohs 14–0 Rankins Springs Dragons John Barzan TAN[7] Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1993 Rankins Springs Dragons* 34–16 Hay Magpies Stuart Vearing TAN[8] Rankins Springs Dragons
1994 Hay Magpies 27–18 Hillston Bluebirds Chris Aylett TAN[9] YT[10] Ivanhoe Roosters
1995 Hay Magpies 38–10 Rankins Springs Dragons Jack Byrnes TAN[11] YT[12] Barellan Rams
1996 Hillston Bluebirds 22–8 Whitton Bulls John Townsend TAN[13] Whitton Bulls
1997 Rankins Springs Dragons 50–10 Whitton Bulls Steve Schmetzer TAN[14] Rankins Springs Dragons
1998 Whitton Bulls 20–12 Barellan Rams James Mason and Shane Bamblett TAN[15] Whitton Bulls
1999 Barellan Rams* 38–22 Rankins Springs Dragons John Waide Barellan Rams
2000 Rankins Springs Dragons 34–20 Barellan Rams Stuart Vearing TAN[16] Barellan Rams
2001 Whitton Bulls 32–28 Rankins Springs Dragons John Pannowitz (Co-coach) TAN[17] Whitton Bulls
2002 Barellan Rams* 10–7 Whitton Bulls Clint Halden TAN[18] Barellan Rams
2003 Barellan Rams 22–2 Rankins Springs Dragons Hay Magpies
2004 Goolgowi Rabbitohs 26–12 Barellan Rams Greg Borger TAN[19] Goolgowi Rabbitohs
2005 Goolgowi Rabbitohs 31–28 Hillston Bluebirds Greg Borger TAN[20] Goolgowi Rabbitohs
2006 Hillston Bluebirds* 32–0 Rankins Springs Dragons Steve Parr Hillston Bluebirds
2007–17 hiatus due to drought & not enough clubs
2018 Rankins Springs Dragons 16–10 Goolgowi Rabbitohs Jamie Parsons & Joshua Curphey YT[21] TAN[22] Rankins Springs Dragons
2019 Goolgowi Rabbitohs 22–6 Narrandera Lizards Alex Brown & John Michael Cahill TAN[23] Goolgowi Rabbitohs
2020 season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Rankins Springs Dragons 10–8 Goolgowi Rabbitohs Jamie Parsons & John Power Goolgowi Rabbitohs
2022 Narrandera Lizards 20–14 Ivanhoe Roosters Kye Longford BFBF[24] RG[25] Ivanhoe Roosters
2023 Narrandera Lizards 20–14 Ivanhoe Roosters Kye Longford BFBF[26] Narrandera Lizards
2024 Rankins Springs Dragons 20–18 Narrandera Lizards Damian Walker & Josh Johnston BFBF[27] Narrandera Lizards

The use of (*) indicates that the premiers for that season won the Clayton Cup as the premier team in NSWCRL competitions statewide (regionally, excludes Sydney) for that year.

Women's Nines Grand Finals

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Group 17 Women's Nines Grand Finals 2022–present
Season Premiers Score Runners-up Coach Report Minor Premiers
2022 Narrandera Lizards 16–0 Goolgowi Rabbitohs Owen Jones BFBF[24] RG[25] Narrandera Lizards
2023 Barellan Rams 16–14 Ivanhoe Roosters Sam Everett BFBF[28] Barellan Rams
2024 Barellan Rams 26–6 Ivanhoe Roosters Brittany Everett BFBF[27] Barellan Rams

Reserve Grade Premiers

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Group 17 Reserve Grade Premiers 1970-1994
Season Premiers Score Runners-up Minor Premiers
1970 Hay Magpies Hillston Bluebirds
1971 Goolgowi Rabbitohs Barellan Rams
1972 Hay Magpies Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1973 Barellan Rams Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1974 Barellan Rams Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1975 Finley Tigers Deniliquin Blue Heelers
1976 Ivanhoe Roosters Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1977 Barellan Rams Weethalle Kangaroos
1978 Weethalle Kangaroos Ivanhoe Roosters
1979 Hillston Bluebirds Barellan Rams
1980 Hillston Bluebirds Rankins Springs Dragons
1981 Barellan Rams Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1982 Hillston Bluebirds Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1983 Hay Magpies Barellan Rams
1984 Hay Magpies Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1985 Hay Magpies Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1986 Goolgowi Rabbitohs Barellan Rams
1987 Barellan Rams Rankins Springs Dragons
1988 Goolgowi Rabbitohs Barellan Rams
1989 Goolgowi Rabbitohs Hillston Bluebirds
1990 Weethalle/Three Ways United Rankins Springs Dragons
1991 Rankins Springs Dragons Weethalle Kangaroos
1992 Goolgowi Rabbitohs Hillston Bluebirds
1993 Rankins Springs Dragons 10-6 Hay Magpies
1994 Hillston Bluebirds 32-8 Barellan Rams

Group 17 Knockout - Ron Hunt Memorial Shield

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Group 17 Knockout Winners 1974-1995
Season Winner
1974 Barellan Rams
1975 Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1976 Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1977 Hay Magpies
1978 Barellan Rams
1979 Hillston Bluebirds
1980 Hillston Bluebirds
1981 Barellan Rams
1982 Euabalong Tigers
1983 Hay Magpies
1984 Barellan Rams
1985 Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1986 Barellan Rams
1987 Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1988 Hay Magpies
1989 Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1990 Rankins Springs Dragons
1991 Hay Magpies
1992 Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1993 Rankins Springs Dragons
1994 Hillston Bluebirds
1995 Rankins Springs Dragons

Best and Fairest Winners

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First Grade

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First Grade - Riverine Grazier Medal
Season Player Club
1971 Ian Springali Hay Magpies
1972 Geoff Langford Barellan Rams
1973 Greg Byrnes Goolgowi Rabbitohs
Neil Scobie Hay Magpies
1974 Mick O'Connor Deniliquin Blue Heelers
1975 Ray Hardie Hillston Bluebirds
1976 Gary Gray Griffith Three Ways United
1977 Neil Scobie Hay Magpies
1978 Mick Ireson Hay Magpies
1979 Paul McCanna Rankins Springs Dragons
Jim Hanlon Hillston Bluebirds
1980
1981 Greg Reko Hillston Bluebirds
David Robertson Rankins Springs Dragons
1982 Robert Matthews Hay Magpies
1983 Michael Lewis Weethalle Kangaroos
Neil-John Nisbet Hay Magpies
1984 Warren Butler Barellan Rams
1985 Jim Vitucci Goolgowi Rabbitohs
Robert Matthews Hay Magpies
1986 Ray Schaefer Hillston Bluebirds
1987 Danny Byrnes Hay Magpies
1988 Robert Matthews Hay Magpies
1989 Wayne Dunbar Hay Magpies
Col Pickersgill Rankins Springs Dragons
1990 Jim Vitucci Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1991 John Woods Hay Magpies
1992 Stuart Vearing Rankins Springs Dragons
Wayne Basham Barellan Rams
1993 Paul Glyde Rankins Springs Dragons
1994 Stuart Vearing Rankins Springs Dragons
1995 Stuart Vearing Rankins Springs Dragons
Charlie Prince Rankins Springs Dragons
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Recess 2007-17
2018
2019
2020 Not Awarded - COVID-19
2021
2022
2023 William Charles Ivanhoe Roosters
2024 Oswald Herrmann Barellan Rams

Women's 9s

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Season Player Club
2022
2023
2024 Bobbi-Lee Goolagong Ivanhoe Roosters

Reserve Grade

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Reserve Grade - Referees' Association Medal
Season Player Club
1971 Ross Hulm Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1972 Jock McRae Hay Magpies
1973 David Coates Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1974 Brian Peters Deniliquin Blue Heelers
1975 Brian Peters Deniliquin Blue Heelers
1976 Warren Clark Hillston Bluebirds
1977 Leigh Heaslip Weethalle Kangaroos
1978 Robert Clark Ivanhoe Roosters
1979 Neil Baillie Hillston Bluebirds
1980 David Robertson Rankins Springs Dragons
1981 Max Hutchison Hillston Bluebirds
1982 Lionel Garner Hay Magpies
1983 Lester Apps Hillston Bluebirds
1984 Rob Christian Rankins Springs Dragons
1985
1986 David Beazley Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1987 Geordie Groat Rankins Springs Dragons
1988 Ian Sherer Hay Magpies
Wayne Kennedy Hillston Bluebirds
1989 Wayne Parsons Rankins Springs Dragons
1990 Wayne Parsons Rankins Springs Dragons
1991 Glenn Judd Weethalle Kangaroos
1992 Jamie Ziebath Goolgowi Rabbitohs
1993 Paul Lamont Rankins Springs Dragons
Wayne Dunbar Hay Magpies
1994 Troy Kennedy Hillston Bluebirds
1995 Colin Thorpe Euabalong Tigers

Sources

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Years Item Via
1959–70 Post: 19/07/2022 Proten Community Cup Facebook
1967–69, 1971–96 Country Rugby League Annual Report State Library of NSW
1970 to 1995 1995 Carlton Group 17 Grand Final Program Hard Copy
1983 to 2005 The Area News Microfilm copies at State Library of NSW
2003 to 2006 Rugby League Week Bound copies at State Library of NSW
2003 to 2006 Rugby League Week eResources at State Library of NSW
2018 to 2019 Various Newspaper Websites As referenced
2022 Battlers For Bush Footy Website
2022 The Riverine Grazier Website

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Group 9 History. 1939". Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  2. ^ "ProTen Community Cup bringing Rugby League Back to Group 17 after 12 years". Country Rugby League. Daily Advertiser. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  3. ^ Smith, Tallon (4 November 2022). "SPOTLIGHT: EVERY ROUND IS MAGIC ROUND". Battlers For Bush Footy. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Log into Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 28 March 2023. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  5. ^ "Riverina League Scoreboard". The Area News. 23 August 1983. p. 23.
  6. ^ "Rugby League Scoreboard". The Area News. 28 August 1984. p. 19.
  7. ^ "Goolgowi too strong in wet". The Area News. 3 September 1992. p. 26.
  8. ^ "Dragons slay Magpies to take Group 17 title". The Area News. 6 September 1993. p. 21.
  9. ^ "Hay beats all the odds to win the flag". The Area News. 5 September 1994. p. 22.
  10. ^ "1994 Group 17 Grand Final (Hay Magpies v Hillston Bluebirds)". YouTube. 8 January 2012 [1994]. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Hay makes it a double". The Area News. 18 September 1995. p. 28.
  12. ^ "Hay Magpies vs Rankin Springs 1995 Group 17 Grand Final Part 8". YouTube. 25 June 2013 [1995]. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Hillston picks up the double". The Area News. 9 September 1996. p. 20.
  14. ^ "Springs too good". The Area News. 8 September 1997. p. 24.
  15. ^ "Whitton finally make it - Glory for Bulls as they take out Group 17 premiership". The Area News. 7 September 1998. p. 27.
  16. ^ Stratton, Michael (4 September 2000). "Rankin Springs runs away with Group 17 title". The Area News. p. 20.
  17. ^ "Bulls charge over Dragons". The Area News. 10 September 2001. p. 24.
  18. ^ Stratton, Michael (11 September 2002). "Barellan holds on in thriller". The Area News. p. 28.
  19. ^ Malone, Matt (13 September 2004). "Rabbitohs premiers after 12-year drought". The Area News. p. 24.
  20. ^ Malone, Matt (29 August 2005). "Rabbitohs clinch a three-point victory - Goolgowi scores back-to-back victories". The Area News. p. 28.
  21. ^ "Match Highlights: Rankins Springs Vs Goolgowi - Grand Final, 2018". YouTube. Rankins Springs Dragons RLFC. 24 July 2018. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  22. ^ Stratton, Michael (22 July 2020). "Rankins Springs defeat Goolgowi in ProTen Community Cup grand final". The Area News. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  23. ^ Stratton, Michael (28 July 2019). "Goolgowi defeat Narrandera in the ProTen Community Cup". The Area News. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  24. ^ a b Smith, Tallon (3 November 2022). "Narrandera seeing double after Lizards crawl to community cup championships". Battlers For Bush Footy. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  25. ^ a b "Narrandera seeing double after Lizards crawl to community cup championships". The Riverine Grazier. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  26. ^ Smith, Tallon (2 August 2023). ""Narrandera's the best team of all": Lizards go back-to-back in the Proten Community Cup". Battlers For Bush Footy. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  27. ^ a b Smith, Tallon (23 July 2024). "Proten Cup: Dragons defy halftime deficit to shock Lizards in epic finale, Rams win again". Battlers For Bush Footy. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  28. ^ Smith, Tallon (2 August 2023). "Rams for the win: Barellan take out Women's Nines title undefeated in inaugural season". Battlers For Bush Footy. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
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