Northern Pride RLFC

History

The Northern Pride, along with the Mackay Cutters (against whom they played their debut game), were the two expansion teams for the 2008 season of the QRL Wizard Queensland Cup. Both teams are feeder clubs to the North Queensland Cowboys.

Cairns was represented in the QRL State Competition (called the Channel Nine Cup 1996-7; Queensland Cup 1998-9; Bundy Gold Cup 2000) from 1996-2000 by the Cairns Cyclones, but a lack of support resulted in their withdrawal. Further representation in the competition was suggested in 2006 by a Cairns-based consortium of John O’Brien, Denis Keeffe, Nigel Tillet and John Moore, this time with the support of the North Queensland Cowboys and 9 of the 11 CDRL Clubs. The team name and logo were unveiled in July 2007 at a "Legends of Origin" lunch held at The Reef Hotel Casino.

The Club is a development club built around the phrase 'Born and Bred.' It was formed to create a regionally based talent development pathway for players, coaches and administrators. Prior to the creation of the Club, talented Far North Queensland rugby league players were invariably forced to move away from the region to go to schools and/or join southern based state league and national league clubs. The Northern Pride competes in the Open Men's Competition (currently called the Intrust Super Cup due to sponsorship obligations), as well as the Under-16 competition (Cyril Connell Cup) and the Under-18 competition (Mal Meninga Cup).

Staff

The original coach was Adrian Lam, who arrived in Cairns in August 2007, but was released a month later to take up a coaching position at the Sydney Roosters. He was replaced by former Canberra Raiders NRL player Andrew Dunemann (2008-9) with former North Queensland Cowboys player David Maiden and Troy Cummings as Assistant Coaches. Dunemann resigned at the end of 2009 and Maiden was promoted to Head Coach with former Canberra Raiders and PNG international David Westley as Assistant Coach. Maiden left at the end of 2012 and was replaced by former Super League player Jason Demetriou as head coach with Ben Rauter as Assistant Coach. Demetriou coached the Pride to a minor premiership in his first season, winning 17 of their 22 games and being awarded the Men of League Coach of the Year award. In his second season Demetriou secured the minor premiership again, winning 20 games in 24 rounds, before taking out the premiership and the inaugural NRL State Championship. Demetriou resigned at the end of the 2014 season to take up the position of assistant coach under Paul Green at the North Queensland Cowboys. He was replaced by the Pride's assistant coach Joe O'Callaghan.

Foundation captain was former North Queensland Cowboys and St. George Illawarra Dragons player Chris Sheppard. Sheppard was the first player signed to the team (July 2007) and was captain and operations manager for the first three seasons. He retired after leading the Pride to Premiership victory at the 2010 Grand Final. Former North Queensland Cowboys player Ty Williams was captain for the next three seasons (2011-2013), before retiring to captain-coach the CDRL Innisfail Leprechauns. In 2014 Demetriou named joint co-captains Brett Anderson and Jason Roos (2014-2015). The side has also been captained by Warren Jensen, Chey Bird, Ben Laity, Ryan Stig, Mark Cantoni, Sheldon Powe-Hobbs and Jordan Biondi-Odo when the regular captain(s) were unavailable due to injury and/or representative commitments.

The foundation Chief Executive Officer was Dennis Keeffe. He was replaced in 2010 by QRL Northern Division chairman John Moore. From 2011 to 2013 former team captain Chris Sheppard was CEO. He was replaced in May 2013 by Northern Pride business development manager, Brock Schaefer. Schaefer resigned at the end of the 2014 season to take up a role at South Sydney Rabbitohs and was replaced in January 2015 by former Pride player Rod Jensen.

Venues

The Pride's home ground is Barlow Park in Cairns. The playing field is 114 metres long (100 metres of field plus two 7 metre in-goal areas) by 68 metres wide. The facility is floodlit for night games with four towers providing 620 lux. The venue has a capacity of 15,000 which includes 1,700 seats (mostly undercover). The car park can accommodate approximately 300 vehicles. The Pride have played 8 pre-season trial matches and 79 home games at Barlow Park (2008-2014, 7 seasons; won 64; drawn 2; lost 13;), two home games at Pride Oval, Irene Street Mooroobool (2010 season, won 2; drawn 0; lost 0) and one home game at Davies Park, Mareeba (2014 season, won 0; drawn 0; lost 1). Five matches at Barlow Park have been televised. The Pride have also played pre-season trial matches in the Cairns area at Pride Oval, Mooroobool; Jones Park, Westcourt; Stan Williams Park, Manunda; Callendar Park, Innisfail; Jilara Oval, Yarrabah; Mossman Showgrounds; NQ Hardware Stadium, Atherton; Tully Showgrounds, Tully and Davies Park, Mareeba.

In 2012-2013 the Pride played 13 consecutive home games at Barlow Park without loss. In 2014 Barlow Park was renamed 'The Jungle' and the Pride won all 12 matches they played there.

The team has trained at a number of venues, including Barlow Park, West Barlow Park, Pride Oval and CDRL's Jones Park at Mann Street, Westcourt.

The Pride's Leagues Club is the former CDRL Kangaroos Club at Pride Oval, Irene Street, Mooroobool.

2008 - Inaugural Season

In their first year in the Wizard Queensland Cup the CRGT Northern Pride came 3rd, just losing the Preliminary Final in golden point extra-time to the Souths Logan Magpies, who went on to win the 2008 Grand Final.
Foundation coach was Andrew Dunemann, who had played for the Canberra Raiders, Leeds Rhinos, Halifax and South Sydney Rabbitohs, and had been Under-20s coach for the Canberra Raiders. Assistant coach was David Maiden.
Foundation captain was Chris Sheppard, who had played for the North Queensland Cowboys and St. George Illawarra Dragons.

2009 - Runners Up

The CRGT Northern Pride followed up the impressive first season by finishing second and reaching the Grand Final. The Pride's first Grand Final appearance ended in a 32-18 loss to the Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles at Stockland Park. Coach Andrew Dunemann left at the end of the season to take up a position as assistant coach to Rick Stone at the Newcastle Knights.

2010 - Premiers

David Maiden took over as coach. Maiden played for the North Queensland Cowboys, Gateshead Thunder and Hull, as well as representing Scotland as an international in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup.

The Skill360 Northern Pride finished fourth and made the Grand Final, having won 11 matches in a row leading into the Grand Final. They won the Grand Final, beating Norths Devils 30-20 at Suncorp Stadium. Captain Chris Sheppard won the Duncan Hall Medal for his man-of-the-match performance in the Grand Final, which was his last game before retirement.

Grand Final video highlights.

2011

Between Round 14 of the 2010 season and Round 5 of the 2011 season, the Skill360 Northern Pride won 17 consecutive games, a Queensland Cup record. After a draw in Round 6 and a win in Round 7, the Pride were unbeaten after 19 matches. The Pride finished the 2011 season in second place, but were eliminated after losing the semi-final 26-20 to Tweed Heads Seagulls at Dolphin Oval, Redcliffe.

2012

In 2012, the club finished seventh to miss out on a finals appearance for the first time in their short history. At the end of the season, Head Coach David Maiden resigned, while fullback Chey Bird, who scored 572 points in 94 appearances for the Pride, retired along with former North Queensland Cowboys star Rod Jensen, who scored 36 tries in 69 games for the club, second on the Pride's all-time try scorer list.

2012 season Video Highlights.

2013 - Minor Premiers

Former Super League player Jason Demetriou replaced David Maiden as coach, and Brock Schaefer replaced Chris Sheppard as CEO. The Pride finished first and won their first Minor Premiership. Head Coach Jason Demetriou was awarded the Men of League Coach of the Year. The Pride lost both Finals games (the Major Semi-Final and the Preliminary Final) and missed out on a Grand Final appearance. At the end of the season Captain Ty Williams retired.

2014 Season - Minor Premiers, Premiers & NRL State Champions

Coach Jason Demetriou named Brett Anderson and Jason Roos as joint co-captains. Barlow Park was renamed 'The Jungle' and the Pride introduced a new mascot, Barlow the lion. The Pride won 20 of their 24 games (including all 12 home games at Barlow Park) and they took out the minor premiership for the second year in a row, won the Grand Final 36-4 against Easts Tigers and then won the inaugural NRL State Championship against the New South Wales Cup premiers, Penrith Panthers. At the end of the season four of the Pride's players were offered NRL contracts and Demetriou left to take up the role of assistant coach at the North Queensland Cowboys.

2015 Season

This week's game: Round 1 Easts Tigers v Northern Pride.

2016 Season

This week's game: Round 1 Easts Tigers v Northern Pride.

Club records

Most appearances: Jason Roos, 139 (2008-2014)

Most points overall: Chey Bird, 574 points (23 tries, 226 goals)

Most points in a season: Chey Bird, 216 points (5 tries, 97 goals) 2011 season

Most points in a game: Tom Humble (v Redcliffe 2009) 34 points

Most tries: Brett Anderson, 61 tries

Most tries in a season: Tom Humble 20 tries, 2009 season

Most tries in a game: 4 – Brett Anderson (2008 v Mackay); Tom Humble (2009 v Redcliffe); Brett Anderson (2011 v Easts)

Most goals: Chey Bird, 226 goals

Most goals in a season: Chey Bird, 97 goals, 2011 season

Most field-goals: Chris Sheppard, 3 field-goals

Jerseys

Northern Pride primary jerseys

Northern Pride alternative jerseys

Northern Pride special jerseys

Special playing strips

2010: NAIDOC Week black jersey designed by Kevin Edmondston (Aboriginal) and Joey Laifoo (Torres Strait Islander) and worn in Round 16, Friday 9 July 2010 at Barlow Park for the game against the Ipswich Jets.

2011: NAIDOC Week green jersey worn in Round 15, Friday 8 July 2011 at Barlow Park for the game against the Burleigh Bears.

2011: Special NPA (Northern Peninsula Area) indigenous jersey designed by Mario Assan for the Round 20 game played on Saturday 20 August 2011 at Yusia Ginau Oval, Bamaga, Queensland against Souths Logan Magpies. The design incorporates:

The five communities of the NPA Region: Injinoo, Umagico, Bamaga, New Mapoon and Seisia, the communities are represented on the five dots on the boomerang. The five tribes the Traditional Owners of the NPA Anggamuthi, Atambaya, Wuthati, Yadhaykenu and Gudang. The tribes are depicted through the five rivers that stream from the bottom of the boomerang. The main centrepiece of the design the Torres Strait Headress (Dhari) traditionally known as a Dhibal, is from Saibai Island, which makes up the majority of the TSI population in the NPA which migrated to the NPA throughout the 1940s. The Dhari as a significant importance in TSI culture, the initiation of young men into warriors, celebrated through dance and ceremonies. The boomerang represents the Aboriginal peoples of the NPA, used in hunting and gathering and significant ceremonies.

2012: Pink socks and pink bootlaces for the Breast Cancer Foundation and Women in League Round, Round 15 played on Saturday 23 June 2012 at Barlow Park against Tweed Heads Seagulls.

2012: Orange jersey for the Round 17 game played on Saturday 14 July 2012 at Alec Inch Oval, Mt Isa against Souths Logan Magpies.

Sponsors

Naming rights sponsor:

2008-2009: CRGT Northern Pride

2010-2013: Skill360 Northern Pride

2014- : Sea Swift Northern Pride

Jersey sponsor (back of jersey):

Sea Swift (Northern Pride Platinum partner)

Brothers Leagues Club, Cairns

Queensland Country Credit Union (Official Health Fund Provider)

Sleeve sponsor:

2008-2010: NQ X-Ray

2011-2014: Skytrans

2014 Finals Series & 2015-: Rivers Insurance Brokers

2016: Rivers Insurance Brokers & L J Hooker

Shorts sponsor:

Brothers Leagues Club, Cairns

Cairns Regional Council

Fuller Sports

Intrust Super

Cairns Hardware

Playing strip manufacturer:

Emu Sportswear

Other sponsors: XXXX; Gilligans Backpacker Hotel and Resort; Pacific Toyota; Cairns District Rugby League; Calanna Pharmacy; Tropic Wings; GATA Plastering; All Seasons Cairns Colonial Club; Cairns Plan Printing; Yalumba Winery.
Media partners: Sea FM; Zinc 102.7; WIN Television; Cairns Post.

Televised Games

The Pride have had 37 matches televised (2008-2014, 7 seasons; won 19; drawn 1; lost 16 (1 still to play!)).

ABC TV

Between 2008 and 2011, Queensland Cup matches were televised by ABC TV, with one match a week shown live across Queensland on ABC1 at 2.00pm (AEST) on Saturday afternoons. The commentary team was Gerry Collins, Warren Boland and David Wright.

2008 Northern Pride televised games - ABC TV

1: Northern Pride won 34-24: Round 5, Saturday 12 April 2008 against Souths Logan Magpies from Meakin Park, Logan

2: Northern Pride lost 4-34: Round 8, Saturday 3 May 2008 against Tweed Heads Seagulls from Cudgen Park, Cudgen

3: Northern Pride won 30-16: Round 11, Saturday 24 May 2008 against Ipswich Jets from Briggs Road Sporting Complex, Ipswich

4: Northern Pride won 26-10: Round 17, Saturday 12 July 2008 against Easts Tigers from Langlands Park, Stones Corner, Brisbane

5: Northern Pride won 34-16: Qualifying Final, Saturday 30 August 2008 against Ipswich Jets from Briggs Road Sporting Complex, Ipswich

6: Northern Pride lost 12-16 : Preliminary Final, Saturday 6 September 2008 against Souths Logan Magpies from Langlands Park, Stones Corner, Brisbane

2009 Northern Pride televised games - ABC TV

1: Northern Pride lost 10-30 : Round 5, Saturday 11 April 2009 against Burleigh Bears from Pizzey Park, Miami, Gold Coast

2: Northern Pride lost 18-30 : Round 15, Saturday 27 June 2009 against Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles from Stockland Park, Caloundra, Sunshine Coast

3: Northern Pride won 54-24 : Round 18, Saturday 25 July 2009 against Redcliffe Dolphins from Dolphin Oval, Redcliffe

4: Northern Pride won 22-10 : Semi-Final, Saturday 5 September 2009 against Central Comets from BMD Kougari Oval, Wynnum

5: Northern Pride lost 18-32 : Grand Final, Saturday 12 September 2009 against Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles from Stockland Park, Caloundra, Sunshine Coast

2010 Northern Pride televised games - ABC TV

1: Northern Pride lost 16-22 : Round 5, Saturday 10 April 2010 against Ipswich Jets from North Ipswich Reserve, Ipswich

2: Northern Pride lost 14-26 : Round 10, Saturday 22 May 2010 against Norths Devils from Bishop Park, Nundah

3: Northern Pride won 54-6 : Round 22, Saturday 28 August 2010 against Burleigh Bears from Pizzey Park, Miami, Gold Coast

4: Northern Pride won 28-8 : Semi-Final, Sunday 12 September 2010 against Souths Logan Magpies from Davies Park, West End, Brisbane

5: Northern Pride won 30-20 : Grand Final, Sunday 19 September 2010 against Norths Devils from Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

2011 Northern Pride televised games - ABC TV

1: Northern Pride drew 12-12 : Round 6, Saturday 23 April 2011 against Ipswich Jets from North Ipswich Reserve, Ipswich

2: Northern Pride lost 12-26 : Round 11, Saturday 4 June 2011 against Tweed Heads Seagulls from Piggabeen Sports Complex, Tweed Heads

3: Northern Pride lost 28-30 : Round 13, Saturday 18 June 2011 against Wynnum-Manly Seagulls from BMD Kougari Oval, Brisbane

4: Northern Pride lost 20-26 : Semi-Final, Saturday 17 September 2011 against Tweed Heads Seagulls from Dolphin Oval, Redcliffe

Channel Nine

From 2012, games were televised by Channel 9, with one match a week shown live across Queensland on Channel 9 (or GEM), on WIN Television (RTQ) in regional areas and on Imparja Television in remote areas at 2.00pm (AEST) on Sunday afternoons (except during coverage of the 2012 London Olympics). The first home game broadcast from Barlow Park, Cairns was Round 13, Sunday 10 June 2012 against traditional rivals Mackay Cutters. In August 2012 as part of the historic $1 billion five-year broadcasting agreement with Nine and Fox Sports, the Australian Rugby League Commission confirmed that Intrust Super Cup matches would continue to be televised by Channel 9 until 2018. From 2013 matches were also broadcast in Papua New Guinea on Kundu 2 TV. The 2012 commentary team was Andrew Voss, Ben Ikin and Nick Curry. The 2013 commentary team was Paul Green, Matthew Thompson, Scott Sattler, Adrian Vowles and Peter Psaltis. The 2014-2015 commentary team was Matthew Thompson, Scott Sattler and Peter Psaltis.

2012 Northern Pride televised games - Channel 9, WIN Television (RTQ) and Imparja Television. All home games and every away game from Round 5 were streamed live through the Pride website.

1: Northern Pride lost 22-24 : Round 6, Saturday 14 April 2012 against Tweed Heads Seagulls from Piggabeen Sports Complex, Tweed Heads

2: Northern Pride lost 14-38 : Round 12, Saturday 2 June 2012 against Ipswich Jets from North Ipswich Reserve, Ipswich

3: Northern Pride won 36-10 : Round 13, Sunday 10 June 2012 against Mackay Cutters from Barlow Park, Cairns

2013 Northern Pride televised games - Channel 9, WIN Television (RTQ), Imparja Television and Kundu 2 TV. All home games, including the two pre-season trial matches were streamed live through the Pride website.

1: Northern Pride won 24-22 : Round 2, Sunday, 24 March 2013 against Burleigh Bears 2.00pm from Pizzey Park, Miami, Gold Coast.

2: Northern Pride won 24-8 : Round 12, Sunday, 2 June 2013 against Easts Tigers 2.00pm from Langlands Park, Stones Corner, Brisbane.

3: Northern Pride won 36-16: Round 15, Sunday, 23 June 2013 against Redcliffe Dolphins 2.00pm from Dolphin Oval, Redcliffe.

4: Northern Pride lost 26-16: Round 17, Sunday, 7 July 2013 against Mackay Cutters 12.30pm (telecast delayed to 2.00pm) from Virgin Australia Stadium, Mackay.

5: Northern Pride won 38-6: Round 18, Sunday, 14 July 2013 against Norths Devils 2.00pm from Bishop Park, Nundah.

6: Northern Pride won 44-12: Round 22, Sunday, 18 August 2013, against Burleigh Bears 2.00pm from Barlow Park, Cairns.

7: Northern Pride lost 16-29: Major Semi-Final, 15 September 2013, against Easts Tigers 1.30pm from Barlow Park, Cairns.

8: Northern Pride lost 6-20: Preliminary Final, Sunday, 22 September 2013, against Mackay Cutters 2.00pm from Langlands Park, Stones Corner, Brisbane.

2014 Northern Pride televised games - Channel 9, WIN Television (RTQ), Imparja Television and Kundu 2 TV. All home games, including one of the pre-season trial matches were streamed live through the Pride website.

1: Northern Pride lost 26-29: Round 11, Sunday 11 May 2014 against Tweed Heads Seagulls 2.00pm from Piggabeen Sports Complex, Bailey St, Tweed Heads West.

2: Northern Pride won 44-20: Round 16, Sunday 15 June 2014 against Easts Tigers 2.00pm from Langlands Park, Stones Corner, Brisbane.

3: Northern Pride won 36-18: Round 18, Sunday, 29 June 2014 against Papua New Guinea Hunters 2.00 pm from Barlow Park, Cairns.

4: Northern Pride won 22-18: Round 22, Sunday, 3 August 2014 against Tweed Heads Seagulls 12.30 pm (delayed telecast at 2.00 pm) from Barlow Park, Cairns.

5: Northern Pride won 36-4: Grand Final, Sunday, 28 September 2014 against Easts Tigers 3.55 pm from Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.

6: Northern Pride won 32-28: NRL State Championship, Sunday, 5 October 2014 against Penrith Panthers 4.00 pm AEDT from ANZ Stadium, Sydney.

2015 Northern Pride televised games - Channel 9, WIN Television (RTQ), Imparja Television and Kundu 2 TV.

1: Northern Pride lost 12-20: Round 1, Sunday, 8 March 2015, 1.40 pm against Easts Tigers from Tap Out Energy Stadium, Stones Corner, Brisbane. This match was shown on the Nine Network's GEM channel because the ICC World Cup Cricket match between Australia and Sri Lanka was on Channel Nine.

x: Northern Pride v Townsville Blackhawks: Round 3, Sunday, 22 March 2015, 1.50 pm from Barlow Park, Cairns. This game was reallocated as a result of weather concerns due to Cyclone Nathan and the match between Tweed Heads Seagulls and Norths Devils was shown instead.

2: Northern Pride v Souths Logan Magpies: Round 8, Sunday 26 April 2015, 12.30 pm (telecast delayed to 1.30 pm) from Barlow Park, Cairns. This Round was originally scheduled as the Wynnum Manly Seagulls v Norths Devils game.

Live Streaming

From Round 1 2012 the Pride began live streaming their home games free to members via their website ($5 for non-members). From Round 5 2012 away games were streamed through the website as well (Free to members, $5 to non-members). In 2013, all matches (including pre-season trials but excluding matches broadcast live by Channel Nine) were streamed live through the Pride website, with access granted exclusively to Pride members. Video production was by Studio Productions and the commentary team was Adam Jackson and Northern Pride Under-18s coach, Cameron 'Spiller' Miller.