Everything about Gateshead Thunder totally explained
Gateshead Thunder are a
rugby league team from
Gateshead in
Tyne and Wear. They are the only professional rugby league team in the
North East of England (excluding
Yorkshire) though several amateur teams now exist, notably
Gateshead Storm.
They play their home matches at
Gateshead International Stadium though for rugby league purposes this is referred to as the 'Thunderdome'. The club currently play in the
National league two.
History
Early rugby league on Tyneside
There have been several Tyneside based rugby league teams over the years. Wallsend RFC flirted with the code in the early years of the
Northern Union, a
South Shields team joined at the turn of the century and in 1938, Newcastle moved south of the
Tyne and played a season of matches at the White City Sports Stadium but didn't rejoin the league after World War two. Several other teams have come and gone in the intervening years. The
Charity Shield match and several full and junior internationals were held at the International Stadium from the eighties and over the next two decades. An academy team, the Gateshead Mets, was formed, which played against the academy teams of professional clubs.
Super League
In 1999 Gateshead was granted a franchise in the
Super League. A competition was held to determine the name for this club, and Gateshead Thunder was born with
Shaun McRae as head coach. Despite early season problems in attracting fans to a new summer sport, by the end of the season the average gate had risen to 3,700. Gateshead finished in sixth place - just two points outside the play-offs. They had beaten
St Helens home and away and beaten Wigan 'on the road' in
Edinburgh at
Tynecastle.
Matt Daylight was the joint leading try scorer in Super League and winger
Ian Herron was one of the deadliest goal-kickers in the top flight. Gateshead Thunder claimed to have lost £700,000 during their one year in existence and on Monday 15th November 1999 the board announced they'd merge the club with
Hull Sharks, accepting a £1.25 million fee from Super League Europe to do so. The new club would be called Hull FC and play all its home games in
Kingston-upon-Hull. This was widely seen as a takeover simply to allow Hull to remain in Super League. The fans of the Gateshead club set up a campaigning organisation, Thunder Storm, to fight the "merger". Although this proved unsuccessful, it was the catalyst for a new Gateshead Thunder to be formed. The new Gateshead Thunder was accepted back to play in the
Northern Ford Premiership on the 2nd August 2000 with a similar bid from
Bramley being rejected. The new board had the stated objective of winning back Gateshead's place in Super League back within five years.
Gateshead mark two
The new Thunder's first game was a friendly for the "Tolent Cup" against another club that had been threatened with merger,
Sheffield Eagles. The first official game was on the 3rd December 2000 with an 18-0 defeat to
Hull Kingston Rovers. They finished third bottom under coach Andy Kelly with back to back wins over Hunslet and York were the only league successes and a win over amateurs Wigan St. Judes in the Challenge Cup. Financial problems were again to trouble the club. A bold plan for the 2002 season failed, and when only one draw, 12-12 against
Featherstone Rovers, was recorded after the first two months Thunder were forced to cut their losses. Andy Kelly and the club's 15 Yorkshire-based players, were released as Thunder went into administration with spiralling debts.
Gateshead mark three
Club sponsor Mike Jeffels took over the club through his Kicks Leisure organisation. Former Bramley coach Paul Fletcher was brought in, taking over a young, inexperienced and predominantly locally produced side. Although they came close to victory against
Keighley Cougars and
Swinton Lions, Thunder Mark III lost every game to finish bottom of the table. 2003 saw eight Australians added to the squad, along with Bill Ryan as a coaching adviser. After just eight games of the season, Kicks Leisure withdrew their sponsorship, chairman Steve Worsnop left the club and coach Rob Jones refused to work with the club's first team following a dispute with the remaining contract players. Thunder had debts which were reportedly in excess of £50,000. A panel of supporters, including committee members of Thunder Storm took over the running of the club in the interim period. This management committee was successful in persuading the
RFL to allow Gateshead Thunder to enter National League Two. A business case based on the funding provided by the members' club, lottery and matchday income was accepted by the governing body but was still £8-10,000 short of the minimum needed to run the club for the rest of the season, and a series of fundraising efforts were organised to fund the shortfall.
Gateshead mark four
The new era of Thunder Mark IV came with the Arriva Trains Cup victory over
Workington Town at Gateshead RUFC's ground; the International Stadium being unavailable. Fundraising efforts and sponsorship from local companies meant that by the end of the 2003 season Gateshead finished the year in the black, with all debts paid. On the field, however, the situation deteriorated coach Paul Fletcher resigned after a defeat by
London Skolars.
The board appointed Seamus McCallion as head coach. The former
Durham Cricket Chairman and head of Century FM, Bill Midgely, joined the board. 2005 saw the arrival of Dean Thomas as head coach at Gateshead. Dean was able to strengthen the squad, bringing a multi-national flavour to Tyneside rugby as he recruited players from Australia, the West Indies, Fiji and elsewhere. The strategy paid off, and Thomas guided Thunder into the play-offs, before they eventually went out to Workington. Off the field, the club underwent a restructuring, with new investment coming from Essex-based financier Neil MacPherson. The club returned to the status of a limited company, with three directors. After two stalled attempts, it was agreed that Gateshead Thunder would be allowed to use
Newcastle Falcons'
Kingston Park stadium for a game against
York City Knights. They also played a game at the venue in both 2006 and 2007, and the club have stated that they hope in future to be able to play one game a year at Kingston Park. Dean Thomas guided Gateshead into the play-offs for two seasons running. He left the club at the end of the 2006 season and was replaced by former
Castleford Tigers coach, Australian Dave Woods.
2008 Squad
Records
Player records
» Correct to end of 2005 season.
Team records
Biggest victory: 66-6 vs Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 5 September 1999
Worst Defeat: 110-12 at Salford City Reds, 23 March 2003
Highest attendance: 6,631 vs Bradford Bulls, 16 May 1999Further Information
Get more info on 'Gateshead Thunder'.
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