The Group 15 Rugby League, now known as Barwon Darling Rugby League Cup is a rugby league competition in Far North West NSW.

Barwon Darling Rugby League
SportRugby league
Formerly known asGroup 15 Rugby League
Inaugural season1949
Ceased1992
Re-formed2000s
Number of teams6
Premiers Goodooga (2023)
Most titles Bourke (13 titles)
WebsiteBarwon Darling Rugby League
Barwon Darling Rugby League on facebook
Related competitionCastlereagh Cup, Outback Rugby League

The competition has six teams from across Western NSW, with another currently in recess.

History

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Group 15 was a rugby league competition based in the northeastern quarter of the Western Division, New South Wales, Australia. The last premiership was held in 1992 with Lightning Ridge beating Bourke.[1]

Group 15 clubs currently play in the revamped Barwon Darling Rugby League Cup, which is essentially a reformed Group 15 Premiership, run by the Country Rugby League as part of Region 4 (Western Rams).

Barwon Darling Rugby League Cup

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The Barwon Darling Rugby League is the new competition held in the area following the demise of Group 15. Five former Group 15 clubs are involved, plus the more recently formed Newtown Wanderers club, with towns such as Bourke, Brewarrina, Goodooga, Lightning Ridge and Walgett (Dragons and Wanderers) entering teams. Collarenebri has also fielded sides in the past, but are currently in recess. The competition is the a key social event in most of the communities involved, as they are small rural townships.

The competition has been dominated by the Walgett Dragons and Bourke Warriors in recent years, with many premierships going to either one of the sides, with Brewarrina being the other consistently competitive side. Goodooga broke a 34 year title drought in 2022 defeating Bourke 27-26 to claim the title, before going back-to-back the following year.[1][2]

Teams

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Barwon Darling Rugby League Cup Teams

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Team Moniker Town Ground 1st LLT Juniors
First Grade Clubs
  Bourke Warriors Bourke, New South Wales Davidson Oval Yes Yes Yes
  Brewarrina Golden Googars Brewarrina, New South Wales Geoff New Oval Yes Yes Yes
  Goodooga Magpies Goodooga, New South Wales Magpie Oval Yes No No
  Walgett Dragons Walgett, New South Wales Ricky Walford Oval Yes Yes Yes
Lower Grade Clubs
  Collarenebri Bulldogs Collarenebri, New South Wales Collarenebri Sportsground No No Yes
  Lightning Ridge Redbacks Lightning Ridge, New South Wales Spider Brown Oval No Yes Yes

Former Group 15 teams included

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Grand Finals

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Barwon Darling Rugby League

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Barwon Darling RL Premiers[7]
Year Premiers Score Runners-Up Winning Coach
2000s–2011 Unknown
2012   Bourke 22–18   Walgett
2013   Walgett 50–10   Bourke
2014   Walgett 10–6   Bourke
2015   Bourke 48–24   Walgett
2016   Walgett 40–24   Cobar
2017   Brewarrina 42–18   Walgett
2018   Bourke 62–34   Walgett
2019   Walgett 38–18   Bourke
2020 No premiers due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021
2022   Goodooga 27–26[1]   Bourke Robert Hooper
2022   Goodooga 30–22[2]   Bourke

Group 15 Rugby League

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Year Premiers Score Runners-up Winning Coach
1949 Cobar 8–5 Bourke
1950
1951 Cobar 16–2 Warren
1952
1953 Trangie 9–2 Warren
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964 Brewarrina 14–13 Nyngan
1965
1966
1967 Bourke[8] 10–7 Brewarrina J. Mumbler
1968 Cobar 5–4 Brewarrina Brad Wynd
1969 Brewarrina 27–14 Bourke
1970 Bourke
1971 Cobar 33–6 Bourke Brian Lawrence
1972 Cobar 23–2 Walgett Brian Lawrence
1973 Walgett 27–21 Brewarrina
1974 Bourke 16–6 Goodooga B. Hollman
1975 Walgett 16–11 Brewarrina Ken Morgan
1976 Bourke 68–13 Walgett
1977 Cobar 8-5. Walgett Mick Bannister
1978 Cobar 21–0 Goodooga Peter Fox
1979 Nyngan 28–12 Goodooga
1980 Goodooga 16–12 Nyngan Ron Mason
1981 Bourke 24–17 Cobar F. Harvey
1982 Bourke 19–12 Nyngan Alan Hamilton
1983 Nyngan 24–22 Bourke G. Moore
1984 Bourke 56–0 Nyngan
1984 Goodooga 26–6 Mungindi
1985 Goodooga 28–24 Brewarrina
1986 Brewarrina 38–24 Goodooga
1987 Bourke 40–20 Walgett Keith Harvey
1988 Goodooga 44–32 Bourke John Stanton
1989 Bourke 32–29 Walgett Tony Darigo
1990 Bourke 31–26 Walgett Stephen Howlett
1991 Walgett 20–17 Lightning Ridge Richie Simpson
1992 Lightning Ridge 38–6 Bourke Ron Ferguson

Sources

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Years Item Via
1967–69, 1971–96 Country Rugby League Annual Report State Library of NSW
1982 to 2001 Rugby League Week Bound copies at State Library of NSW
2002 to 2014 Rugby League Week eResources at State Library of NSW
2012 to 2022 Western Rams YouTube Channel[9] YouTube Videos
2022 to 2023 Battlers For Bush Footy Website

References

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  1. ^ a b Smith, Tallon (4 November 2022). "GOODOOGA SWOOP TO GRAND FINAL GLORY". Battlers For Bush Footy. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b Smith, Tallon (18 August 2023). "Goodooga go back to back in Barwon Darling Cup". Battlers For Bush Footy. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Group 15 Rugby League Draw for 1969 Season". Western Herald. 16 May 1969. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Grand Final League Teams". Western Herald. 22 August 1969. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  5. ^ "SMALL BUT GOOD". Daily Telegraph. 2 June 1940. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  6. ^ "WALGETT JOINS GROUP 15 LEAGUE". Western Herald. 24 February 1967. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  7. ^ "WesternRams - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Bourke 1967 League Premiers". Western Herald. 6 October 1967. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  9. ^ "WesternRams - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 6 August 2022.