The Northern Districts Knights is a progressive Rugby League club that fosters good sportsmanship and teaches the skills necessary for both personal development and those required for participating within a team environment.
The club abides by the Northern Districts Knights Code of Conduct and works closely with the North Sydney Junior Rugby League (NSJRL) in the development of Rugby League on Sydney’s lower North Shore.
Our Vision
The club is innovative in its teaching and encouragement of the pursuit of excellence and draws on best practice from other successful clubs and the proud history of rugby league.
The executive committee is committed to providing true value to our members, business partners and sponsors as demonstrated in our business plan. Our sponsorship arrangements are designed to be robust and flexible with our primary focus on leveraging maximum exposure across our large support base.
The executive committee believes this is achievable by demonstrating strong administrative leadership, fostering a culture of fairness and opportunity for all players and ensuring that sponsors receive maximum exposure for their generosity.
Club History
1988 - 1994: The Northern Districts Knights was formed by Paul Chippendale in 1988 when in true Oz style, he walked into the Eastwood Hotel and asked them to sponsor some jerseys and a case of beer to give away for the man of the match each week.
In their first year the Knights just missed out on the semi-finals and by 1993 the club was fielding three senior teams. In 1994, Paul's work commitments prevented him from active involvement and consequently, the club folded.
1999 - 2003: In 1999, Paul coaxed most of the original players back together again and with former Souths and Cronulla player Arthur Papas as club captain and former Canterbury and Balmain player Stephen O'Brien as coach, the Knights were back better than ever.
Within a year, the Knights tasted success when they took out the 2000 North Sydney District A Grade premiership.
2004: In late 2003 the club's quest to maintain viable numbers in the senior grades was getting harder because players were moving on due to various reasons. This problem was exacerbated by the fact that the Knights did not have any junior sides from which to draw on.
With the club again on death's doorstep, it became obvious that what what the club needed was a 'breeding ground'. At this time, another group led by our current President Steve Paton were keen to establish a junior club in the area. This led to a meeting with the Knights committee, where it was agreed to merge forces. A new 7 member committee was formed to roll their sleeves up and develop a fresh structure from the ground up.
So in 2004, the now Lane Cove based club was revived, reborn and rebadged fielding junior teams for the first time. While the playing strip based on the Newcastle Knights was retained, the club's logo was re-designed and the club kicked off the season with three teams.
In 2005 the Knights intend fielding seven teams, including a senior A Grade team once again. A strong A Grade side is vital to all district clubs, as it generates a larger support base as well as providing a natural progression for today's youngsters as they mature and wish to continue playing.
So the Knights march on, increasing in team numbers each year and developing Rugby League in the Lane Cove and surrounding suburbs.
Information sourced from:
North Shore Times article 28-05-04
Northern Districts Times article 10-02-99
Go Knights
