Gridiron NSW

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Gridiron NSW

Formerly| NSW Gridiron Football League (NSWGFL) (1984-2007)
Sport| Gridiron
American Football
Founded| 1984
Country| New South Wales
Australia
Headquarters| Sydney
Australia
Most recent
champion(s)| (Men)
UNSW Raiders

(Women)
UNSW Raiders

(Colts)
Nepean Ducks
Most titles| Sydney University Lions
(22 titles)
Official website| gridironnsw.org.au

Gridiron NSW, originally known as NSW Gridiron Football League (NSWGFL) until 2007, is the governing body for American football (otherwise known as 'gridiron') in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

Arguably the longest tenured American football league in Australia, Gridiron NSW took over from the Australian American Football Conference (AAFC) after its inaugural 1984 season and ultimately survived a threat from the breakaway NSW Premier State Gridiron League between 1993 and 1996.

The teams from the NSW Premier State Gridiron League returned to the NSW Gridiron Football League prior to the commencement of the 1997 season and since that time, Gridiron NSW has continued to expand as the sport has enjoyed increasing popularity both in New South Wales and Australia generally.

Gridiron NSW currently consists of four divisions: Mens, formally known as Division 1 (Men 18+ years), Womens (18+ years), Colts (16–19 years) and Juniors (8–15 years).[1]

The two top teams in each division (with the exception of the Juniors) participate in the Waratah Bowl (Men), Opal Bowl (Women) and the Kookaburra Bowl (Colts) respectively. These games and also known as the State Finals.

The team with the most Waratah Bowl championships is the Sydney University Lions, who have won 21 in total, including 16 straight championships between 2003 and 2018 inclusive. This streak was broken when the UNSW Raiders were defeated by the Northern Sydney Rebels 38-32 in the 2019 Waratah Bowl.

Each season the best players across the league are selected to represent New South Wales at the Australian Gridiron League National Championships in representative teams known as the NSW Wolfpack (Men), the Coyotes (Women) and the Wolverines (Colts) respectively.

Following the demise of the Newcastle Kings, the Hunter Gridiron League was launched as a separate competition for players in the Newcastle and Hunter Valley area of NSW.

## League Members

[edit]

### Current Members

[edit]

* UNSW Raiders
* Northern Sydney Rebels
* Nepean Ducks
* Sutherland Seahawks
* Sydney University Lions
* UC Stars
* UTS Gators
* West Sydney Pirates
* Wollongong Mustangs

### Former Members

[edit]

#### Former Senior Teams

[edit]

* Army
* Astros
* Blacktown Vikings
* Canberra Sabretooths
* Canterbury Cougars
* Central Coast Sharks
* Central West Giants
* Concord Jaguars
* Eastern Suburbs Buccaneers
* Fairfield Argonauts
* Hills District Eagles
* Manly Redbacks
* Newcastle Cobras
* Newcastle Kings
* Newcastle Uni Thunder
* North Western Rebels
* NorthWestern Predators
* Parramatta Bears
* Parramatta Saxons
* Penrith Outlaws
* Ryde Spartans
* St George Fireballs
* Tempe Jets/Mascot Jets
* Western Wolverines

#### Former Junior Teams

[edit]

* Blacktown Stars
* Caringbah Chargers
* Casula Bears
* Eastside Colts
* Lansvale Trojans
* Newcastle Pirates
* North Shore Falcons
* NorthWestern Panthers
* Penrith City Chiefs
* Penrith Wolverines

## Championship Game History

[edit]

### Men - Waratah Bowl

[edit]

Year  | Champion  | Runner-up  | Score

|
|
|

2024  | UNSW Raiders (9)  | UTS Gators  | 70-42
2023  | UNSW Raiders (8)  | Sydney University Lions  | 48-25
2022  | Sydney University Lions (22)  | Northern Sydney Rebels  | 35-0
2021  | SEASON CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19 |  | **
2020  | Sydney University Lions (21)  | UTS Gators  | 25-12
2019  | Northern Sydney Rebels (1)  | UNSW Raiders  | 38-32
2018  | Sydney University Lions (20)  | UNSW Raiders  | 33-16
2017  | Sydney University Lions (19)  | West Sydney Pirates  | 17–0
2016  | Sydney University Lions (18)  | West Sydney Pirates  | 20–19
2015  | Sydney University Lions (17)  | West Sydney Pirates  | 36–18
2014  | Sydney University Lions (16)  | West Sydney Pirates  | 42–14 [2]
2013  | Sydney University Lions (15)  | NorthWestern Predators  | 83–18
2012  | Sydney University Lions (14)  | UTS Gators  | 38–0
2011  | Sydney University Lions (13)  | West Sydney Pirates  | 47–8 [3]
2010  | Sydney University Lions (12)  | UTS Gators  | 37–0
2009  | Sydney University Lions (11)  | UTS Gators  | 34–26
2008  | Sydney University Lions (10)  | West Sydney Pirates  | 38–34 [4]
2007  | Sydney University Lions (9)  | UTS Gators  | 34–28
2006  | Sydney University Lions (8)  | UTS Gators  | 34–26
2005  | Sydney University Lions (7)  | Bondi Raiders  | 23–0
2004  | Sydney University Lions (6)  | West Sydney Pirates  | 32–7 [5]
2003  | Sydney University Lions (5)  | UWS Outlaws  | 38–21
2002  | UWS Outlaws (1)  | Sydney University Lions  | 33–18
2001  | Sutherland Seahawks (3)  | Sydney University Lions  | 28–21
2000  | Sutherland Seahawks (2)  | Sydney University Lions  | 12–6
1999  | Bondi Raiders (7)  | Sutherland Seahawks  | 9-7
1998  | Bondi Raiders (6)  | ACT Astros  | 10–3
1997  | Sutherland Seahawks (1)  | ACT Astros  | 21–17
1996  | ACT Astros (1)  | Sydney University Lions  | 14–0
1995  | Sydney University Lions (4)  | ACT Astros  | 13–3
1994  | Canberra Sabretooths (1)  | Manly Redbacks  | 10–6
1993  | Manly Redbacks (1)  | Sydney University Lions  | 14–13
1992  | Sydney University Lions (3)  | Bondi Raiders  | 14–6
1991  | Bondi Raiders (5)  | Sydney University Lions  | 14–12
1990  | Bondi Raiders (4)  | Sydney University Lions  | 16–13
1989  | Bondi Raiders (3)  | Sydney University Lions  | 14–13
1988  | Bondi Raiders (2)  | Hills District Eagles  | ??-??
1987  | Bondi Raiders (1)  | Eastern Suburbs Buccaneers  | 25-0
1986  | Sydney University Lions (2)  | Fairfield Argonauts  | 20–0
1985  | Sydney University Lions (1)  | Bondi Raiders  | 15–9
1984  | Canterbury Cougars (1)  | Sydney University Stormtroopers (Lions)  | 19–7

### Women - Opal Bowl

[edit]

Year  | Champion  | Runner-up  | Score

|
|
|

2024  | UNSW Raiders (6)  | UC Stars  | 32-20
2023  | UNSW Raiders (5)  | Northern Sydney Rebels  | 18-14
2022  | Northern Sydney Rebels (2)  | UNSW Raiders  | 36-8
2021  | SEASON CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19 |  | **
2020  | Northern Sydney Rebels (1)  | UNSW Raiders  | 30-24
2019  | UNSW Raiders (4)  | Northern Sydney Rebels  | 22-8
2018  | Sydney University Lions (1)  | Northern Sydney Rebels  | 14-16
2017  | UNSW Raiders (3)  | Canberra Diamonds  | 28-18
2016  | UNSW Raiders (2)  | NorthWestern Phoenix  | 40-6
2015  | UNSW Raiders (1)  | UTS Gators  | 40-16
2014  | UTS Gators (1)  | Newcastle Cobras  | 42-26
2013  | NorthWestern Phoenix (1)  | Newcastle Cobras  | 28-12

## NSW Premier State Gridiron League

[edit]

New South Wales Premier State Gridiron LeagueSport| American Football

|

Founded| 1993
Ceased| 1996
Country| Australia

The NSW Premier State Gridiron League (NSWPSGL) was formed by disgruntled members of the NSWGFL, which was the only American Football league in NSW at the time.[1] It operated between 1993 and 1996. The affiliated NSW Premier State Youth Gridiron League (NSWPSYGL), which was the first junior gridiron competition in Australia, was also conducted under its administration.

In its inaugural 1993 season, the league consisted of 6 teams – Bondi Raiders, Liverpool Pirates, L.U.S.C. Argonauts, Mascot Jets, Newcastle Cobras and Wollongong Mustangs. Prior to the commencement of the 1997 season, and after only four seasons, the league was disbanded and its teams rejoined what was then the NSW Gridiron Football League.

### NSW Premier State Youth Gridiron League

[edit]

New South Wales Premier State Youth Gridiron LeagueSport| American Football

|

Founded| 1993
Ceased| 1996
Country| Australia

The origins of the NSW Premier State Youth Gridiron League (NSWPSYGL) may be traced to the establishment in 1991 of the first two junior teams in New South Wales: Blacktown Starrs and Penrith Wolverines. The teams played two exhibition games at Penrith Park and Parramatta Stadium in June and July 1991 before games between touring US Down Under Bowl high school teams from North Dakota and Colorado.

In its inaugural 1993 season, the Penrith City Chiefs defeated the North Shore Falcons 32-0 in the State Championship Game.

In 1994, the NSWPSYGL consisted of 5 teams: Caringbah Chargers, Eastside Colts, Lansvale Trojans, North Shore Falcons and Penrith City Chiefs. The 1994 season ended with the Penrith City Chiefs being crowned State Champions following an amazing 13-12 comeback victory against the North Shore Falcons in the State Championship Game on 29 May 1994. Trailing 12-6 late in the 4th quarter, quarterback Graeme Pollard led the Chiefs on a final drive, ultimately connecting with wide receiver Andrew Stowe in the end zone for the game winning score, with just 47 seconds remaining.

The Penrith City Chiefs completed a three-peat in the 1995 season and in the NSWPSYGL’s final season in 1996, the newly formed Casula Bears won the State Championship. The Casula Bears also heavily recruited players from the Penrith City Chiefs, who had since moved to the NSW Gridiron League. The team went on to once again beat Bondi in the State Championship game.

## See also

[edit]

* Gridiron Australia

## References

[edit]

1. ^ https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/piano.revolutionise.com.au/site/q2xbsvlnhcvhuah9.pdf [bare URL PDF]

## External links

[edit]

* Gridiron NSW official site

* v
* t
* e

American football (Gridiron) in Australia

Region|

* New South Wales
* Victoria
* Queensland
* South Australia
* Western Australia
* Tasmania

Leagues|

* Australian Gridiron League
* Female Gridiron League of Queensland
* Ladies Football League
* Ladies Gridiron League
* LFL Australia
* National Gridiron League
* Women's Gridiron Leagues of Australia

National teams|

* Men's
* Women's

Governing bodies|

* Gridiron Australia
* ACT Gridiron
* Gridiron NSW
* Gridiron Queensland
* South Australian Gridiron Association
* Gridiron Tasmania
* Gridiron Victoria
* Gridiron West

Other articles|

* Down Under Bowl

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