Honour roll

Every Newcastle Rugby League grand final, 1910 to 2026

114 premierships decided since the competition began in 1910. The latest went to South Newcastle, who beat Maitland 18-16 after extra time on 6 September 2026.

First published 29 September 2026 · Updated 3 October 2026

Which clubs have won the most?

Western Suburbs lead with 23 titles, then Northern Suburbs, who no longer play first grade, with 15. Among today’s clubs Maitland (14), South Newcastle (13) and Lakes United (11) come next, and Cessnock are sixth overall on 9.

One title each: Macquarie, Northern Blues, Toronto Workers, Wyong. Clubs are named as the NSWRL honour roll names them, so Maitland’s 1933 and 1934 titles as Maitland United are counted separately, and Toronto Workers, now the Macquarie Scorpions, is listed under its 1991 name.

The titles tend to come in runs. Western Suburbs won five of the seven premierships from 1978 to 1984, Kurri Kurri won three straight from 1993, and Maitland four straight from 2022 until South Newcastle stopped them in 2026.

Every decider, newest first

Rows involving Cessnock are shaded. Before 1960 a minor premier beaten in the finals could challenge the final’s winner, so some early runners-up lost a final or a challenge match rather than a single grand final.

Where the records disagree

The two public records of the competition agree on every premier but one. In 1919, a season split by a dispute between the clubs, the NSWRL honour roll credits South Newcastle and Wikipedia’s grand final table credits a combined Central-South Newcastle side. We print the governing body’s version. The NSWRL’s own list stops at 2017; later seasons are checked against league and newspaper reports.

The newspapers of the day also correct the modern tables once. For the 2003 grand final Wikipedia gives Sunday 31 August, while the Cessnock Advertiser’s report of 10 September says the match was played on the Saturday. Scores before 1960 are taken from the match reports of the day where we have them.