History of the Mighty bears
The North Sydney District Rugby League Football Club (NSDRLFC) was founded in 1908 and has a proud tradition in rugby league
The NSDRLFC compete in the NSW Intrust Super Premiership Cup, Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership, Jersey Flegg Cup (under 20s competition), SG Ball Cup under 18s and the Harold Matthews under 16s.
NSDRLFC is part of the Norths Group which also includes facilities such as North Sydney Leagues Club (NORTHS), Seagulls Tweed Heads, The Greens North Sydney and now the new refurbished The Alcott (Lane Cove Club).
Home games are played at the historical North Sydney Oval.
NSDRLFC are a feeder club to the Sydney Roosters NRL team.
A message from our Chairman
As we reflect on 2019 and look at our achievements both on and off the field we can see that we have progressed into a new era of growth and prosperity for the Bears.
We welcomed back to the club Jason Taylor as head coach. JT’s long term affiliation with the club from his playing days here in the 90’s through to his role as Head Coach has put us back on the map as a top tier NSW Cup Club. Although we missed out on progressing to week 3 of the finals, we did our members and fans proud and we will head into 2020 in an even stronger position from our learnings. I am also happy to say that JT has agreed to a further 2 years as Club and Head Coach, providing us the opportunity to build a consistent approach to coaching throughout the whole of the club at all levels and our district.
Of course, there is a great team behind JT, so to all his staff and support crew a big thank you and we look forward to continuing to build in 2020. A club stalwart decided to hang his boots up this year. Curtis Johnston has been one of the consistent figures at our club. Curtis came through our junior system with the Berowra club, through our rep program and ultimately playing over 100 games in the NSW Cup. A great career for the Bears that doesn’t stop there as CJ will return in 2020 as the assistant coach to our Harold Matthews side.
Our Harvey Normans Women’s side saw us fall just short of appearing in a grand final in only our second year in the competition. A great job done by all the girls led brilliantly by Coach Rob Capizzi. This is Rob’s first year as Head Coach and I am very happy to say he will be back in 2020. Also congratulations to Kirra Dibb, Nita Maynard and Teuila Fotu-Moala on representing Australia and New Zealand respectively. Kirra along with Shontelle Stowers represented NSW in the State of Origin women’s game and Nita Maynard was named Player of the Year in the NSW Women’s Harvey Norman competition.
Peter Palmer, Head Coach of our Jersey Flegg side will be moving on this year to assist with our NSW Cup side. Peter has been instrumental in getting our Flegg side up and running and because of that, we will go into 2020 stronger and more prepared. We also announced Paul Stringer another ex-Bear with plenty of coaching experience will be coaching our Jersey Flegg side.
Our junior rep sides were only a win away from an appearance in the finals so I’m sure that we will go one better in 2020. Thank you to all involved for your tireless efforts with the boys in getting them to the park each week and of course the many hours spent during a rigorous pre-season. This combined with a well-structured development program from 12’s to 15’s with great district representation will see the Bears grow stronger in 2020. Well done to all involved.
2019 saw us lose a long serving member of the board and club, Fred Thompson. Fred was involved with the Bears in both Junior League and senior clubs for over 60 years. Fred served on the Football Club board for over 20 years and he was a fantastic support for myself with the plethora of knowledge that he had accumulated. Fred was a fantastic person and his many years of service to our football community here at North Sydney will never be lost upon his passing. I know I speak for us all when I say he is missed dearly by all involved in our great club and district.
We have a clear and defined focus on what we must be doing to achieve our goals and this involves strong community involvement. Our plan is to bring our far reaching Bears community more together and attached with our club of today. We have a fantastic history that will never be forgotten, in fact, it will play a big role in moulding our future. However we, of course must look forward to what will make us a powerhouse for the future within the NSWRL.
We have enjoyed some fantastic game day events including, our Old Boys day and our Members Jersey day that will be back in 2020 along with a calendar of events that will drive community involvement.
A big thank you to the Norths Group for their continued support, to Luke Simmons CEO and Mark Holman Chairman and the board. The Bears community appreciates your support and we look forward to working hard together towards a big 2020.
2019 is the final year for the Thousand Hands major sponsorship. Thank you to Harry Cheung for being with the Bears for this extended period as our Major Sponsor. We have appreciated everything that you have done for us and we will continue to be friends in the future.
We will go into 2020 with a new Major Principal Sponsor, Stonemasons & Landscapers. Joe Moussa has signed for a two year term with a six figure deal that puts us in great stead. We are thankful for Joe’s support and we will be working hard to ensure that Joe’s experience as our Major Sponsor is a
great one.
Of course to all our corporate partners at all levels it’s a big thank you for your assistance and we are looking forward to growing together in 2020.
We have also launched our Bears Foundation, which is the charitable arm for the Bears focusing initially on, women in sport and our grassroots programme. This will be a major focus for our club as we push further into the community with these great programs that will bring us closer together and attached as a club.
Finally, we are nothing without our members and fans. Everyone plays a role in deciding who we are as an organisation. Your time and efforts to come to games, wear our colours and promote us every day wherever you may be, goes a long way to making us successful. It’s not just about winning, it’s about representing us in the community for who we are; a proud 1908 heritage club. A club that respects each other no matter what, and works together for what we all believe in.
I wish you all a safe and Happy Christmas and New Year.
I look forward to 2020 with great anticipation for what lies ahead.
Perry Lopez
Chairman – North Sydney Bears
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