 | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Norths Devils Rugby League Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The Devils, Norths, Norty Norfs, The Devs |
| Colours |  Sky Blue, Navy Blue, Gold |
| Founded | Past Grammar (1891; 134 years ago (1891)) Northern Suburbs District (1933; 92 years ago (1933)) |
| Website | northsdevilsrlfc.com |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) | |
| CEO | Troy Rovelli |
| Coach | Rohan Smith |
| Captain | Kierran Moseley |
| Competition | Queensland Cup Brisbane Rugby League Hastings Deering Colts Mal Meninga Cup Cyril Connell Challenge |
| 2024 | Premiers |
 Current season | |
| Records | |
| Premierships | 13 (1927, 1934, 1938, 1940, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1980) |
| Runners-up | 9 (1931, 1932, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1945, 1967, 1970, 1990) |
| Minor premierships | 11 (1935, 1939, 1940, 1945, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1969, 1974) |
| Wooden spoons | 7 (1949, 1950, 1954, 1976, 1978, 1984, 1994) |
| Premierships (2nd grade) | 4 (1998, 2021, 2022, 2024) |
| Runners-up (2nd grade) | 1 (2010) |
| Minor premierships (2nd grade) | 2 (1998, 2021) |
| Wooden spoons (2nd grade) | 1 (2008) |
| Premierships (3rd grade) | 0 |
| Runners-up (3rd grade) | 2 (2001, 2011) |
TheNorthern Suburbs Devils, orNorth Brisbane Devils, or often simply referred to asNorths for short, are arugby league club representing the northern suburbs ofBrisbane,Australia. The team colours are sky blue, navy blue and gold. They play in theHostplus Cup, and, through their predecessors, are one of the oldest clubs in Australia.Norths have won 14 A Grade, 17 Reserve Grade and 14 Colts/Third Grade Premierships. They hold the record for most consecutive first gradeBrisbane Rugby Leaguepremierships, winning six in a row between 1959 and 1964 and being crowned champions most recently in 2024.
The first incarnation of Northern Suburbs was thePast GrammarsRugby Union club, which was formed in 1891 as a separate Old Boys football club forBrisbane Grammar School.It shouldn't be confused with the school team known as Past & Present Grammar (made up of students, teachers & past students) which competed from 1888 to 1890.[1] The club was quite successful in its early years, winning premierships in 1892, 1898 and 1899, as well as 1914.[1] Wallaby captainBob McCowan was a Past Grammar player when he led thenational side in 1899.
Following the disbandment of clubrugby union in Brisbane towards the end of theFirst World War, Past Grammars, along withChristian Brothers andUniversity, joined the Rugby Football League in 1920[2]
Past Grammars, also known as Grammar Norths, won their first premiership in 1927, before becoming Northern Suburbs, following the introduction of District Football by theBrisbane Rugby League in 1933.
In 1959Clive Churchill captain-coached Brisbane Rugby League club Norths to a premiership, his training methods were carried on by Bob Bax who coached Northern Suburbs RLFC to become the first club in BRL history to win three consecutive first grade premierships when they defeatedFortitude Valley 29–5 in the 1961grand final in front of a then-record club crowd of 19,824 atLang Park.[3] Norths continued to dominate the decade with 7 grand final wins in 8 appearances. It would be another 11 years before they tasted success again.
Norths'Queensland representative playerNick Geiger was selected as theAustralia national team'shooker in the final of the1977 Rugby League World Cup tournament.
In the 1990s, along with many other Queensland clubs, Norths suffered heavily financially. Eventually it came to the stage that in 1998 they became afeeder club withNational Rugby League newcomers, theMelbourne Storm, which attracted much needed finance, as well as some quality players, as well as securing the Devils' future. Also in 1998, the club won its first First Grade premiership since 1980,[4] beatingWests in the Grand Final.
In the2006 NRL Grand FinalMelbourne's 17 man team had 13 players who had played with Norths in past years, includingMatt Geyer, who won a Premiership with the Devils in 1998[citation needed] and Melbourne in 1999. In the2006Tri-Nations series, 4 Norths players graduated to the Australian Kangaroos squad and 2 players, via Melbourne Storm, representedNew Zealand Kiwis[citation needed].
In 2008 the Devils signed a partnership agreement with the Brisbane Broncos which sees developing Broncos players train with and compete for the Devils in the Intrust Super Cup.
In 2018 Rohan Smith was recruited to be the Head Coach of the club. In 2019 he led the Devils to the finals, with the team falling agonizingly short of progressing past the first round.
In 2021, Norths won their first premiership since the 1998 season beating TheWynnum Manly Seagulls in the Grand Final as well as achieving the minor premiership. Such success was replicated the following season when Norths won the2022 Queensland Cup with a 16-10 victory over club rivalsRedcliffe marking The Devils first "back to back" premiership run in the Queensland Cup era.[5] Norths also won the 2024 Cup, also in a final over Redcliffe.[6]Under Coach Dave Elliott on 6 October 2024, Norths claimed their firstNRL State Championship defeating the NSW Cup winnersNewtown 20-18.[7]
For many years Norths played out of Oxenham Park inNundah, but they moved to their current home ground,Albert Bishop Park, in 1969. Commonly referred to simply as 'Bishop Park', it borders the Schulz Canal in Nundah, and is named after club stalwart Albert Bishop,MBE. Norths has a licensed Leagues Club, Norths Leagues, at Bishop Park, as well as a second licensed Club at Anzac Avenue,Kallangur, further north of Brisbane.
| Season | Ladder position | Result | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past Grammar | |||||||||||
| 1920 | 7th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1924 | 3rd | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1925 | 6th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1926 | 5th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1927 | 2nd | Premiers | |||||||||
| 1928 | 6th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1929 | 5th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1930 | 4th | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1931 | 3rd | Lost Grand Final Challenge | |||||||||
| 1932 | 2nd | Lost Grand Final Challenge | |||||||||
| Northern Suburbs | |||||||||||
| 1933 | 5th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1934 | 2nd | Premiers | |||||||||
| 1935 | 1st | Preliminary finalists | |||||||||
| 1936 | 3rd | Preliminary finalists | |||||||||
| 1937 | 4th | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1938 | 2nd | Premiers | |||||||||
| 1939 | 1st | Runner-up | |||||||||
| 1940 | 1st | Premiers | |||||||||
| 1941 | 3rd | Runner-up | |||||||||
| 1942 | 4th | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1943 | 4th | Preliminary finalists | |||||||||
| 1944 | 3rd | Runner-up | |||||||||
| 1945 | 1st | Runner-up | |||||||||
| 1946 | 5th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1947 | 4th | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1948 | 5th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1949 | 6th | Wooden spoon | |||||||||
| 1950 | 6th | Wooden spoon | |||||||||
| 1951 | 3rd | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1952 | 3rd | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1953 | 3rd | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1954 | 6th | Wooden spoon | |||||||||
| 1955 | 4th | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1956 | 6th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1957 | 4th | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1958 | 5th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1959 | 1st | Premiers | |||||||||
| 1960 | 2nd | Premiers | |||||||||
| 1961 | 1st | Premiers | |||||||||
| 1962 | 1st | Premiers | |||||||||
| 1963 | 1st | Premiers | |||||||||
| 1964 | 3rd | Premiers | |||||||||
| 1965 | 3rd | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1966 | 1st | Premiers | |||||||||
| 1967 | 2nd | Runner-up | |||||||||
| 1968 | 4th | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1969 | 1st | Premiers | |||||||||
| 1970 | 2nd | Runner-up | |||||||||
| 1971 | 4th | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1972 | 6th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1973 | 3rd | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1974 | 1st | Preliminary finalists | |||||||||
| 1975 | 2nd | Preliminary finalists | |||||||||
| 1976 | 8th | Wooden spoon | |||||||||
| 1977 | 4th | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1978 | 8th | Wooden spoon | |||||||||
| 1979 | 5th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1980 | 4th | Premiers | |||||||||
| 1981 | 6th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1982 | 5th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1983 | 7th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1984 | 8th | Wooden spoon | |||||||||
| 1985 | 7th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1986 | 5th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1987 | 2nd | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1988 | 6th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1989 | 3rd | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1990 | 4th | Runner-up | |||||||||
| 1991 | 2nd | Semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 1992 | 3rd | Preliminary finalists | |||||||||
| 1993 | 7th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1994 | 12th | Wooden spoon | |||||||||
| 1995 | 11th | did not qualify | |||||||||
| Season | Ladder position | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 9th | did not qualify |
| 1997 | 7th | did not qualify |
| 1998 | 1st | Premiers |
| 1999 | 2nd | Preliminary Finalists |
| 2000 | 5th | Preliminary Semi-Finalists |
| 2001 | 4th | Preliminary Semi-Finalists |
| 2002 | 5th | Preliminary Semi-Finalists |
| 2003 | 8th | did not qualify |
| 2004 | 2nd | Semi-Finalists |
| 2005 | 2nd | Semi-Finalists |
| 2006 | 7th | did not qualify |
| 2007 | 8th | did not qualify |
| 2008 | 11th | Wooden spoon |
| 2009 | 5th | Semi-Finalists |
| 2010 | 2nd | Runner-Up |
| 2011 | 10th | did not qualify |
| 2012 | 5th | Semi-Finalists |
| 2013 | 6th | did not qualify |
| 2014 | 8th | did not qualify |
| 2015 | 13th | did not qualify |
| 2016 | 11th | did not qualify |
| 2017 | 11th | did not qualify |
| 2018 | 8th | did not qualify |
| 2019 | 5th | Finalists |
| 2020 | N/A | Competition cancelled |
| 2021 | 1st | Premiers |
| 2022 | 4th | Premiers |
| 2023 | 11th | did not qualify |
| 2024 | 2nd | Premiers |
Source:[8]
Ross henrick
On 16 August 2008 in the year of the Centenary of Rugby League, Norths Devils announced their greatest team ever. The team is made up of players in their entire 75-year tenure.[9]
Coach:
Manager:
| Federation | |
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| Representative Teams | |
| NRL clubs |
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| NRLW clubs | |
| Major Competitions |
Former Top-Flight Competition:Brisbane Rugby League premiership |
| Northern Division | |
| Central Division | |
| South-East Division |
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| Defunct Leagues | |
| Queensland Cup clubs | |
| Queensland Cup seasons | |
| Representative Competitions |
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| Clubs | |
