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| Club information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bramley Buffaloes Rugby League Community Club | |
| Colours | Amber and black | |
| Founded | 2000; 25 years ago (2000) | |
| Website | bramleybuffs.com | |
| Current details | ||
| Ground(s) |
| |
| Competition | Yorkshire Men's League | |
| Uniforms | ||
| ||
Bramley Buffaloes is an amateurrugby league club based in WestLeeds, West Yorkshire, England.
The club was formed in 2000 following the demise of theoriginal Bramley club that they are considered a continuation of.
At the end of the 1999 seasonBramley RLFC resigned from theNorthern Ford Premiership after years of financial issues. The club applied to rejoin theNorthern Ford Premiership in 2000 with the intention of becoming a feeder club forLeeds Rhinos and playing home games atFarsley CelticsThrostle Nest however they were rejected in favour of a bid fromGateshead Thunder.
A new supporter owned club was quickly formed and applied again the join theNorthern Ford Premiership in 2001 which would have seen the club playing out ofFarsley CelticsThrostle Nest stadium, however the RFL rejected the bid over the ground not meeting minimum standards.[1]
The new club tried again to apply to play in the newly formed third divisionNational League Two in 2003, this time ground sharing withMorley Rugby Union Club. The club was once again rejected despite the ground meeting minimum standards, the RFL were unhappy the club was playing outside of Bramley. In the end the RFL accepted the club intoNational League Three, the highest level of amateur rugby league, for the 2004 season.
Bramleys first game againstSheffield Hillsborough Hawks drew a crowd of more than 1,200 atStanningley's Arther Miller Stadium. Coached by Phil Hellewell, the club reached the National League Three semi-finals, losing to eventual championsCoventry Bears. The following season the club finished second in the league and made the Grand Final, losing 28–26 to League LeadersBradford Dudley Hill.
Ahead of the 2006 season, exBradford Bulls player,Paul Cook was appointed head coach. Under Cook Bramley finished the season as League Leaders and won the Grand Final, beatingHemel Stags 30–8. 2007 was another successful year for Bramley with club again finishing the season as League Leaders but were beaten byFeatherstone Lions in the Grand Final.
The club again finished the season as League Leaders but failed to win the Grand Final in 2008, losing to Celtic Crusaders Colts. In November, Paul Cook left his post as head coach to take up an assistant coach role atHuddersfield. Mark Butterill was appointed head coach with Jon Nicholls being appointed assistant coach.
Bramley finished 2009 as League Leaders for a fourth year in a row and champions for a second time. 2010 was also a successful season with the club crowned League Leaders for a fifth time in a row but lost in the Grand Final to Warrington Wizards.
Butterill left the club at the end of the season andPeter Roe was appointed head coach for the 2011 season but left in April due to poor results. AustralianChris Gardner took over till the end of the season but could not prevent the club finishing bottom of the league.
In 2012 the amateur game aligned with the professional game by switching from playing in winter to summer. The Rugby League Conference was subsequently became absorbed into theNational Conference League creating a fourth division,NCL Division Three. Bramley finished 5th in NCL Division 3 before losing in the Elimination Playoff to Warrington Wizards.
Bramley had to apply to the NCL to stay in the league for the following season however their application was rejected by the League and were instead entered the newly formedYorkshire Men's League for the 2013 season.
Steve Gill took charge of Bramleys first season in the Yorkshire Men's League. At the end of the season Bramley agreed a merger with local side Rodley Rockets. The merger would see Bramley retain their name, colours and heritage but they would play at Rodleys Canal Bank Ground and take on their junior teams in the hope of being able to apply to rejoin the NCL.[2] initially the merger was a success with the Buffaloes winning the YML Premier Division, defeating West Hull in the Grand Final.[3] Unfortunately the merger with Rodley only lasted 12 months after issues playing at Canal Bank meaning the club had to play on Stanningley Park and poor junior participation. In the aftermath of this a new junior club was set up in 2015, confusingly called Bramley RL despite having no links with the Buffaloes.
Despite a successful season the year previous, on 16 April 2015, the club announced that they had to pull out of the Yorkshire Men's League for the 2015 season, due to having no coach and a lack of players.
The club returned in 2016, playing in Bramley for the first time since 1995 having agreed with Bramley Phoenix Rugby Union Club to use their ground. The club were placed in Division 5 and appointed exHunslet andCarlisle player Steve Langton.
Midway through the 2021 season Bramley left Bramley Phoenix and moved to ground share with West Leeds RUFC.
Also seeCategory:Bramley Buffaloes coaches
