The Jacksonville Axemen are a

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a conside ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

team based in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which th ...

, U.S. They currently play in the

USA Rugby League The USA Rugby League (USARL) is the official governing body for rugby league, a code of rugby football, in the United States. The organization also runs the national amateur competition for club teams in the US. The league consists of six te ...

(USARL). They play their home games at the North Practice Soccer Fields at the

University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public research university in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Sc ...

. Together with the ew Haven Warriors the Axemen were founded in 2006 as an

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

of the

American National Rugby League The American National Rugby League (AMNRL) was a rugby league organization in the United States that operated from 1997 to 2014. The country's first domestic rugby league competition, it hosted an annual league from 1998 through 2013. Throughout it ...

(AMNRL). Since their inception they have become one of the most successful

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

clubs in the United States both on and off the field. They advanced to the AMNRL playoffs in 2006, 2008, and 2009, and won the 2010 AMNRL Championship. The side currently holds the record for the largest margin of victory (96–8 as of 2016) in the league's history. In 2011 they became one of seven team to depart the AMNRL to form the new USARL, which kicked off in June of that year. Under the USARL, the Axemen have won two National Championships (2012 & 2018) and made three appearances ( 2013, 2014, 2016).

History

They are one of the most successful teams in America both in on-field and off-field operations, making it to the finals in four of their five years of play. Their team for 2009 included former

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

player Sean Rutgerson and former international player Daryl Howland. They are also the first Rugby League team in the US to stream all their home games live on the internet in an effort expose the sport in the US to the rest of the world via the World Wide Web. They often appear on local television and radio shows and are supported by the local media community in Jacksonville. The club was founded for the 2006

season by Drew Slover and Australian Daryl Howland after the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

(where both individuals resided) had no representation in the top level rugby league competition in the USA. After becoming the first AMNRL club to come from the southern state the Axemen had an impressive debut season finishing in the top six and qualifying for the playoffs; however they would eventually be knocked out by the New Jersey Sharks. In their first 5 years of operations, the Axemen made AMNRL playoffs, 4 times, with two trips to the title game and one national championship title. The Jacksonville Axemen hosted the teams of th
Australia Day Challenge
January 26, 2008 at the

, Hodges Stadium. This event drew 12,500 fans from 40 states in the US and 15 countries. They also hosted the "Rhinos Stampede to Florida" that saw the Leeds Rhinos and the Salford City Reds (both from the UK) visit Jacksonville for a 10-day training camp and game during early 2009 that saw 7000 fans visit Hodges Stadium. Later that year they Axemen also arranged and hosted the "HotelsofJacksonville.com Atlantic Cup" that saw the USA National Team play the Jamaica National team in a full international. A crowd of approximately 3500 attended the game. The Axemen are believed to be the most recognizable Rugby League team in the USA. They hold the current record for most fans and supporters at home games with average crowds of 2500 and have merchandise sales that ship globally during the season. In January 2011 the Axemen were one of seven AMNRL teams to announce they were departing to form the new USA Rugby League. They played their first game in the new league on June 4, 2011. The club managed to secure the inaugural minor premiership, however disappointingly were eliminated in the first week of the play-offs by the

New Haven Warriors The New Haven Warriors were a rugby league football team based in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. They played in the American National Rugby League (AMNRL) from 2006 to 2010 and in the USA Rugby League (USARL) from 2011 to 2012 before withdrawing. T ...

. They did, however, go on to win the National Championship in only their second year in the new league (2012) On August 25, 2018, the Jacksonville Axemen defeated the Brooklyn Kings 58–16 to win the 2018 National Championship Top Row: Sean Rutgerson (Coach), Jed Pearce, Lachlan Bristow, Jon Alexander, Steven Hill, Khalial Harris, James Campbell, Hunter Lawson, David Thomas, Kris Townsel, Glenn Spigelmyer, David Washington, Desta Bailey, Dr. B. Hudson Berrey (Team Physician) Middle Row: Mary Slover (Head Athletic Trainer), Kyle Grinold, Montana Northcroft, Taylor “Thor” Youngling, Jon Purnell (C), Tyler “Sparky” McClain, Will Fletcher, Kevin Wathen, Alex Eberle Bottom Row: Haley Frazer (Athletic Trainer), Jessika Wojciechowski (AT Intern), Kayla Jones (Athletic Trainer), Leslie Quirk (AT Intern)

USARL season summaries

Logo and colors

For their inaugural

season the club adopted the colors of white, red and blue but the uniforms are predominantly white.

Title Sponsorship

The 2006 and 2007 seasons the club's major jersey sponsor is T Mobile with Jaxbars.com being the back jersey sponsor. The 2008 and 2009 the Axemen were title sponsored by Barons Brewing from Australia. This partnership and the efforts the Axemen put into marketing their Black Wattle beer, made Jacksonville the biggest market for the beer in Florida 2010 season added the Paradise Island Rental Community as the Major jersey sponsor as well as Heekin Orthopedic Specialists (Now Southeast Orthopedic Specialist) as a minor jersey sponsor & official medical partner 2011, 2012, and 2013 the Axemen's Title/Major jersey sponsor was Firehouse Subs, with minor jersey sponsorships from Heekin Orthopedic Specialists. 2014 Title/Major Sponsor: Coastal Spine & Pain Center 2015 Title Sponsor: Dr Clayman's Miracle Spa 2016 Title Sponsor: St. Vincent Healthcare 2017 the Axemen secured a 3-year partnership with 121 Financial Credit Union as their Major/Title Sponsor. 2018 Title Sponsor: 121 Financial Credit Union 2019 Title Sponsor: 121 Financial Credit Union

10th Anniversary

In 2015, the Axemen celebrated their 10th season of operation. A special 10th anniversary logo was created to help celebrate 10 season of Rugby League in Jacksonville.

Southeastern Rugby League Championship

In 2011 the Axemen launched a reserve grade competition, the

Firehouse Subs Firehouse Subs is an American restaurant chain based in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1994 by former firefighter brothers Chris and Robin Sorensen. Firehouse Subs has over 1,210 restaurants in 46 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Hi ...

Southeastern Rugby League Championship, which acts as a feeder club system for the Axemen to further develop players. It developed into teams known today like the Atlanta Rhinos.

Stadium

For their debut season the Axemen used the

Hodges Stadium Hodges Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the University of North Florida (UNF), and the home field for the North Florida Ospreys soccer, track and field, and cross country teams. It is located on the university's campus in Jacksonville, Flori ...

North Florida North Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes Jacksonville and near ...

as their home field and they agreed to do the same for the 2007 season including reaching an agreement with the AMNRL to host the 2007 Grand Final Championship game there. The Axemen currently play their home games at the North Soccer Practice fields at the

First ever American Football vs Rugby League game

The Jacksonville Axemen played a cross code game between Rugby League and

American Football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

, by playing the Jacksonville Knights and defeated them 38-27The great rugby cross code games
It may have been the first time that both an American Football team and a Rugby League team played a cross code game. Both teams received coaching in their opponent's sport and then played one half in full American Football equipment and rules before both teams removed the pads and helmets to play Rugby League in the second half. One of the best players to pull on this jersey JUSTICE DALEY was a prop-forward with great ball playing ability and hit harder than anybody.

International Events

The Jacksonville Axemen have had more international rugby league events than any other league or team. Australia Day Challenge Rugby league was widely exposed to Jacksonville residents during the Australia Day Challenge on January 26, 2008, an exhibition match hosted by actor

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...

between the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are one of nine existing tea ...

(Australia) and the Leeds Rhinos (England) - the first international Rugby League match held in the United States. The Jacksonville Axemen were co-hosts to the event and received a higher level of local recognition through participation in and the success of the event.

Statistics and records

Biggest Winning Margin Biggest Losing Margin Most Points for the club Most Points in a Match Biggest Attendance

Honors

AMNRL The American National Rugby League (AMNRL) was a rugby league organization in the United States that operated from 1997 to 2014. The country's first domestic rugby league competition, it hosted an annual league from 1998 through 2013. Throughout it ...

Championship titles: 1 (2010) *

USARL The USA Rugby League (USARL) is the official governing body for rugby league, a code of rugby football, in the United States. The organization also runs the national amateur competition for club teams in the US. The league consists of six ...

: ::Winners (2): (2012), (2018)

References

External links

Official Website
{{Florida Sports 2006 establishments in Florida American National Rugby League teams Rugby clubs established in 2006 Rugby league in Florida Sports teams in Jacksonville, Florida USA Rugby League teams