The Thirroul Butchers are an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

football team based in

Thirroul Thirroul () is a northern seaside suburb of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Wollongong, Australia. Situated between Austinmer, New South Wales, Austinmer and Bulli, New South Wales, Bulli, it is approximately 13 kilometres north of Wo ...

, a coastal town and suburb of

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

. The club was formed in 1913 and entered the

Illawarra Rugby League The Illawarra Rugby League is a rugby league competition in Wollongong, NSW. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1911 with five clubs (Dapto, Helensburgh, Mount Keira, Unanderra and Wollongong). The area p ...

, where it still competes today.

History

The Thirroul Butchers were established in 1913, entering the third season of the

competition. On 20 May 1913 Thirroul (at the time also known as "The Blues") competed in their first premiership match, with a 13-3 loss to Unanderra. The team listed was: Dansfield, A. Lacey, E.Lacey, Hopkinson, Coulton, Grace, McDonald, Ryan, Moore, Green, Fraser, Schalel and Clarke.Thirroul Butchers History
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Players

Notable former players

* Glen Air (1994-02

Illawarra Steelers The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On 13 December 1980, they were the ...

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, England. They play their home games at Plough Lane and currently compete in the RFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of British rugby le ...

, and West Tigers) * Brent Grose (2001-08

Cronulla Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the Sutherland Shire of Southern Sydney, New South Wales. Cronulla compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league compet ...

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

, and

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

) * Trent Waterhouse (

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

(2002-2011),

(2012-2014)) * Michael Howell (2002-04 St. George Illawarra Dragons) * David Howell (2003-13 St. George Illawarra Dragons,

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...

, and

) * Ryan Powell (2004-05 St. George Illawarra Dragons) *

Matt Prior Matthew James Prior (born 26 February 1982) is a South African-born English former cricketer, who played for England in Test cricket and for Sussex County Cricket Club in domestic cricket. He was a wicket-keeper and his aggressive right-handed ...

(2008-20 St. George Illawarra Dragons and

) * Max Bailey (2020

) * Aaron Schoupp (2021-

Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

and

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership, Australia's elite rugby league competition. Since 2008, the ...

) * Ryan Couchman (2023- St. George Illawarra Dragons) * Toby Couchman (2023- St. George Illawarra Dragons) * Connor Muhleisen (2023- St. George Illawarra Dragons)

Leading Pointscores

Honours

Premierships: 8 ::1940, 1954, 1973, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2008, 2012 * Illawarra Minor Premierships: 4 ::1987, 1995, 2003, 2008 * CRL Challenge Cup: 1 ::2003

References

External links

Thirroul Butchers Clubpage

Country Rugby League Homepage

Illawarra District League
{{Country Rugby League Rugby league teams in Wollongong Rugby clubs established in 1913 1913 establishments in Australia