Representing the USA is the ultimate prize but club footy is the best part about Rugby League!
The USARL Club Competition is a National Men's Division 1 League played every Summer (May - August) comprised of east coast teams ranging from Boston through to Florida. Each season clubs from two conferences (North & South) compete in an 8 week schedule followed by a 3-4 round playoff series that leads to a grand final event where the finalist from both the North and South conference compete and a National Champion is crowned.
(S-X) 2021 TAMPA
Tampa Mayhem (60) defeated Delaware Black Foxes (10)
Tampa Mayhem wins its first USA national championship.
The Tampa Mayhem have been crowned 2021 USA Rugby League (USARL) National Champions with a blowout 60-10 win over the Delaware Black Foxes.
The game got underway with the Black Foxes actually crossing the line first but from that point, the Mayhem got on the front foot and kept possession to start to build sustained pressure, which led to a tough halftime score of 32-4 for Delaware to covercome. The second half was pretty much a repeat of the first forty with the Mayhem forging their way to the win with six more tries.
Venue: Tampa Sports Complex
Tampa Mayhem - 60 (Bart Longchamp x3, Justin Branca x2, Jared Garcia x2, Jon St. John, Zack Brockett, Matt Finnesy, Andrew Cooke, Andrew Zuluaga; Charlie Hutchings 6 goals) defeated Delaware Black Foxes - 10 (Ian Ferguson, Zephir Lambert; Dante Jacquet 1 goal)
Match Officials: Cody Kauxmann (head referee)
Tampa Mayhem: JaredGarcia, Jon St. John, Cody Blackwell (C), Justin Botha, Zack Brockett, Justin Lopez, Charlie Hutchings, Matt Finnesy, Bart longchamp, Justin Branca (C), Joe Eichner, Andrew Cooke, Sean Nicholl, Andrew Zuluaga Interchange: Jack Penrose, Corey Reichert, Merrick Fuchs, Will Greaves Coach: Billy Neilson.
Delaware Black Foxes: Andrew Simpson, Ian Ferguson, Mark Diliberto, Nathan Campbell, George Evonishon, Kevin Wiggins, Dante Jacquet, Zephir Lambert, Connor Gilden, Chris Wiggins, Aldo Karamoy, Keith Jones, Jason Bartlow, Interchange: Chris Scanlon, Andrew McFarlane, Mike Gentile, Chris Gwynn, Corey Lee Coach: Ian Ferguson
Brooklyn wins its first USA national championship.
The Brooklyn Kings have been crowned 2019 USA Rugby League (USARL) national champions with a tight 12-6 win against the former title holders Jacksonville Axemen. The game got underway with the Axemen actually crossing the line first, but the try was disallowed. From that point, the Kings got on the front foot and kept possession to start to build sustained pressure, which led to their first try by centre Brandon Anderson to make it 4-0 with around ten minutes gone. The match, which turned out to be a pretty good spectacle for fans who turned up, produced some enterprising play by both teams on both sides of the ball but again it was the homeside that got the better of things. Halfback Matt Brewer finished off a movement by dotting down in the try zone and then converted his own score to extend Brooklyn’s lead to 10-0 through the end of the first quarter. Sensing that they needed to be the next team to get on the scoresheet, the Axemen lifted their intensity and were rewarded just before the halftime break with a try to backrower Jye Montgomery. Hooker and goalkicker Nathan Richter did what he has done all season long and added the extras to close the gap to 10-6. Two tries to one tells the story of a low-scoring but high intensity, defensive-oriented matchup Saturday at the Aviator Sports & Events Center in Brooklyn, New York.
It was a replay of last year’s Grand Final, which the Axemen won handily. It was also the final game stateside for Brooklyn coach Richardson before he returns to Sydney, and he admitted their success tastes very sweet
Jacksonville has won the 2018 USA Rugby League national championship in emphatic style. The Axemen trailed briefly just once during the match before clinching a 56-16 victory against the Brooklyn Kings in the USARL championship game. And as was the case all season long, their Australian import hooker and goalkicker Lachlan Bristow was the star of the show in amassing 36 points on his own. He scored no fewer than five tries and booted eight conversions as Jacksonville went on to outscore Brooklyn by ten tries to three. For their part, and despite being outplayed on the night, the Kings didn’t stop trying for the whole 80 minutes and made the final scoreline somewhat more respectable with two late tries. Repeating a pattern that has been the norm this season, the Axemen scored first when right winger Tyler McClain dotted down within the opening minutes. Bristow missed with the conversion for an early 4-0 lead. Brooklyn hit back within minutes when one of their main playmakers Jerome Easthope forced the ball over the line after sustained Kings pressure. The extras were added by Reece Purcell to give the visitors a temporary 6-4 lead. However, they didn’t stay in front for long as the home team scored five more tries in the lead up to halftime. Bristow got three of them, while McClain picked up his second and fullback Will Fletcher scored one. Bristow converted all five tries to give Jacksonville a huge 34-6 lead at the main break. As was often the case in 2018, the second half was pretty much a repeat of the first forty with the Axemen forging their way to the win with four more tries. Left winger David Washington and center Kyle Grinold added singles, while Bristow scored twice more and converted three of the scores. The Kings, who might have thrown in the towel, instead stepped up their pressure and were rewarded with two tries to Brandon Anderson and Seimou Smith, one of which Purcell converted, to make the final scoreline of 56-16.
Venue: University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32224
Jacksonville Axemen: David Thomas, David Washington, Kyle Grinold, Will Fletcher, Tyler McClain, Steven Hill, Montana Northcroft, Jon Purnell (C), Lachlan Bristow, Kevin Wathen, Jed Pearce, Taylor Youngling, Desta Bailey Interchange: Hunter Lawson, Kris Townsel, James Campbell, Alex Eberle, Khalial Harris Coach: Sean Rutgerson
Brooklyn Kings: Seimou Smith, Shaniyat Chowdhury, Brandon Anderson, Jay Robinson, Corey Jones, Kallum Coleman, Reece Purcell, Dane Wilcoxen, Jerome Easthope (VC), Ralph Mendez, Nick Briggs, Matt Almeida, Garet Shepherdon (C) Interchange: Odain Brown, Wes Haughton, Justin Coffman, Jah Marconi Coach: Brent Richardson
Atlanta Rhinos (32) defeated New York Knights (18)
The Atlanta Rhinos are the 2017 USA Rugby League Champions winning their first ever National Title. It what was an enthralling encounter in front of packed crowd at Life University Atlanta, the Rhinos came from behind to beat the New York Knights 32-18 and in doing so become the 2017 USARL National Champions. Atlanta started slowly and quickly found themselves down by a try within the opening minutes of the match. Alex Foster opened the scoring for New York early in the piece when he finished off a movement to give the visitors a 6-0 lead. Atlanta rebounded from their early setback to play their way back into the game and made it 6-4 when Nick Barthel scored out wide, the first of a pair of tries he’d post on the day. Max Pierce and Terrance Williams, followed with two more tries for the Rhinos in the second quarter to give them a 10-point cushion and a 16-6 lead at the main break despite being a player sin-binned (10 min) for back chatting the referee. The Knights got one back early in the second stanza to trail 16-12 and looked to capitalize when Atlanta were reduced to 12 men with Atlanta’s Tomu Osborne being Red Carded and marched from the field. Instead the Rhinos turned up the heat on what was already a very hot day in the Peachtree State and ran in two more converted tries by Barthel and Williams to build a commanding 28-12 lead. Again New York replied with an unconverted four-pointer of their own, but by that stage the gap was just too big to peg back and a final try by each side brought the scoring to a close.
It was the final game of rugby league for Rhinos’ forward Salesi Tongamoa, who had announced prior to the match that he would retire.
Venue: Life University: 1269 Barclay Cir, Marietta, GA 30060
Atlanta Rhinos – 32 (Terrance Williams x 3, Nick Barthel x 2, Max Pierce tries; Joe Cowley 4 goals) defeated New York Knights – 18 (Alex Foster, Neil Thorman, Curtis Cunz; Jovanny Perez 3 goals)
MVP: Hiko Malu
Match Officials: Insert Here...
Atlanta Rhinos: Zachary Evan Blalock, Nick Barthel, Jason Paul Jr, Terrance Williams, Max Pierce, Joseph Cowley, Samuel Cowley, Salesi Tongamoa, Jordon Smedley, Sean Hunt, Hiko Fotukava Malu, Tomu B Osborne, Nick Newlin (C) Interchange: Joe Cusumano, Corey Patton Jr., Matthew Wade, Alifereti Kikau Coach: Jordon Smedley
New York Knights: Insert names... Interchange: Insert names.... Coach: Insert names
Philadelphia Fight (42) defeated Jacksonville Axemen (20)
Under new ownership, the Philadelphia Fight continued their dominance at the Club Competition level becoming 2016 USARL Champions for their 4th Championship. In 2016 Philadelphia finishes an impressive 11-0-0, scoring 535 points, and allowing 108. In the North Conference Final Philadelphia Fight defeated Boston 13s 33-24 while in the South Conference Final, Jacksonville Axemen defeated Atlanta Rhinos 38-28. Jacksonville has yet to defeat Philadelphia at the Championship Level.
Venue: Nickerson Field, Boston University: 27th August 2016
Philadelphia Fight – 40 (Mike Gentile, Louis Tulio, Joel Weeks, Josh Vaartes, Jarod Frymoyer tries; Mike Timpano 5 goals) defeated Jacksonville Axemen – 20 (Jon Halter x 2, Tyler McClain tries; Hayden Diggins 2 goals)
MVP: Rhys Bowdich
Match Officials: Alan Chmielewski, Cody Kuxmann Chris Carter
Philadelphia Fight: Roman Lowery, Mike Gentile, Louis Tulio, Ryhs Bowdich, Mike Timpano, Rich Henson, Joel Weeks, Josh Vaartes, Jarod Frymoyer, Amdrew Kneisly, Fraser Stirling, Jessie Fogg, Casey Clark, Interchange: Zach Reichenback, James Coleman, Joeil Beasley, Pat Quirk. Coach: Rich Henson
Jacksonville Axemen: Tyler McClain, Urban Iyo, David Thomas, Jon Halter, David Washington, Billy Rogers, Ben Nicoll, Josh Cock, Hayden Diggins, Ryan Peterson, James Campbell, Kevin Wathen, John Purnell. Interchange: Will Mueller, Joe Eichner, Taylor Youngling, Ryan Ohara. Coach: Ben Nicoll
The 2015 season witnessed 14 teams compete for the USARL Championship and the addition of 4 new clubs in Delaware Black Foxes, Connecticut Wildcats, New York Knights and Bucks County Sharks. The Boston 13s (Northeast), Philadelphia Fight (Mid-Atlantic) and Atlanta Rhinos (South) finished atop of their respective divisions with only Philadelphia remaining undefeated going into the playoffs. In the Conference Finals, the NORTH crowned a new champ when Boston smashed through 2014 Champions Philadelphia by a score of 20-12 while the SOUTH saw the Atlanta Rhinos defeat the Central Florida Warriors 46-26. This is Boston’s first Championship with their only other opportunity coming in 2012 when they lost to Jacksonville.
Venue: University of North Florida, Jacksonville: 29th August 2015
Match Officials: Vince Lawson, John Freeman, Jim Headle
Boston Thirteens: Liam Georgetown, Ryan Forgione, Kiwa Oakes, Tyler Ierardi, Urban Iyo, Lucas Baistrocchi, Lawrence Crilley, Marcos Flegmann (C), Kane Bentley, Jonpaul Davis, Greg Richer, Mike Elias, Craig McKenzie. Interchange: Conor Leahy, Trevor McKenzie, Patrick Canty, Curtis Goddard. Coach: Robin Peers
Atlanta Rhinos: Sam Cowley, Kwame Little, Matt Fontana, Terrance Williams, Max Pierce, Joe Cowley, Tomu Osborne, Salesi Tongamoa, Joe Cusamano, Daniel Gabrielli, Nick Newlin (C), Dustin Syas, Hiko Malu. Interchange: John Lilley, Justin Syas, Hemi Mataele, Matt Wade. Coach: Nick Newlin & Saelsi Tongamoa
Philadelphia Fight (30) defeated Jacksonville Axemen (18)
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Season IV (2014) witnessed USA Rugby League history with the introduction of a two Conference system (North and South) and the beginning of three new Southern Teams (Atlanta Rhinos, Central Florida Warriors and Tampa Mayhem). The 2014 Championship Final remains a classic by many USARL fan favorites lucky enough to witness two undefeated teams clash in a stormy battle. The game was a bruising encounter played in front of a capacity crowd under severe heat conditions nearing 100 degrees. In the North Conference Final Philadelphia Fight defeated Boston 13s 52-26 while in the South Conference Final, Jacksonville Axemen defeated Central Florida Warriors 38-28. The result sees the Jacksonville Axemen's record three year unbeaten record come to an end. With their 3rd National title, Philadelphia creates a dynasty while prodividing a swan song for head coach Peter Illfield stepping down after 10 years with the Philadelphia Fight. The end of the 2014 Season, the USARL formed the U.S. Association of Rugby League and was recgonized by the RLIF as the NGB for the Sport of Rugby League in the USA.
Philadelphia Fight – 30 (Michael Garvey, John Lyons, Tom Dawney, Patrick Quirk, Jackson Springer tries; Mike Timpano 5 Goals) defeated Jacksonville Axemen – 18 (Steven Hill 2, Steven Krueger tries; Matthew Keeley 2 Goals)
MVP: Rhys Bowdich
Match Officials: Vince Lawson, John Freeman, Junior Abraham, Ray Tomkins
Philadelphia Fight: Roman Lowery, John Lyons, Michael Garvey, Joel Beasley, Mike Timpano, Tom Dawney, Rich Henson, James Coleman, Jared Frymoyer, Kevin Wiggins, Jackson Springer, Rhys Bowdich, Andrew Kneisly. Interchange: Dave Wilmore, Tristan Sylk, Ian Ferguson, Patrick Quirk. Coach: Peter Illfield
Philadelphia Fight (28) defeated Jacksonville Axemen (22)
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The Philadelphia Fight and Jacksonville Axemen played out a thrilling USARL Grand Final in Conshohocken (Philadelphia) with the Fight winning their Second trophy in the past three seasons. Both teams were coming in having won a championship each in the USARL. The Fight in 2011 were the inaugural USARL champions and 2012 the Jacksonville team traveled to Boston to take the Championship. Perfect weather conditions for Rugby League witnessed a crowd of 1,000 in what would become one of the USARL classic matches.
Venue: A.A. Garthwaite Stadium, Conshohocken: 24th August 2013
Philadelphia Fight – 28 (Jared Frymoyer, Cesare Coscia, Rich Henson, Ben Russel, Casey Clark tries; Mike Timpano 4 goals) defeated Jacksonville Axemen – 22 (Apple Pope, Jay Mombu, Rich Allegar tries; Rich Allegar 3 goals)
MVP: Matt Webster
Match Officials: Bruce Wedderburn, Lawrence Almagno, Bill Weeks
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The Jacksonville Axemen are the 2012 USA Rugby League Champions defeating the Boston 13s winning their first USARL Championship and second Championship as a team (AMNRL 2010). The final played at MIT Steinbrenner Stadium (Boston) saw a packed house with standing room only witness one of the great finals in American Rugby League history. In near perfect weather conditions, fans rallied around their local team and were treated to an exhibition of Rugby League but on the day Jacksonville were too strong for an inexperienced Boston 13s. #9 Matt Keely was a deserving winner of the MVP Medal. His quick thinking in attack was noticeable with each touch of the ball but his tireless defense in the remaining 10 minutes proved to be the difference between both teams.
Venue: MIT Steinbrenner Stadium: 25th August 2012
Jacksonville Axemen – 28 (Bart Longchamp, Nathan Tate 4,Brent Shorten tries; Matt Keeley 2) defeated Boston 13s – 22 (Ben Browne 2, Michael Bozza, Mick Wilson tries; Dustin Cooper 3 goals)
MVP: Matt Keeley
Match Officials: Danny McNeice, Alan Chmielewski, Bill Weeks, Joe Pontak
Philadelphia Fight (28) defeated New Haven Warriors (26)
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Season I (2011) and 8 teams brave out to form the new USARL Club Competition with the goal becoming the recognized body for the administration and organization of Rugby League Football in the USA and to embody the vision of professionally developing the sport throughout America. (Boston 13s, D.C. Slayers, New Haven Warriors, New Jersey Titans, Jacksonville Axemen, Oneida FC, Philadelphia Fight). 2011 saw Philadelphia Fight become the inaugural USA Rugby League Champions defeating New Haven Warriors 28-26 in hurricane conditions. The Fight were the first to come out of the blocks and raced away to a 18-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes with one of the tries of the season coming from an individual effort from Joel Weeks. The Second half saw a rejuvenated New Haven side and in an amazing 20 minutes of Rugby League, the Warriors were able to pull the score back to within 6 scoring two converted tries. In the last 20 minutes both two teams went tit-for-tat on tries with scores being level at 22-22. With 10 minutes remaining, New Haven took the lead 26-22 only to see Philadelphia score in the dying minutes to seal an absolute thriller 28-26. New Haven despite the disappointment go home with their heads held high knowing that they had just played in the game of the year!
Venue: A.A. Garthwaite Stadium, Conshohocken: 28th August 2011
Philadelphia Fight – 28 (Patrick Quirk, Mike Timpano, Joel Weeks, John Evangelista tries; Joel Weeks 4, Mike Timpano 2 goals) defeated New Haven Warriors – 26 (Siose Muliumu, Karl Buck, Ben Kelly, Andrew Morone, Jeremy Kosbob tries; Brian Schact 3 goals)
MVP: Joel Weeks
Match Officials: Alan Chmielewski, Bill Weeks, Bruce Wedderburn
Jacksonville Axemen: Keith Nelson, Joe Roucken, James Mcowan, Ed Reed, Brian Lee
Damien Omalveney Siose Muliumu, Blair Wards, Taurean Sheehan, Matt Callan, Karl Buck, Ben Kelly, Andrew Moroney, Wesley Haughton, Amosa Lio. Interchange: Justin Xenelis, Chris Yeargen, Jeremy Kosbob, Brian Schact. Coach: Adam Hamon
