Global Information2014 Northern Pride RLFC season information
| Club information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Northern Pride Rugby League Football Club | ||
| Nickname(s) | The Pride | ||
| Colours |  Black, teal and gold | ||
| Founded | 2007 | ||
| Website | northernpride.com.au | ||
| Current details | |||
| Ground(s) |
| ||
| CEO | Brock Schaefer (2013–2014) | ||
| Coach | Jason Demetriou (2013–2014) | ||
| Captain | Brett Anderson & Jason Roos | ||
| Competition | Intrust Super Cup | ||
| 2014 | 1st | ||
| |||
| Records | |||
| Premierships | 2 (2010/2014) | ||
| Runners-up | 1 (2009) | ||
| Minor premierships | 1 (2013/2014) | ||
2014 was the seventh competitive season for the Cairns based Sea Swift Northern Pride Rugby League Football Club. They were one of 13 clubs that played in the nineteenth season of Queensland's top rugby league competition, QRL's Intrust Super Cup, with each team playing 12 home games and 12 away games over 26 weeks between March and August.
This season the competition expanded to the 13 teams with the inclusion of the PNG Hunters.[1] The Hunters first game was a pre-season trial against the Pride in Cairns.[2] The Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles returned to their original name (Sunshine Coast Falcons) and black and gold colour scheme now that their association with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles had ended, and Souths Logan Magpies became the first QCup team to take advantage of a new rule permitting unselected players from NSW NRL clubs to be play for ISC teams under a secondary affiliation when they linked with the Canberra Raiders.[3]
The Pride gained a new naming rights sponsor, Sea Swift, a north Australian shipping company wholly owned by the Queensland Government Insurance Fund. The Pride made several changes to the game-day experience after surveying their 1,500 members and talking to the local NBL side, the Cairns Taipans. Annual memberships were offered for $110, entry prices were reduced, catering at the ground was cheaper, allocated seating for members was reinstated, there was a big screen showing the game action with replays, a bouncy castle for kids, fireworks, pyrotechnics, Pride Wildcat cheer leaders from Awesome Cheerleading Cairns, and a new mascot, 'Barlow the lion'. Barlow Park was called 'The Jungle'. Average crowds for the year was 2,300, with 4,390 people watching the Round 18 clash against the Hunters, a ground record for a QCup match.[4]
Based on the success of last year's Round 4 match, when the Tweed Heads Seagulls home game was moved to Innisfail with financial assistance from Cassowary Coast Regional Council, this year the Round 6 Norths Devils home game was moved to Innisfail with assistance from Innisfail Brothers Rugby League Football Club.[5] The QCup match preceded a CDRL local game with a Pride connection between the KGC Innisfail Leprechauns captain-coached by Ty Williams and Cairns Brothers captain-coached by Chey Bird. This was the fifth time the Pride had played a QCup match in a regional area (2011 Round 20 in Bamaga, 2012 Round 17 Country Week in Mt Isa, 2013 Round 4 in Innisfail and Round 20 Country Week in Yarrabah.)
The Pride won 20 games out of 24 in the regular season, finishing on top of the ladder as minor-premiers for the second time in their history.[6] They played Easts Tigers four times this year, twice in the regular season, and, twice in the finals series. In the regular season the Pride's Round 7 home match against the Tigers was postponed due to Cyclone Ita. They beat the Tigers 44-20 in the Round 16 away match at Langlands Park, then lost to the Tigers 4-16 three weeks later in the postponed Round 7 match which was played at Davies Park Mareeba. The Pride had several young players in this game, having lost five experienced players and the coach to representative duties. The Pride got a bye in week one of the finals while the Tigers defeated Wynnum Manly. The major semi-final saw the Pride beat the Tigers 8-7 in a tight game. The victory earned the Pride another week off, while the Tigers eliminated Wynnum Manly in the Preliminary Final, setting up a rematch against the Pride in the Grand Final. This was played at Suncorp Stadium in front of a crowd of 7,135, with the Pride winning convincingly 36–4, their second premiership.[7]
The Pride went on to beat the Penrith Panthers in the first NRL State Championship at ANZ Stadium. Javid Bowen was named Man of the Match.
This season the Pride finalised a 12-month governance review led by chief executive Brock Schaefer, chairman Bob Fowler and consultant Andrew Griffiths, which recommended a new skills-driven board with specific portfolios of sponsorship, football, government, community, legal, financial and a chairman. A new board was appointed in May 2014.[8]
- ^ "Inside the PNG Hunters camp". 25 February 2014.
- ^ Flynn, Joe (5 February 2014). "Heads up on Hunters Irish recruit walks into tough test against PNG". Cairns Post. Cairns.
- ^ Malone, Paul (9 February 2014). "Magpies first to raid new NRL rule". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane.
- ^ Wenzel, Murray (16 January 2014). "Pride of the jungle Intrust Cup giant offers more on game day to faithful fans". Cairns Post. Cairns.
- ^ Flynn, John (19 March 2014). "FEAST OF FOOTY Economic boost tipped for Innisfail". Cairns Post. Cairns.
- ^ Garry, Chris (28 September 2014). "Northern Pride win Intrust Super Cup grand final over Easts Tigers with record margin". The Courier Mail.
- ^ Garry, Chris (10 September 2014). "Medal win a new chapter for Page". The Courier Mail.
- ^ Dalton, Nick (28 May 2014). "Skills take Pride of place". Cairns Post. Cairns.