The NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout, known to most as the Koori Knockout, has been held annually since 1971, with eight teams participating in the first event.
From these small beginnings, this year, the event celebrates 44 years, with the event being hosted by Indigenous rugby league legend, Timana Tahu who is an integral part of the Newcastle Yowies, the defending champions.
The Koori Knockout grew out of a longstanding tradition amongst Sydney’s Aboriginal community of playing and watching rugby league, starting in the 1930s with the formation of the Redfern All Blacks and the La Perouse Panthers, who I played with for 12 years as a junior before heading across to rugby union.
Following a discussion with some of the players from these teams at the Clifton Hotel, it was decided that a knockout competition with Aboriginal rugby league teams from around NSW was needed, thus building the biggest event on the Indigenous sporting calendar.
The first Koori Knockout match was held at the Camdenville Oval in Erskineville, with the Sydney teams training at Redfern and Alexandria Ovals, unaware of what they were creating.
Until 1980, most of the Koori Knockout games were held in Sydney.
However, since then, the majority of the matches have been held in towns all over NSW, including Dubbo, Armidale, Moree, Walgett, Bourke, Nambucca Heads, Woy Woy, Bathurst and for last two years, at Raymond Terrace on the fringe of Newcastle.
Like most Indigenous kids in NSW who played rugby league, I grew up watching my uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews as well as my brothers play for the Panthers, in one of the toughest knockout competitions I have ever seen.
Unfortunately, I never had the chance to play alongside my brothers Glen and Gary in a Koori Knockout due to other sporting commitments, but it would have been fun playing against some of this country’s most naturally gifted athletes.
Rugby league is an important and loved sport within Indigenous communities throughout Queensland and New South Wales and over the last 40 years, many players have used the Koori Knockout as a launching pad into the big time.
Almost every Indigenous rugby league player playing in a NRL club has represented his community during the Koori Knockout and most, if not all of them, still attend with the mates they grew up with, including Tahu and Melbourne Storm player George Rose, who will turn out for Walgett over this long weekend.
Regarded as the biggest sports gathering of Indigenous people in the world, the Koori Knockout is rugby league at its best. Over 150 teams, across the men’s, women’s and junior tournament will battle it out for rugby league glory.
The support from Indigenous communities is incredibly strong, with over 60,000 highly excited and passionate fans expected at Lakeside Oval in Raymond Terrace over four days, starting this Friday and finishing on Monday afternoon, all out to watch their teams compete for Indigenous rugby league’s biggest crown.
In addition to the sport, the Koori Knockout also attempts to send out a strong message to all the communities competing and attending the weekend with the event being a smoke and alcohol free.
The NRL Grand Final on Sunday between Souths and the Bulldogs may be the culmination of a long year of elite rugby league, but if you want to see the next generation of extremely talented Indigenous rugby league players, attend the Koori Knockout at Raymond Terrace or watch the live coverage which will start on NITV at 9.00am on both Sunday and Monday.
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