Gold Coast-Tweed Giants/Seagulls & Chargers

[axe&smash&crush]

King Carl Lewis was not a fan of Gold Coast rugby league

 

[Bobby DIGital]

Trade off. Rupert shut down the broke Reds/Rams so the ARL killed off the Chargers. They had a chance the merge with the Crushers but for some reason it never came to fruition.

Gotta respect Wally, gets smashed up with a full beer can and just shrugs it off after the match. AFL player gets called a name by a schoolgirl and crys like a baby for a week. Off to the fight club for me.

I don't even remember this particular jersey. A Seagulls card but a Giants jersey with the Seagulls leagues club as sponsor.

That was the first season of cards I started collecting. 1990 was also the first regular season I watched (after watching the 89 finals the previous year). As a 9 year old kid, I was truly confused as to why the Seagulls were wearing grey, and had a different logo. I remember straining my eyes and trying to make out the Giants logo on the jersey. I eventually discovered it said "giants" and I was truly befuddled. But since they had "seagulls" written across the jersey, I thought it was kosher. I didn't realize that "seagulls" were the leagues club/sponsors of the footy team. After acquiring an 1989 RLW, I realized the team used to be named the Giants and must have changed names.

As the Seagulls I remember they were absolute garbage. I didn't understand why Wally Lewis would go and dominate Origin in 91, and then go back to this awful club side where he was captain AND coach. The last of the captain/coaches. I do recall them beating us in a couple of games (92 & 94 I think), looking back I'm sure the Raiders were steadily on the piss before those games. I was disappointed when Brent Todd & Paul Martin went there after we had to offload them due to salary cap pressure.

As for the Chargers, they were the butt of many high school jokes. At my school to call someone "a charger" was to refer to a person who tried really hard, but just couldn't get the job done. My parents went to Aus in 98, and brought me and my sister back some clothes. This included a pair of silk Raiders boxer shorts for me, and a pair of Chargers ones for my sister. I proceeded to clown her for owning Chargers related apparel.

Wes Patten was on home n away. The Chargers jerseys were a real eyesore. Purple n Teal can work as a colour combo (see Charlotte Hornets whom I think the GC were trying to emulate), but the Chargers took it too far when they included yellow and grey.

 

[Perth Red]

1992 was there best year for crowds with a very respectable 9,468 avg
Their final year in 1998 this had dropped to 6,599

 

[Perth Red]

The final match between the Western Reds and GC ended in a 14 all draw at the WACA on 5th July 1996. Teams that day:

Reds
1. Julian O'Neill
2. Chris RYAN
3. Chris DEVER
4. Barrie-Jon MATHER
5. Greg FLEMING
6. Scott WILSON
7. Matthew RODWELL
8. David BOYD
9. Matthew FULLER
10. Robbie KEARNS
11. Mark GEYER
12. Peter SHIELS
13. Dale FRITZ
14. Jon GRIEVE
15. Jeff DOYLE
16. Jason EADE
17. Cameron BLAIR
Coach Peter MULHOLLAND

GC Chargers
1. Dave WATSON (c)
2. Lee OUDENRYN
3. Henry SULUVALE
4. Kris CURRIE
5. Jeff ORFORD
6. Shane KENWARD
7. Chris ORR
8. Robert CAMPBELL
9. Jamie GODDARD
10. Damien DRISCOLL
11. Brendan HURST
12. Tony DURHEIM
13. Jeremy SCHLOSS
14. Gavin WHITTAKER
15. Brett GILLARD
16. Des CLARK
17. John McKELLEHER
Coach: Phil ECONOMIDIS

 

[toomuchsoup]

 

[Lambretta]

RIP Gavin Whittaker are very underrated forward. I remember in the ARL comp in the 1997 finals for the Chargers against the Roosters, he chased down a Roosters back. Didn't prevent the try but he showed how much pace he had for a front row forward.

Was that the game at Parramatta Stadium?
I believe that was the only game featuring the Charges that I saw.
I seem to remember Martin Bella playing his last game after a decent season in the front row

Could be mistaken

 

[davi]

Was that the game at Parramatta Stadium?
I believe that was the only game featuring the Charges that I saw.
I seem to remember Martin Bella playing his last game after a decent season in the front row

Could be mistaken

Yeah that was the game. Graham Mackay was sent off the field for 10 minutes for back-chat and the Chargers were not happy with some of refereeing decisions but admitted the Roosters were too good. The Chargers first try they scored shouldn't have been allowed as the player clearly dropped over the line. There was no video referee in the ARL competition back then.

Brad Fittler praised the Chargers after the game, suggesting the Chargers didn't make the finals by flukeing it.

Phil Economidis won coach of the year that year. The guy who presented the award said "If the club had any money he wouldn't have got the job Phil Economidis".

 

[GAZF]

View attachment 11119

Its almost as if they picked their main colour to match the sponsor. It must also come close to the most colours used in a regular season design as well

 

[davi]

In Alan Langers book it says Langer was offered a huge offer to go to the Seagulls before the 1991 season, on 3 years $700 000 plus the captaincy. Langer took less from the Broncos because of salary cap restraints, but suggested he would have gone if the Broncos offer was ordinary.

 

[legs 11]

Was either 1988 0r 1989 I trialled against the roosters at seagulls stadium for Giants/Group 18 seagulls.. Remember getting smashed by the axe gillmester playing for the roosters. Giants had some tough stars in Tony Rampling and Ronnie Gibbs, 2 hitmen of the time.
The feeder club being group 18 seagulls team. The fields were sold for devlopment and group 18 seagulls then played at Pigabeen in 1989 1990..
Changed the jerseys to the butchers stripes of seagulls group 18 when renamed gold coast seagulls in 1990. John Harvey who was a great group 18 player coach became a Seagulls/chargers nrl coach.a few years later.

 

[Canard]

In Alan Langers book it says Langer was offered a huge offer to go to the Seagulls before the 1991 season, on 3 years $700 000 plus the captaincy. Langer took less from the Broncos because of salary cap restraints, but suggested he would have gone if the Broncos offer was ordinary.

He gambled his future.

 

[kdalymc]

 

[myrrh ken]

I want some gc gladiators merch

 

[kdalymc]

I want some gc gladiators merch

hit up Jeff Muller, ive tried

 

[Quicksilver]

In Alan Langers book it says Langer was offered a huge offer to go to the Seagulls before the 1991 season, on 3 years $700 000 plus the captaincy. Langer took less from the Broncos because of salary cap restraints, but suggested he would have gone if the Broncos offer was ordinary.

If he left the Seagulls would now be the pride of Queensland.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Seagulls were big news in SEQ at a time when poker machines were illegal in QLD. Bus loads of people used to travel over the border to Tweed Heads to the Seagulls leagues club (amongst other venues at Tweed). It was certainly a boom time for the Tweed. Once QLD legalised poker machines (in 1992 I think) it all unravelled very quickly.

 

[King hit]

Seagulls were big news in SEQ at a time when poker machines were illegal in QLD. Bus loads of people used to travel over the border to Tweed Heads to the Seagulls leagues club (amongst other venues at Tweed). It was certainly a boom time for the Tweed. Once QLD legalised poker machines (in 1992 I think) it all unravelled very quickly.

Not footy related but recently me and my gran were talking about this and she believes that these clubs were paid off by the QLD government to keep pokies in NSW.

For the Gold Coast Franchies pre titans they sadly are just another headstone in the graveyard of sport. At least when they were the Seagulls they were financially stable. Been to the site of there old stadium in Tweed Heads. It would've been a nightmare getting to back in the day.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Not footy related but recently me and my gran were talking about this and she believes that these clubs were paid off by the QLD government to keep pokies in NSW.

For the Gold Coast Franchies pre titans they sadly are just another headstone in the graveyard of sport. At least when they were the Seagulls they were financially stable. Been to the site of there old stadium in Tweed Heads. It would've been a nightmare getting to back in the day.

I know, it's hard to imagine there was a footy stadium there (all seater too I believe) where all those houses now stand. I reckon the heady days of the seagulls would make a cool Underbelly style TV show. There was certainly a lot of money floating around at its peak and now only the leagues club remains whilst the seagulls play at a park over the back of one of the housing estates.