They may have not been a part of the National Rugby League for over 30 years, but the much beloved Newtown Jets still hold a special place in many rugby league diehards hearts. 

Despite departing the first grade competition in 1983 fans still flock from far and wide to pack out Henson Park to enjoy a cold beer, a sausage sizzle and to watch the mighty Jets carve up in the Canterbury Cup. This continued popularity amongst fans has been documented by Newtown Jets fanatic Glen Dwyer in his book Taking It To The Streets – The Second Life of the Newtown RLFC. 

While the Jets have been around since 1908, Glens book focuses solely on the franchise from 1991 until present day and shines light on the resurgence of the club back to relevancy after it had, as he put it, “come back from the grave of rugby league”. 

Not only do the Jets stand as a staple of the Inner West they also assist in the development of a vast amount of young players careers, primarily from the Cronulla Sharks. “We’ve had some wonderful young Sharks players come back to us in recent years. Fellas who are currently in first grade like Briton Nikora and Ronaldo Mulitalo. They’ve done their time with Newtown and  moved on up into the NRL. And not only have they strengthened Newtown but they’ve developed their own game immensely”. 

Although the Jets are still immensely popular in the local area Glen concedes that Newtown returning to first grade is a “pipe dream”. “If there’s one thing that’s not gonna happen in the NRL is another Sydney team, that’s exactly what the rugby league market doesn’t need”.

Taking It To The Streets – The Second Life of the Newtown RLFC is available from the Newtown RLFC office, online and through selected bookshops.