Riverina Rhinos

Full nameRiverina Rhinos
Nickname(s)Rhinos
Founded2014
GroundEW Moore Oval, Griffith
Capacity1,000
Coordinates34°29′16″S 146°0′48″E / 34.48778°S 146.01333°E / -34.48778; 146.01333
Head coachGabriel Abdala
LeagueNational Premier Leagues Capital Football 2
2020withdrew
Websitehttp://griffithfootball.com.au/riverina-rhinos/

Riverina Rhinos is an Australian association football club based in the city of Griffith, New South Wales. The club was founded in 2014 and as of 2017 competes in the ACT based NPL Capital Football.

History

Foundation and early years

Riverina Rhinos were founded in 2014 as a junior club and competed in the NSW State League system.[1] Originally the club was accepted into the NSW Regional League and Regional Conference for U12s - U15s where it competed for three years.[2][3][4]

Move to NPL Capital Football

7 November 2016, Capital Football announced the introduction of Riverina Rhinos for the men's and boy's National Premier Leagues Capital Football for 2017 onwards. As part of the announcement, Capital Football CEO Phil Brown said the organisation was looking forward to having another strong club join the growing league.[5]

18 November 2016, Capital Football CEO Phil Brown was questioned by the media regarding the introduction of Riverina Rhinos being linked to a secret proposition by the federation body to submit a proposal for a future Canberra based A-League team. The addition of the Riverina region to a Capital Football bid would significantly bring the bid closer to the one million people catchment benchmark that FFA chief executive David Gallop has supposedly set as one of the criteria for interested bids. Phil Brown confirmed the Riverina Rhinos will be joining the ACT NPL leagues system but rejected it was connected to a future A-League bid.[6]

The Rhinos finished its first season in the NPL in 9th place in the league, two points above wooden spooners Monaro Panthers and eight points behind 8th placed Woden-Weston FC. Riverina did not qualify for the finals series.[7]

Players

Current squad

As of 13 February 2017 [8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 Scotland SCO Sean Bremner
2 Scotland SCO Darren Bailey
3 Australia AUS Luke Congdon
4 Australia AUS Nathan Battochio
5 Australia AUS Jacob Donadel
6 Scotland SCO Ally Macleod
7 Australia AUS Daniel Febo
8 Australia AUS Michael Perre
No. Pos. Nation Player
9 Australia AUS Joe Preece
10 Australia AUS Jone Ralulu
11 England ENG Stuey Smeeth
12 Australia AUS Zac Fattore
13 Australia AUS Mitchell Woods
14 Australia AUS Gavin Wylie
32 England ENG Lewis Burton

Season-by-season results

The below table is updated with the statistics and final results for Riverina Rhinos following the conclusion of each National Premier League Capital Football season.

Champions Runners-up Third Place Promoted Relegated
Riverina Rhinos Season-by-Season Results
Ref Season National Premier League ACT NPL
Finals
Fed
Cup
FFA
Cup
Top scorer
GP W D L GF GA GD PTS League Finals Name Goals
[9] 2017 18 1 4 13 15 71 −56 7 9th - - QF - Sean Bremner 3
[10] 2018 16 5 1 10 20 39 −19 16 8th - - 2R - Artur Rattel 4
[11] 2019 16 0 1 15 9 62 −53 1 9th - - 2R - Keith Jackson 4

References

  1. ^ Rugari, Vince (5 November 2013). "Application Accepted, Riverina Rhinos are born". www.griffithfootball.com.au. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  2. ^ "2014 Football NSW Regional League" (PDF). www.footballnsw.com.au. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  3. ^ "2015 Football NSW Regional League & Regional Conference" (PDF). www.footballnsw.com.au. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  4. ^ Krause, Riley (12 April 2016). "Riverina Rhinos battle it out with Sutherland Shire". The Area News. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  5. ^ "PS4 NPL Structure & Teams". Capital Football. 7 November 2016. Archived from the original on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  6. ^ Polkinghorne, David (18 November 2016). "Capital Football chief executive Phil Brown denies A-League bid". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  7. ^ "PS4 NPL Capital Football 2017 Ladder". websites.sportstg.com. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  8. ^ Morgan, Ross (12 December 2016). "First Grade Rhinos Announcement". www.griffithfootball.com.au. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  9. ^ "2017 NPL Capital Football Ladder". www.sportstg.com. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  10. ^ "2018 NPL Capital Football Ladder". www.sportstg.com. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  11. ^ "2019 NPL Capital Football Ladder". www.sportstg.com. Retrieved 4 October 2019.