Redfern All Blacks


The Redfern All Blacks are an Indigenous Australian semi-professional rugby league club based in Redfern, New South Wales, They are a part of the South Sydney District Junior Rugby Football League.

History

Redfern All Blacks is the oldest Indigenous Australian rugby league club in Australia. The club was officially founded by a group of non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal people in 1944, but some accounts suggest the team goes back to around the time of the Great Depression.
The club, often referred to as RABs or Redfern, was named after their black guernseys, part of the uniform provided by the South Sydney District Junior Rugby Football League in their first playing season.
At the time the club was formed, Aboriginal Australians were denied rights afforded to other Australians. Socially, culturally and politically, the club was important to many Indigenous Australias in Redfern at the time, and the club today is central to the history of Aboriginal Redfern.
Before the Knockout began, in 1969, Redfern's rugby team had already made legacy for itself and the team were invited to play in New Zealand against the local Maori team in 1971. The All Blacks left a significant impression on the Kiwis, defeating the Maori team in a number of games.
In 1973, the Redfern All Blacks became one of the founding member clubs that formed the inaugural NSW Koori Knockout in which seven teams participated.

Notable team members

1974, 1987, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
1972, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992, 1993, 2015, 2016
2017
2005, 2017
2010,2011,2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

2018 A Grade Squad