NEWCASTLE THUNDER will be sending their application to the Rugby Football League (RFL) this week in order to take their place in League One for the 2024 season.
The north-east club shocked the rugby league fraternity last month when they withdrew from the third tier after citing financial issues.
However, since then, Thunder’s General Manager Keith Christie has worked tirelessly to ensure that there will be a Newcastle in League One next season.
An application to do just that will be sent to the RFL later this week, with Christie confirming that Thunder will again play at Kingston Park in 2024 as Chris Thorman takes his place as head coach once more.
“We had a meeting tonight and Kingston Park is going to be our home next year for Newcastle Thunder, provisionally,” Christie told League Express.
“Chris Thorman has agreed to be the head coach of Newcastle Thunder and we are putting our application in to the RFL this week. I’ll be disappointed if it wasn’t accepted.
“We are pretty close to the RFL and we have been given some advisory notes about what they wanted. It’s been a fairly open application. Tony Sutton has been really good for us and supportive of that. I would like to think we will be there.
“There is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. We have got to the start line and got our spikes on now. We are ready.”
On the playing side of things, there are a number of options for Thunder.
“In terms of players, that’s a proactive movement we are making now. We have got four good universities on our doorstep which we will consider.
“We have got students within the game already within the area. We have got some good rugby union guys who can make the transition and there are some great guys in the north-east who are capable of playing in League One.”
For the ownership dilemma, Christie will continue with a potential advisory board to be set up to take the club forward following the withdrawal of previous owner Semore Kurdi.
“It will continue with myself for the time being with the chance to put an advisory board in place and then put people on that board. But we need to understand how they will deliver for Newcastle Thunder. There is a process we will be going through rather than adding people on and them not delivering.
“We are qualifying and quantifying what we want people to do for us. A lot of people have fallen off the face of the earth because they don’t think the money is available anymore.
“That’s including clubs, agents and so called followers of Newcastle Thunder who, when they thought they could get a penny out of us, they were all over us, but as soon as they found out there was no money they’ve dropped us like a hot potato.
“It’s been an interesting process to see who has supported us and stood by us and offered us support.”
Fingers crossed Newcastle’s application will be successful and there will be 36 professional rugby league clubs once more in 2024.
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