Tallon Smith

The Castlereagh League is set to welcome a second club back from the wilderness this year after the return of the Mendooran Tigers from a 39-year recess was confirmed on Monday morning.

The Tigers, who won a hat-trick of premierships from 1983 to 1985 before entering recess after the 1986 season, will rejoin the competition via its compact reserve grade competition later this year.

The club has aligned itself with neighbours the Dunedoo Swans, and will act as their reserves side as the Swans themselves rejoin the first grade competition after a season in the seconds in 2024.

Castlereagh League Publicity Officer Bryson Luff provided the following press release to the media this morning.

“The Tigers had an application to play in the Castlereagh League’s 2025 reserve grade competition approved at a General Meeting of Castlereagh Clubs last Sunday in Gilgandra,” the media release read.

“The Tigers will play under the umbrella of the Dunedoo Swans but will retain their Tiger identity both on and off the field, with the fine details of the combination of the two clubs yet to be thrashed out.

“Castlereagh League Chairperson, Chris Deighton, welcomed the Tigers back to the fray and said that the decision to approve their application was unanimously endorsed by the current Castlereagh League clubs, adding that it was hoped that their combining with the Dunedoo Swans would ensure a strong club coming from the Dunedoo/Mendooran area which can only be good for the overall Castlereagh competition.”

The return of the Tigers follows the welcoming of the Warren Bulldogs back into the first grade competition after a seven-year absence this season.

The league now has a remarkable twelve affiliated clubs, behind only Group 7 and the Northern Rivers among group-level competitions.

The 2025 Castlereagh League season begins on Saturday, April 5 with the annual League Tag knockout at Baradine, followed by the Youth League and First Grade knockouts a week later at Warren, before round 1 of the competition proper on Saturday, April 26.