Tallon Smith

The Armidale Rams have withdrawn from the 2025 Group 19 Rugby League season after a lack of players saw them unable to field A-Grade or League tag sides this year.

The proud club, formed in 2005 from the merger of the Armidale Galloping Greens and YCW, was set to celebrate its 20th anniversary this year, before the disappointing news broke via a statement posted to its Facebook page Tuesday night.

“It is with great regret that we are announcing that we will not be fielding teams in the Group 19 senior rugby league competition for 2025,” the statement read.

“This was an extremely hard decision to make but in the end, we just didn’t have enough player interest to field an A-Grade or Ladies league Tag side for this season.  

“We thank our appointed A-grade coach Tyler Carson for his hard work in trying to get a side together, wish him luck playing elsewhere in 2025, and look forward to having him back in 2026 as Captain Coach.

“While we are taking a temporary step back from our senior side this year, this is not the end of the Armidale Rams.

“The club remains committed to its future, and we will be working hard to rebuild, regroup, and return stronger than ever in the years to come.”

After a few difficult seasons, the Rams returned to the finals last year, making a strong charge to the top four before going out in straight sets.

Fellow Armidale club Narwan Eels will fly the flag this season as the sole club in the city, fielding A-Grade, League Tag, and potentially a Reserve Grade side after the announcement that competition would return last month.

The Eels will not field an Under 18s side this year, meaning the 24,000-population regional centre will not be home to a side in that grade in 2025.

The Rams’ full statement posted to Facebook on Tuesday night is below.

Armidale Rams – Facebook Statement 4/3/25

It is with great regret that we are announcing that we will not be fielding teams in the Group 19 senior rugby league competition for 2025. 

This was an extremely hard decision to make but in the end, we just didn’t have enough player interest to field an A-Grade or Ladies league Tag side for this season.  

We thank our appointed A-grade coach Tyler Carson for his hard work in trying to get a side together, wish him luck playing elsewhere in 2025, and look forward to having him back in 2026 as Captain Coach.

While we are taking a temporary step back from our senior side this year, this is not the end of the Armidale Rams. 

The club remains committed to its future, and we will be working hard to rebuild, regroup, and return stronger than ever in the years to come. 

Our decision to pause for the 2025 season will allow us time to address the challenges we are facing and ensure that we can continue to offer the best possible rugby league experience for our players and supporters moving forward.  

We will still continue to field junior teams for the season & look forward to bringing them through the ranks of our club.

We want to thank all of our players, coaches, volunteers, supporters and especially our sponsors who have been with us through thick and thin. 

Your dedication to the Rams over the years has been incredible, and we will continue to keep you updated on our progress as we plan for the future.  

This being our 20th Anniversary year, we will still have many exciting events happening, so keep an eye on the page for invites. 

We are also very excited about some project upgrades that we will bring to Rugby League Park in the near future.

Thanks for your understanding, we will be back bigger and better than ever in 2026.