Parkes Spacemen
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Parkes Rugby League Football Club[1] |
| Nickname(s) | The Spacemen |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) |
|
| Competition | Group 11 Rugby League, New South Wales Country Rugby League |
Parkes RLFC, nicknamed the Parkes Spacemen, is a rugby league club from Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. It is a Group 11 Rugby League club. It gained media attention as the home club of a number of Fijian test match players.
Nickname
Parkes is a regional town located near the middle of New South Wales, with its economy based on farming and some mining. It is also the location of the Parkes Observatory Radio Telescope, from which the Spacemen took their nickname.[2]
Media attention
The Spacemen were simply a struggling regional club before circumstances brought media attention. Parkes RLFC advertised for players; at the same time, Fijian rugby league players sought to join a NSW club in preparation for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. Fiji national rugby league team players including Alipate Noilea, Semisi Tora and Ilisoni Vonomateiratu became Parkes Spacemen.[2][3]
Local media closely followed the 2008 Rugby League World Cup progress of the Fijian National team and its Spacemen,[4][4][5] culminating in their loss to Australia in the second semi-final.[6]. By this time national and international[7] media had picked up the story.[2][3]
References
- ^ a b
"Parkes Rugby League Football Club". http://www.parkes.nsw.gov.au/ Parkes Shire Council. 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ a b c Andrew Stevenson (2008-11-12). "We have lift-off - Spacemen ride all the way with meteoric Fijians". www.canberratimes.com.au Canberra Times. Retrieved 2008-11-16. Cite error: The named reference "CanberraTimes_RLWC08_Spacemen" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b Josh Massoud (2008-11-12). "Fijian targets Lockyer". www.news.com.au/heraldsun The Herald-Sun. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
- ^ a b "Spacemen trio in World Cup". parkes.yourguide.com.au/ Parkes Champion-Post. 2008-10-13. Retrieved 2008-11-17. Cite error: The named reference "ParkesChampionPost_RLWC08_Spacemen_FijiDefeatFrance" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Fijians to face Australia". parkes.yourguide.com.au Parkes Champion-Post. 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- ^ "Three of our Spacemen to take on Kangaroos". parkes.yourguide.com.au/ Parkes Champion-Post. 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- ^ "Fijians fly in World Cup". fijitimes.com/ Fiji Times. 2008-11-07. Retrieved 2008-11-17.