Tucked away in a quiet place in Doug Thornton's archives was a curious piece of history: a Newcastle Rugby League program from a game on Saturday, July 28, 1973, between Central-Charlestown and the Northern Suburbs.
Northern had a record of 14 premierships and eight minor premierships since the inaugural competition in 1910 through to 1967. A few years later, the club would go on to win a 15th premiership in 1979, but in the middle of the '73 season, they were outdone by Central in an 18-11 defeat. Mr Thornton remembers refereeing that game. He pulled the final score from a scrapbook he kept from his 25 years on the whistle from 1963 until he retired from the sport at 50 in 1988.
