Southport's rich history boasts several Players that you or your parents may know or remember. Click on the name to see some of their achievements Here are just a few:
Dallas Hood - Alan Scott - Scott Zahra - Greg Eastwood - Shane Eastwood - Tony Hearn - Paul Hauff - Jamahl Lolesi - Scott Rolf - Steve Rogers - Jay Hoffman - Dean Scott - Sid Beddows - Ben Lysaght - Brian Jellerick -
Coaching Staff
Craig Kellett is a Level 3 Coach who played for Southport all of his playing days and returns as our Coaching Director. Craig still works with southern division and works with the Gold Coast Vikings 'A' Grade.
Daniel Pinnell played most of his junior years at Tigers for the last few years has coached mini and mod players. He is a great role model for the boys. Daniel has won the clubman trophy and last season one of his boys won clubman of the year for all his great work.
Scott Zahra played for the Tigers all his junior career and represented the the Club in a number of representative teams. A Keebra Park star Scott went on to play for Penrith Panthers for 3 seasons and then the Gold Coast Chargers for 3 years. Scott now has kids of his own and last year coached his son for the first time. Scott's talent for the game has transferred into the coaching role and this year he is coaching the U16's.
Gold Coast Tigers was formed in 1969 and comprised of just 4 teams that competed in the Group 18 competition.
The teams competing in that initial season were the Under 10's, coached by Wally Green, the Under 12's and 14's, both coached by Trevor Short, and the Under 16's which played with the senior club and was coached by Lloyd Little.
With the Gold Coast struggling to host a strong competition and junior player numbers for the Tigers slowly increasing, the newly formed club was forced to relocate to the Brisbane competition in 1975 to 1978 before reverting to the local competition.
The move back to home soil saw the club change it's name from the Gold Coast Tigers to the Southport Tigers in 1978. It also allowed them to attract more players to the club and in turn, field more teams.
On the field, the 1980's will be remembered in the juniors as the turning point for the future of the game through the introduction of mini mod football. The concept was accepted openly by the clubs and has been recognised as a major factor in the escalating numbers of young boys who play the game.
In 1982/83 a committee with the help of many volunteers began planning to build a Leagues Club. Thanks to the contributions of both the senior and junior clubs and the 161 people who paid $200 to become a foundation member, Senator Ron McAuliffe officially opened the single storey clubhouse on the Ist of February 1984. The site of our current Leagues Club.
In 1991 the Junior Club was successful in obtaining the lease on the vacant old Southport Australian Rules Clubhouse and converted it into the home of the Southport Tiger's Junior Club.
Southport has continued to be a dominant club in the thriving Gold Coast District Rugby League competition, aiming to provide boys with the best coaching and facilities to ensure they benefit from both the club and the sport as much as possible.
It would be an impossible task to list all the names of the people who have contributed into making the club what it is today. In the 25 years of the club's existence thousands of players have worn the black and gold strip and competed for the Tigers. The club has won grand finals and club championships have had players selected to represent their state or country and has built a reputation as a very strong club in the Gold Coast District Junior Rugby League. Come in and see our history on our walls.
2008 sees our focus on the community as an educator of our exclusive Team Development and Health Education Program which focuses on fun, football, team play and healthy lifestyle plus community expectations and participating in a modern community for life beyond Rugby League.
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