Cooks Hill United FC


Cooks Hill United FC is a semi-professional football club based in Cooks Hill, New South Wales. Cooks Hill United FC currently competes in the Northern NSW Football National Premier Leagues NNSW competition; the highest division of the NNSW Football Leagues and the second tier of soccer in Australia.
Cooks Hill United's badge is a detailed, traditional crest-style emblem featuring heraldic influences and strong football and local symbolism.
Upper section: Three brick‑patterned turrets in green and gold, symbolising Australia’s national colours. At the centre is a small Phoenix rendered in red, white, and blue, referencing the earlier Cooks Hill soccer club of the 1970s.
Middle left quadrant: A schooner ship, representing Newcastle’s maritime heritage. Middle right quadrant: Depicts the Obelisk, a well-known Newcastle landmark. The cinnamon brown and emerald green background elements reference KB United and the official colours of the City of Newcastle.
Lower section: Contains black‑and‑white vertical stripes representing Cooks Hill United FC, along with a stylised football reinforcing the sport and the club’s purpose.
Flanking the shield are two silver heraldic lions in traditional inward-facing poses. Above the shield is a gauntlet formed as a raised fist, with decorative green mantling flowing from it.
Two cyan‑blue banners flow beneath the shield, displaying the club’s name in white lettering and the establishment year of 1997 between them.
The club’s official colours are Black, White and Cyan Blue. Black and white reference the colours of Newcastle United, reflecting the club founders’ original naming intention and Cyan blue is inspired by the star featured on the Newcastle Brown Ale logo.
CHUFC's home games are played at the Fearnley Dawes Athletics Centre and No. 2 Sportsground in the suburb of Newcastle West.

History

In December 1997 at the Commonwealth Hotel, Cooks Hill, Cooks Hill United Football Club officially became a sporting organisation. The original intention was to name the club Newcastle United; the proposal however was rejected by Northern NSW Football due to naming regulations in place at the time. The name Cooks Hill United was subsequently adopted, reflecting the club’s home ground at National Park No. 4 Sportsground.
Amidst the buzz of the '98 World Cup, three All Age teams were registered in the local Newcastle competition and became the first representatives of the black & white stripes.
The 1999 season was the inaugural year for both the Cooks Hill Juniors and the Cooks Hill Women’s and in 2000 Cooks Hill FC entered the Inter District competition for the first time, competing in I.D.3's
In 2005 the Cooks Hill Women won the double and the Men were promoted to I.D.2's.
In 2010 Cooks Hill Men’s were promoted to the top Inter District competition with the full amalgamation of Cooks Hill Juniors with the Seniors occurring not long after.
The club entered the Northern League 1 Division from 2015–2021
In 2022 Cooks Hill were promoted into the NNSW National Premier League. Craig Deans was appointed Technical Director in June of this year as well.
In June 2025 CHUFC advanced to the Australia Cup Round of 32 for the first time. A 2-3 victory against Adelaide Croatia Raiders SC saw them progress to the round of 16. CHUFC faced the Newcastle Jets at No2 Sportsground on Wed 13 August 2025 in front of a ground record crowd of 4,256, beaten 5-0.

Honours

Northern League 1

Premiers - 2017, 2018, 2019
Champions - 2017

Northern NSW State Cup

Winners - 2025

Australia Cup

Coaches

Divisional history

Committee

  • Mitch McPherson - President
  • Ant Courtman - Senior Vice President
  • Brendan McManus and Fiona Robinson - Vice Presidents - Junior Community Football
  • Matt Helinski - Secretary
  • Di Spurway - NPL Administrator and Committee Member
  • Louise Stanger - Events Coordinator and Committee Member
  • John Bowlder - Treasurer
  • Jeff Evans - Committee Member

    First team squad

Life members

  • Adrian Leonard
  • Cath Howard
  • Craig Heigh
  • David Morley
  • Di Spurway
  • Jeff Evans
  • Lee Bateman
  • Matt Borsato
  • Matthew Helinski
  • Nigel Bosworth
  • Pete Roworth
  • Richard Howard