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→History: Added more detail about Kath Hetherington and the founding of the club |
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Hetherington previously founded [[Sheffield Eagles]] with her husband [[Gary Hetherington]]. After selling her shares in Sheffield Eagles in 1996, Hetherington invested in the new club citing the potential for rugby league expansion in the North East.
In 1998, Gateshead was officially granted a franchise in the [[Super League]] ahead of bids from Swansea, Northampton, and Cardiff. The club was named Gateshead Thunder, the name chosen in a contest, with [[Shaun McRae]] as head coach. The team played at [[Gateshead International Stadium]], which they called the Thunderdome.
Fan attendance in the early part of the season was poor but rose to 3,895 by the season's end. Gateshead Thunder finished in sixth position, just two points outside the playoff places. They had defeated [[St Helens R.F.C.|St. Helens]] home and away, as well as beating [[Wigan Warriors]] in the 'on the road' fixture at [[Tynecastle Stadium|Tynecastle]], [[Edinburgh]]. Matt Daylight was the joint leading try scorer in [[Super League IV]] and winger Ian Herron was one of the leading goal-kickers in the league.
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