The Thunder entered the Northern Ford Premiership for the 2001 season; however, they struggled to compete, and eventually finished 17th out of the 19 clubs.

[10] As champions, the club were promoted to the Championship, and avoided on-field relegation by finishing seventh under coach Steve McCormack.

[11] Thunder's joy at securing a second season in the second tier was however short-lived, as the club was wound up following a dispute between the directors.

[14] Further silverware was earned in 2016, when Newcastle defeated North Wales Crusaders to win the League 1 Shield[15] On 10 December 2020, Thunder were promoted to the Championship by a committee to replace Leigh who were, in turn, promoted to Super League to replace Toronto Wolfpack, who went out of business.

[16] For the 2022 season, Newcastle announced they were adopting the full time professional model in order to aid promotion to the Super League.

A club statement said "Unfortunately, the impact of COVID-19, combined with the low levels of regional growth and development in the game, means it just isn't feasible to continue.

[22] In December 2023 the RFL approved the club's change of ownership and confirmed Newcastle's participation in the 2024 season competitions.