1998 Queensland Cup | |
---|---|
Duration | March 14 – September 19, 1998 |
Teams | 16 |
Premiers | Norths Devils (1st title) |
Minor premiers | Norths Devils (1st title) |
Matches played | 185 |
Points scored | 9,184 |
Top points scorer(s) | John Wilshere (276) |
Player of the year | Shane Perry |
Top try-scorer(s) | George Wilson (27) |
The 1998 Queensland Cup season was the 3rd season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition.
The competition was contested by sixteen teams over a 27-week long season (including finals), with the Norths Devils defeating the Wests Panthers 35–16 in the Grand Final at Suncorp Stadium. Logan halfback Shane Perry was named the competition's Player of the Year.
The competition returned to a 16-team format in 1998 with the Bundaberg Grizzlies returning to the competition after a year's absence and the admission of the Townsville Stingers and Gold Coast Vikings. The Port Moresby Vipers withdrew after two seasons in the competition after they were unable to continue to pay their travel and accommodation costs. Also in 1998, the Pine Rivers Brothers played as the Brisbane Brothers, while the Logan City Scorpions became the Logan Scorpions.
In 1998, a number of NRL clubs partnered with Queensland Cup sides, sending players not selected in first grade to play in the competition. The Brisbane Broncos were affiliated with Brisbane Brothers, the Gold Coast Chargers with the Gold Coast Vikings, the Melbourne Storm with the Norths Devils, the North Queensland Cowboys with the Townsville Stingers and the Adelaide Rams with the Wests Panthers.
In 1998, the Queensland Cup became a full 22-round competition, unlike the previous two seasons which had 17 and 18 regular season rounds.
1998 Queensland Cup | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
1 | Norths Devils (P) | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 872 | 394 | +478 | 33 | |
2 | Brisbane Brothers | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 731 | 364 | +367 | 32 | |
3 | Wests Panthers | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 748 | 408 | +340 | 32 | |
4 | Redcliffe Dolphins | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 647 | 314 | +333 | 32 | |
5 | Gold Coast Vikings | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 673 | 423 | +250 | 30 | |
6 | Wynnum Seagulls | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 531 | 382 | +149 | 30 | |
7 | Townsville Stingers | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 686 | 435 | +251 | 29 | |
8 | Burleigh Bears | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 604 | 442 | +162 | 28 | |
9 | Easts Tigers | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 522 | 497 | +25 | 25 | |
10 | Cairns Cyclones | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 500 | 642 | -142 | 18 | |
11 | Central Capras | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 497 | 701 | -204 | 16 | |
12 | Logan Scorpions | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 488 | 694 | -206 | 13 | |
13 | Ipswich Jets | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 350 | 606 | -256 | 12 | |
14 | Souths Magpies | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 381 | 763 | -382 | 12 | |
15 | Toowoomba Clydesdales | 22 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 310 | 755 | -445 | 10 | |
16 | Bundaberg Grizzlies | 22 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 286 | 1006 | -720 | 0 |
Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Venue | |||||||
Week 1 Semi-finals | ||||||||
Gold Coast Vikings | 30 – 10 | Wynnum Seagulls | 22 August 1998 | Carrara Stadium | ||||
Wests Panthers | 10 – 20 | Redcliffe Dolphins | 22 August 1998 | Purtell Park | ||||
Norths Devils | 28 – 10 | Brisbane Brothers | 23 August 1998 | Kougari Oval | ||||
Week 2 Semi-finals | ||||||||
Wests Panthers | 18 – 16 | Gold Coast Vikings | 29 August 1998 | Pizzey Park | ||||
Brisbane Brothers | 24 – 28 | Redcliffe Dolphins | 29 August 1998 | Purtell Park | ||||
Week 3 Semi-finals | ||||||||
Norths Devils | 16 – 12 | Redcliffe Dolphins | 5 September 1998 | Dolphin Oval | ||||
Brisbane Brothers | 16 – 18 | Wests Panthers | 6 September 1998 | Crosby Park | ||||
Preliminary Final | ||||||||
Redcliffe Dolphins | 14 – 27 | Wests Panthers | 12 September 1998 | Dolphin Oval | ||||
Grand Final | ||||||||
Norths Devils | 35 – 18 | Wests Panthers | 19 September 1998 | Suncorp Stadium |
Sunday, 19 September |
Norths Devils | 35 – 16 | Wests Panthers |
---|---|---|
Tries: Matt Geyer 3 Anthony Bonus 1 Kevin Carmichael 1 Craig O'Dwyer 1 Goals: John Wilshire 4 Kevin Carmichael 1 Field Goals: Andrew Hamilton 1 | 1st: 6 - 16 2nd: 29 - 0 Report | Tries: 2 Jacob Twist 1 Mark Maguire Goals: 2 Tony Devlin |
Norths Devils | Position | Wests Panthers |
---|---|---|
Paul Hubbard | FB | Tony Devlin |
Matthew Dux | WG | Mark Maguire |
Steven Bell | CE | Shaun Valentine |
Matt Geyer | CE | Craig Smith |
John Wilshire | WG | Scott Williamson |
Craig O'Dwyer | FE | Craig Bowen (c) |
Kevin Carmichael (c) | HB | Jason Twist |
Anthony Bonus | PR | David Asplin |
Dale Williams | HK | Jason Campbell |
Wade Fenton | PR | Robert Campbell |
Andrew Hamilton | SR | Cameron Roper |
Daniel Frame | SR | Alan Wieland |
Mark Protheroe | LK | Joel Twohill |
Ricky Paul | Bench | David Fuller |
Matt Rua | Bench | Peter Liddell |
Ryan Gundry | Bench | Sam Faalafi |
Tristan Brady-Smith | Bench | David Liddell |
Mark Murray | Coach | Wayne Treleaven |
Norths, who finished the season as minor premiers, qualified for their first Grand Final after defeating Brothers and Redcliffe in the finals series. Wests, who finished third, had a tougher road to their first Grand Final appearance, losing in Week 1 to Redcliffe. From there, the Panthers won three straight elimination games to qualify for the decider. When the two sides met in the regular season, Norths defeated the Panthers 42–22 in Round 5 at Purtell Park. [1]
Wests halfback Jason Twist scored the first points of the game after four minutes with a try close the posts. 15 minutes later, Wests added four more points when winger Mark Maguire crossed in the corner. The Panthers added to their tally soon after when Twist crossed for his second, backing up Shaun Valentine who made a break down the field. Trailing 16-0, Norths finally got on the board when centre Matt Geyer scored the first of his three tries.
The second half was all Norths, as they ran in 29 unanswered points to secure their maiden premiership. Devils' prop Anthony Bonus crashed over right next to the posts to cut the lead to four, before Geyer scored his second to level the scores. John Wilshire's sideline conversion put Norths in front by two, their first lead of the game coming in the 60th minute. Captain Kevin Carmichael was the next to score for Norths, with second-rower Andrew Hamilton kicking a field goal 10 minutes later to extend Norths' lead to seven. Norths finished with two late tries to Craig O'Dwyer and Geyer to cap a remarkable 19-point win. The 16-0 deficit they overcame is (as of 2019), the biggest comeback in a Queensland Cup Grand Final. [2] [3]
Geyer and Matt Rua would go onto play in the Melbourne Storm's NRL Grand Final win over the St George Illawarra Dragons a year later, while Steven Bell would win an NRL premiership with the Manly Sea Eagles in 2008. [4] [5]
Leading try scorers
| Leading point scorers
|
The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fifteen teams, thirteen of which are based in Queensland, with one based in New South Wales and one in Central Province, Papua New Guinea.
The WesternClydesdales are a rugby league football club based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. The Clydesdales originally played in the Queensland Cup from the competition's inception in 1996 until 2006, and were the feeder club for the Brisbane Broncos between 1999 and 2006. They re-entered the Queensland Cup in 2023 as the Western Clydesdales.
Matt Geyer is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. A New South Wales State of Origin representative wing, he played his club football primarily with the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League competition, winning the 1999 premiership with them. He also represented City Origin and played for the Western Reds.
Shane Perry is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s whose usual position was halfback. He played in the National Rugby League for the Western Suburbs Magpies, Canterbury-Bankstown and the Brisbane Broncos, as well as in the Super League for French club Catalans Dragons.
The 2015 Queensland Cup season was the 20th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition, known as the Intrust Super Cup due to sponsorship from Intrust Super, featured 14 teams playing a 29-week long season from March to September.
Tom Opacic is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the Hull Kingston Rovers in the Betfred Super League.
Darren Nicholls is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played as a halfback for the Brisbane Tigers in the Queensland Cup. He previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL.
Jake Clifford is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback and five-eighth for North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL.
The 1999 Queensland Cup season was the 4th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition.
The 2001 Queensland Cup season was the 6th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition, known as the Bundy Gold Cup due to sponsorship from Bundaberg Rum, featured 11 teams playing a 26-week long season from March to September.
The 2002 Queensland Cup season was the 7th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition featured 12 teams playing a 26-week long season from March to September.
The 2003 Queensland Cup season was the 8th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition featured 12 teams playing a 26-week long season from March to September.
The 2005 Queensland Cup season was the 10th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition, known as the Queensland Wizard Cup due to sponsorship from Wizard Home Loans featured 11 teams playing a 26-week long season from March to September.
The 2017 Queensland Cup season was the 22nd season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition, known as the Intrust Super Cup due to sponsorship from Intrust Super, featured 14 teams playing a 29-week long season from March to September.
Denny Lambert is an Australian former rugby league professional footballer who played for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League. He primarily played halfback.
Adam Cook is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL.
Kobe Hetherington is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a lock for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Brendan Piakura is a Cook Islands international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL).
The 2023 Queensland Cup season was the 28th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition, known as the Hostplus Cup due to sponsorship, features 15 teams playing a 26-week long season from March to September. The Brisbane Tigers won the competition for the first time in their history, defeating minor premiers Burleigh Bears in the Grand Final on 17 September.