Current season or competition: 2023 NSWRL Presidents Cup | |
Sport | Rugby league |
---|---|
Instituted | 1910 |
Inaugural season | 1910 |
Number of teams | 9 |
Country | Australia |
Premiers | Maitland Pumpkin Pickers (2022) |
Most titles | South Sydney Rabbitohs (20 titles) |
Website | President Cup |
Related competition | Conferences: Related: Sydney Shield NSW Challenge Cup Canterbury Cup |
The NSWRL Presidents Cup is a semi-professional, open-aged rugby league football competition played in New South Wales. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). The competition includes teams from domestic rugby league clubs (mainly from the Illawarra District), Ron Massey Cup, Sydney Shield and Canterbury Cup clubs.
The Presidents Cup is a rugby league trophy which has been awarded in many competitions, governed by New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). It was 1910 when Sir James Joynton Smith, the newly appointed President of the NSWRL, donated the trophy. Joynton Smith was the Lord Mayor of Sydney and earned a knighthood for his philanthropic work. A shrewd businessman, he was a key figure in the game up until his death in 1943.
Initially the Presidents Cup was awarded in the Under 21 competition between representative teams from each district's junior league. It ran in this format until the mid-1990s.
As the top tier premiership expanded in the 1980s, and the Under 23s competition was scrapped, the Under 21s competition was expanded. In 1997, with a split competition, the ARL scrapped reserve grade, and the Under 21s served as curtain raisers to first grade games. The following year, the first year of the NRL, the Under 21s competition was scrapped, junior competitions were rationalised, and reserve grade was reintroduced under different names, including Premier League and First Division. The Presidents Cup trophy was awarded to the winner of this competition. In 2008, the centenary of rugby league in Australia, this division was renamed as the NSW Cup competition. The Presidents Cup trophy was awarded for the first two years in this grade, then a new trophy was awarded for the 2010 competition. [1]
Reserve Grade/First Division/Premier League/NSW Cup Premiers 1997–2010 (Awarded Presidents Cup) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Premiers | Score | Runners-Up |
1997 1 | Parramatta Eels | 26–16 | Balmain Tigers |
1998 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 26–22 | Parramatta Eels |
1999 | Parramatta Eels | 44–4 | Balmain Tigers |
2000 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 30–26 | Penrith Panthers |
2001 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 34–10 | Parramatta Eels |
2002 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24–22 | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
2003 | Canberra Raiders | 31–6 | St Marys-Penrith Saints |
2004 | Sydney Roosters | 30–8 | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
2005 | Parramatta Eels | 31–12 | Sydney Roosters |
2006 | Parramatta Eels | 20–19 | Newtown Jets |
2007 | Parramatta Eels | 20–15 | North Sydney Bears |
2008 | Wentworthville Magpies | 12–8 | Newtown Jets |
2009 | Bankstown City Bulls | 32–0 | Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers |
2010 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24–12 | Windsor Wolves |
After the Metropolitan Cup/Bundaberg Rum Cup/Jim Beam Cup/Ron Massey Cup took over the mantle of the Third Grade Championship. This was until, after the NSWRL-CRL merger in 2020, the champions of the Illawarra Rugby League and Newcastle Rugby League began to playoff against the Ron Massey Cup champions for the prestigious Presidents Cup. The Peter McDonald Premiership became the fourth feeder league to this Champions League-style tournament in 2022 following the Group 10–Group 11 merger.
In 2020, the competition returned in light of NSWRL competitions being cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis. These cancelled competitions include the NSW Cup, Ron Massey Cup and the Newcastle Rugby League competition. Nine teams competed in the returning edition; North Sydney Bears, Dubbo CYMS, Thirroul Butchers, Western Suburbs Red Devils, Western Rams, Hills District Bulls, Wentworthville Magpies, Maitland Pumpkin Pickers and Glebe-Burwood Wolves. The competition was played over nine rounds with two weeks of finals including the Grand Final on 27-Sep at Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta. [3] [4] [5] Maitland Pickers won the Grand Final 17–16 over Glebe-Burwood Wolves, capturing the Premiership as well as the minor premiership for topping the regular season ladder. Hooker Alex Langbridge was named both the player of the Grand Final and of the season as a whole.
From 2021, the competition will be the statewide third grade competition, running as an end of season competition for the premiers of Illawarra Rugby League, Newcastle Rugby League, Peter McDonald Premiership and Ron Massey Cup. The Peter McDonald Premiership joined the other three leagues as third-tier competitions through the merger of the fourth tier Group 10 and Group 11 competitions. After 2021 saw the competition cancelled due to COVID, 2022 saw a return to the competition, with Maitland Pickers defending their 2020 title. On 25 September 2022, they defeated The Hills Bulls 36–12. [6] Maitland Pickers Five-Eighth Chad O'Donnell was named player of the match.
Year | Champions | Score | Runners-up | Match information | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Venue | Referee | ||||
NSWRL Presidents Cup (2020–23) | ||||||
2020 | Maitland Pickers | 17 – 16 | Glebe-Burwood Wolves | 27 September 2020 | Bankwest Stadium, Sydney | K. Irons |
2021 | Cancelled Due to Covid-19 | |||||
2022 | (2) Maitland Pickers | 36 – 12 | Hills District Bulls | 25 September 2022 | CommBank Stadium, Sydney | C. Paddy |
2023 | (3) Maitland Pickers | 32 – 10 | St Marys Saints | 24 September 2023 | CommBank Stadium, Sydney | D. Brady |
Team | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maitland Pickers | 3 | 0 | 2020, 2022, 2023 | – |
Glebe-Burwood Wolves | 0 | 1 | – | 2020 |
Hills District Bulls | 0 | 1 | – | 2022 |
St Marys Saints | 0 | 1 | – | 2023 |
Year | Premiers | Score | Runners-up | Match Information | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Venue | Referee | ||||
NSWRL Presidents Cup (2020) | ||||||
2020 | Maitland Pickers | 17 – 16 | Glebe-Burwood Wolves | 27 September 2020 | Bankwest Stadium, Sydney | K. Irons |
Ron Massey Cup (2021–present) | ||||||
2021 | Cancelled Due to Covid-19 | |||||
2022 | Hills District Bulls | 18 – 12 | Glebe Dirty Reds | 4 September 2022 | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney | D. Brady |
2023 | St Marys Saints | 40 – 12 | Wentworthville Magpies | 3 September 2023 | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney | C. Wills |
Team | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maitland Pickers | 1 | 0 | 2020 | – |
Hills District Bulls | 1 | 0 | 2022 | – |
St Marys Saints | 1 | 0 | 2023 | – |
Glebe-Burwood Wolves | 0 | 1 | – | 2020 |
Glebe Dirty Reds | 0 | 1 | – | 2022 |
Wentworthville Magpies | 0 | 1 | – | 2023 |
Year | Premiers | Score | Runners-up | Match Information | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Venue | Referee | ||||
Denton Engineering Cup (2021–present) | ||||||
2021 | Cancelled Due to Covid-19 | |||||
2022 | Maitland Pickers | 40 – 4 | Macquarie Scorpions | 11 September 2022 | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | J. Butler |
2023 | (2) Maitland Pickers | 46 – 10 | South Newcastle Lions | 3 September 2023 | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | J. Butler |
Team | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maitland Pickers | 2 | 0 | 2022, 2023 | – |
Macquarie Scorpions | 0 | 1 | – | 2022 |
South Newcastle Lions | 0 | 1 | – | 2023 |
Year | Premiers | Score | Runners-up | Match Information | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Venue | Referee | ||||
Mojo Homes Illawarra Cup (2021–present) | ||||||
2021 | Cancelled Due to Covid-19 | |||||
2022 | Collegians Collie Dogs | 12 – 10 | Western Subrubs Red Devils | 4 September 2022 | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | R. Jackson |
2023 | Thirroul Butchers | 24 – 18 | Collegians Collie Dogs | 2 September 2023 | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | L. Greenfield |
Team | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
Collegians Collie Dogs | 1 | 1 | 2022 | 2023 |
Thirroul Butchers | 1 | 0 | 2023 | – |
Western Subrubs Red Devils | 0 | 1 | – | 2022 |
Year | Premiers | Score | Runners-up | Match information | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Venue | Referee | ||||
Peter McDonald Premiership (2022–present) | ||||||
2022 | Forbes Magpies | 28 – 16 | Dubbo CYMS | 4 September 2022 | Apex Oval, Dubbo | B. Greatbatch |
2023 | Dubbo CYMS | 25 – 12 | Mudgee Dragons | 10 September 2023 | Apex Oval, Dubbo | A. Pond |
Team | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dubbo CYMS | 1 | 1 | 2023 | 2022 |
Forbes Magpies | 1 | 0 | 2022 | – |
Mudgee Dragons | 0 | 1 | – | 2023 |
The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was registered on 21 December 1983 and succeeded the New South Wales Rugby Football League which had been formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907. The NSWRFL and then NSWRL operated Sydney's, then New South Wales' and eventually Australia's premier rugby league club competition from 1908 to 1994. The organisation administers the New South Wales rugby league team.
The Glebe Dirty Reds are an Australian rugby league foundation club which played in the New South Wales Rugby Football League's Sydney premiership, the major competition for the sport in Sydney, from 1908 until their exit at the end of 1929. They were formed on 9 January 1908, with some sources suggesting that they may have been the first Sydney rugby league club to have been created. They were nicknamed and well known as the "Dirty Reds" due to the maroon colour of their playing jerseys.
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