Jim Beam Cup

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Jim Beam Cup

Image:JBCup Logo.jpg
General Information
First Season 2003
Website Jim Beam Cup
2006 Season
Premiers Sydney Bulls
Runners-Up Newtown Jets
Minor Premiers Sydney Bulls
Wooden spoon Asquith
2007 Season
Premiers Entrance Tigers
Runners-Up Sydney Bulls
Minor Premiers Cabramatta Blues
Wooden spoon Seven Hills Demons
2008 Season
Premiers TBA
Runners-Up TBA
Minor Premiers TBA
Wooden Soon TBA

The Jim Beam Cup is a semi-professional development level rugby league competition in New South Wales (NSW), Australia run jointly by the NSW Rugby League (NSWRL) and the New South Wales Country Rugby League (CRL). The competition is run concurrently with the National Rugby League (NRL) and comprises 12 teams drawn from both the Sydney metropolitan area and the NSW Central Coast, north of Sydney. In 2008, a new team from Western Australia joined the league in preparation for rejoining the NRL. The competition is named after its major sponsor, Jim Beam.


Contents

[edit] Current Ladder

Pos Team P W D L + - +/- PTS
1. Sydney Bulls 11 9 0 2 464 254 +210 18
2. Mt Pritchard 11 9 0 2 307 237 +70 18
3. Shellharbour 11 8 1 2 301 212 +89 17
4. Windsor 10 8 0 2 328 246 +82 16
5. Cabramatta 11 5 1 5 312 297 +15 11
6. Wentworthville 11 4 1 6 254 297 -43 9
7. Belrose 10 4 0 6 260 276 -16 8
8. Erina 10 4 0 6 264 301 -37 8
9. Western Australia 11 3 0 8 272 338 -66 6
10. Chester Hill 10 2 2 6 176 279 -103 6
11. Campbelltown 10 2 1 7 211 293 -82 5
12. Southern Sharks 10 2 0 8 241 360 -119 4

[edit] History

The Jim Beam Cup is the latest in a succession Sydney-based second tier, semi-professional Rugby League competitions.

[edit] Inter-District/Second Division (1963 - 1976)

The a second tier senior Rugby League competition in Sydney was the Inter-District Competition established in 1963 by the NSWRL. It was renamed the Second Division in 1964. Like succeeding competitions the Second Division had a high turnover of participating clubs. The 'promotion' of two of the two biggest clubs Penrith Panthers (1966 champions) and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, at the conclusion of the 1966 season did not help the long-term stability of the competition.

During this period Wentworthville ("The Magpies") was the most successful club, competing in every grand final of the Second Division, winning a total of 8 premierships (including 5 in a row between 1967 - 1971). Due to their domination of the competition 'Wenty' was widely considered the best candidate for promotion to the NSWRL Premiership when two positions were made available for the 1967 competition. Due to their proximity to Parramatta, where a Premiership club was established in 1947, the Magpies were overlooked.

Year Premiers
1963 Kingsford
1964 Wentworthville
1965 Wentworthville
1966 Penrith
1967 Wentworthville
1968 Wentworthville
1969 Wentworthville
1970 Wentworthville
1971 Wentworthville
1972 Ryde-Eastwood
1973 Wentworthville

[edit] The Metropolitan League (1974 - 1976)

The Second Division was reorganised in 1974 and renamed the Metropolitan League. It was dominated by the Ryde-Eastwood club. In the absence of Wentworthville, who competed in the Illawarra Rugby League competition, Ryde-Eastwood won all three Metropolitan League titles. The Metropolitan League was dismantled in 1976 and with it the idea of a second tier competition.

Year Premiers
1974 Ryde-Eastwood
1975 Ryde-Eastwood
1976 Ryde-Eastwood

[edit] The Metropolitan Cup (1990 - 2002)

The concept of the second tier competition was resurrected in 1990 with the establishment of the Metropolitan Cup. Many teams that were involved in the former Second Division and Metropolitan League were included in the new competition, including Ryde-Eastwood and Wentworthville. Other teams in the new competition included Guildford Owls, Mt.Pritchard, Bankstown Greyhounds, Western Suburbs Magpies and the Hills District Bulls. The Newtown Jets, who had been exiled from the New South Wales Rugby League premiership at the close of the 1983 season, were also granted admission into the competition in 1991 and became a successful club in their second life, winning 4 premierships (including 3 in a row between 1995 - 1997).Other teams who competed in the cup over the years included St. Marys Saints, West Wollongong Red Devils, Moorebank Rams (Bulldogs), UTS Roosters, Windsor Wolves,Cabramatta Blues, Sydney Bulls and the Kellyville Bushrangers

The final Metropolitan Cup was contested in 2002 and was won by a newly formed club, the Sydney Bulls, defeating Ryde-Eastwood in the last grand final of the Metropolitan Cup.

Year Premiers
1990 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks
1991 Guildford Owls
1992 Newtown Jets
1993 St Mary's Saints
1994 St Mary's Saints
1995 Newtown Jets
1996 Newtown Jets
1997 Newtown Jets
1998 Wentworthville Magpies
1999 Wentworthville Magpies
2000 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks
2001 St Mary's Saints
2002 Sydney Bulls

[edit] Jim Beam Cup (2003-present)

The Jim Beam Cup was established in 2003 as part of another overall restructure of the NSWRL competitions operating in the levels below the NRL. The Jim Beam Cup was intended to lay the foundations of a semi-professional 'State League' competition (similar to the Queensland Cup) and included four non-Sydney teams from the Central Coast (Erina Eagles, The Entrance Tigers, Ourimbah Magpies, and Woy Woy Roosters.) With the inclusion of these clubs (who field teams in the Central Coast Division of the CRL) the Jim Beam Cup became a cooperative effort between the NSWRL and the CRL.

Radio Coverage can be heard on Hawkesbury Radio 89.9FM with Peter Jolly and Shane Skeen.

Year Premiers Runners-up
2003 The Entrance Tigers Wentworthville Magpies
2004 Sydney Bulls The Entrance Tigers
2005 Windsor Wolves Sydney Bulls
2006 Sydney Bulls Newtown Jets
2007 The Entrance Tigers Sydney Bulls

[edit] Teams

Since its establishment in 2003 the competition has both expanded and contracted in terms of numbers of side competing. Aside from the original expansion of the Sydney-based competition into the Central Coast, the Jim Beam Cup has continued to expand throughout Sydney, moving away from its Western Sydney base in 2005 with the inclusion of two Northern Sydney sides: the Asquith Magpies and Belrose Eagles.

[edit] 2007

In 2007, 12 clubs competed for the Jim Beam Cup. New clubs Shellharbour, Chester Hill, Seven Hills and Mount Pritchard competed for the first time. Newtown Jets dropped out of the competition to concentrate on their club's 2007 NSWRL Premier League campaign.

In terms of geographical spread four clubs were based in the Parramatta District (Wentworthville, Seven Hills, Cabramatta and Mount Pritchard), two on the Central Coast of NSW (Erina and The Entrance) and Canterbury-Bankstown (Chester Hill and Sydney Bulls) and one each in Penrith (Windsor Wolves), Manly-Warringah (Belrose), Illawarra (Shellharbour) and North Sydney (Asquith).

[edit] 2008

In 2008, for the first time, an interstate team entered the competition, a Western Australia Rugby League representative side known as the WA Reds, with a view to developing the game in the state in order to secure a future NRL franchise in 2011 - 2012[1]. Also joining the competition for 2008 will be the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks and the Campbelltown Eagles. Seven Hills Demons has also announced they will no longer field a team in the Jim Beam Cup in Season. 2008.[2] The Entrance Tigers, who have just claimed the 2007 Title have unfortunately pulled of the Jim Beam Cup due to the restrictions placed on gambling and smoking in clubs and pubs [3]. The Asquith Magpies have also withdrawn from the competition.

[edit] Former Jim Beam Cup Teams

  • Ryde-Eastwood Hawks (Now Balmain - Ryde Eastwood Tigers in the New South Wales Cup)
  • Souths Juniors (Withdrew From the Competition)
  • St Mary’s Couagrs (formed now defunct joint-venture with Penrith Panthers, playing in the NSWRL Premier League)
  • Guildford Owls
  • Ourimbah Magpies (withdrew from the competition in Round 12 of the 2005 season)
  • Seven Hills Demons (withdraw after the end of the 2007 Season)
  • Woy Woy Roosters (withdrew at end of 2005 season)
  • Newtown Jets (withdrew after the 2006 season)
  • The Entrance Tigers (withdrew after the 2007 Season)
  • Asquith Magpies (withdrew after the 2007 Season)

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Read, Brent. "WA eyes return as Sydney clubs battle", The Australian, News Limited, 2008-05-22. Retrieved on 2008-05-22. 
  2. ^ [1] WA Wins Bid for National Team: The Journey to the NRL Begins, WA Rugby League, Retrieved on 15 December 2006
  3. ^ Entrance Withdraw from the 2008 Jim Beam Cup

[edit] External links