| Queensland Cup | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Rugby league football |
| Inaugural season | 1996 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Country | Australia |
| Premiers | Wynnum Manly Seagulls (2011) |
| Most titles | Redcliffe Dolphins (5 titles) |
| Website | Queensland Cup |
| Broadcast partner | ABC1 |
The Queensland Cup is the premier rugby league football competition in the State of Queensland, Australia.
It is a statewide competition with the majority of teams based in South East Queensland but also including sides based in Cairns, Mackay and Rockhampton.
The competition began in 1996 as a replacement for the Winfield State League, and as an accompaniment for the Brisbane Rugby League competition. The Queensland Cup become the premier competition in Queensland in 1998, when the BRL was disbanded.
Contents |
| Team | Home Ground | City | Joined | Premierships | NRL Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burleigh Bears | Pizzey Park | Gold Coast | 1997 | 2 (99, 04) | Gold Coast Titans |
| Central Comets | Browne Park | Rockhampton | 1996 | Nil | Brisbane Broncos |
| Easts Tigers | Langlands Park | Brisbane | 1996 | Nil | Melbourne Storm |
| Ipswich Jets | North Ipswich Reserve | Ipswich | 1996 | Nil | Gold Coast Titans |
| Mackay Cutters | Virgin Australia Stadium, Mackay | Mackay | 2007 | Nil | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Northern Pride RLFC | Barlow Park | Cairns | 2007 | 1 (10) | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Norths Devils | Bishop Park | Brisbane | 1996 | 1 (98) | Brisbane Broncos |
| Redcliffe Dolphins | Dolphin Oval | Redcliffe | 1996 | 5 (97, 00, 02, 03, 06) | Brisbane Broncos |
| Souths Logan Magpies | Brandon Park Davies Park |
Brisbane Logan |
1996 | 1 (08) | Canberra Raiders |
| Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles | Stockland Park | Sunshine Coast | 2009 | 1 (09) | None |
| Tweed Heads Seagulls | Piggabeen Sports | Gold Coast | 2003 | 1 (07) | Gold Coast Titans |
| Wynnum Manly Seagulls | Kougari Oval | Brisbane | 1996 | 1 (11) | Brisbane Broncos |
From the early 1920s to the 1970s, the Brisbane Rugby League premiership was the premier competition in the state, and was a thriving success boasting big crowds and large, loyal supporter bases with the respective clubs. Like its NSW counterpart, the clubs were constant, with new teams rarely entering the competition. Traditionally, the clubs were Valleys, Brothers, Norths, Souths, Wests, Easts, Redcliffe and Wynnum-Manly. However, when poker machines were introduced in New South Wales, but not in the Bjelke-Peterson Queensland, the NSWRL's clubs were able to entice Queensland players south of the Tweed with the lure of more money.
This, combined with the admission of non-Sydney teams like the Canberra Raiders and Illawarra Steelers, saw the NSWRL competition during the 1980s begin to supersede the Brisbane competition in popularity and media coverage. Also, other sports were establishing national competitions, and by 1986 the admission of a Brisbane team into the NSWRL had become inevitable. Finally in 1988 both the Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Giants gained entry.
Although the Broncos' signings of many great BRL players like Wally Lewis and Gene Miles got many Brisbanites behind the new team, there were severe ramifications on the local club scene. In the space of one season, the amount of coverage given to the competition in the three media forms dropped significantly, as did attendances at matches.
This had a severe flow on effect to the finances of many clubs, especially those in the inner-city whose demographics had changed significantly since the heyday of the BRL. Between 1988 and 1995 Valleys moved home 3 times, from Albion to the Tweed, back to Albion and finally to Caboolture, before eventually folding at the end of 1995. Other teams that suffered financial trouble and no longer play in the Queensland Cup include Valleys and Wests, while Souths and Logan merged in 2002 to form Souths-Logan.
In 1996 the Queensland Cup began, replacing the Winfield State League, as new Federal Government Laws banned Cigarette companies from sponsoring sport. The Cup was initially branded the Channel Nine Cup, and to date, season 1996 was the most statewide competition in the Cup's history, with teams based in Cairns, Mackay, Bundaberg, Toowoomba, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast. In 1998 Channel Nine did not continue their sponsorship, and the competition became known as the Queensland Cup. In 2000, Bundaberg Rum began a two-year sponsorship of the competition and it was known as the Bundy Gold Cup.
2005 saw the announcement of Wizard Home Loans becoming naming-rights sponsor for the competition. It was known as the Queensland Wizard Cup until 2008. In 2010, Intrust Super were announced as the new major sponsor.
Although the Queensland Rugby League had anticipated that the same teams from 2006 would participate in the 2007 Wizard Cup, it was announced on December 5, 2006 that the Toowoomba Clydesdales would be withdrawing from the competition for financial reasons. Brisbane Broncos chairman Bruno Cullen said that "It didn't make sense to have this club up there running at what was looking like a $250,000 loss for the year."[1] The following day it was announced that the Aspley Broncos would be replacing the Clydesdales, and acting as the Brisbane Broncos feeder club.[2] There is a possibility that an NRL team (possibly the Storm) may be based out of the Darling Downs (most likely Toowoomba) in the future but this has not been confirmed at this stage.
2008 saw the Queensland Cup once again have teams based in the northern cities of Cairns and Mackay after absences of seven and twelve years, respectively. These new teams replaced the Aspley Broncos and North Queensland Young Guns as part of the rationalisation of rugby league below the NRL level caused by the introduction of the NRL under 20's competition.
Shortly after signing a partnership with National Rugby League team the Manly Sea Eagles to develop rugby league on the Sunshine Coast,[3] the Sunshine Coast Falcons received approval for entry into the 2009 Queensland Cup from the Queensland Rugby League,[4] ultimately winning the premiership as the Sea Eagles in their first year. However, the future of the Sunshine Coast team, as well as the Souths Logan Magpies, is in jeopardy due to the NSWRL's insistence that Manly and Canberra must field their reserve-grade players in the NSW Cup competition from 2011.
The WA Reds and the PNG Bid Team may apply for the 2011 season as part of their plan to play in the NRL in 2012/13.[5]
The twelve teams play each other twice in a rotating roster running typically from the middle of March to the middle of August. This is known as the regular season. Unlike the National Rugby League, the Queensland Cup regular season is a true home-and-away format, in that each team plays every other team twice, once at home and once away.
Normally, there is a round each weekend, which involves six games. However, there are two split rounds in the season, where the round takes place over two weekends. This allows for representative games such as the City vs. Country fixture, as well as allowing more games to be shown on free-to-air television, on ABC-TV. Televised games kick off at 2pm on Saturdays.
The winner of each game per round is awarded two points on the League Ladder. If a game is drawn between the two teams, each team is awarded one point.
At the end of the regular season, the six teams with the highest point totals on the ladder qualify for the finals. In the event of two or more teams sharing the same competition points, the finishing order is decided by points differential i.e. points scored minus points conceded.
In 2009 the Queensland Cup introduced a six-team finals series (compared to five in previous years). The Grand Final is typically played in mid-September at its traditional home, Suncorp Stadium. Since 2007 the man-of-the-match in the grand final has received the Duncan Hall Medal.[6]
The level of club rugby league in Queensland is of such a high standard that all clubs in the Queensland Wizard Cup have affiliation with a team in the Australian national competition the National Rugby League. This gives many young Queensland players the opportunity to be signed into the NRL. The following teams are affiliated with the listed NRL teams.
Although the Queensland Cup has never had the same amount of media coverage that the pre-Brisbane Broncos Brisbane Rugby League did, in recent years it has experienced a resurgence in interest from both the Queensland media and from casual fans alike.
The match of the round is televised live on ABC Queensland at 2 pm (AEST) Saturdays, with the game being replayed nationally on ABC2 on Thursday nights at 11 pm (AEST). Fox Sports also shows a reply on Wednesday evenings.
In 2006, community broadcaster Bay FM began broadcasting Wynnum-Manly matches, and Wynnum won radio station Nova 106.9's "Club that Brisbane really really loves" award .
The competition has previously been named the Channel Nine Cup, Bundy Gold Cup and Queensland Wizard Cup, and is now known as the Intrust Super Cup.
+ after extra time
| Year | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Robbie Schmidt | Cairns Cyclones |
| 1997 | Alan Wieland | Wests Panthers |
| 1998 | Shane Perry | Logan Scorpions |
| 1999 | Michael Roberts | Redcliffe Dolphins |
| 2000 | Chris Lawler | Ipswich Jets |
| 2001 | Michael Roberts | Redcliffe Dolphins |
| 2002 | Scott Thorburn | Easts Tigers |
| 2003 | Denny Lambert | Wynnum-Manly Seagulls |
| 2004 | Jace Van Dijk | Souths Logan Magpies |
| 2005 | Ricky Bird | Ipswich Jets |
| 2006 | Brandon Costin | Souths Logan Magpies |
| 2007 | Shannon Walker | Tweed Heads Seagulls |
| 2008 | Nat Bowman | Central Comets |
| 2009 | Ian Lacey | Ipswich Jets |
| 2010 | Ryan Cullen | Redcliffe Dolphins |
Source[7]
Retrieved from http://www.qrl.com.au/default.aspx?s=qldcup-stats. Records are current to the end of the 2009 season.
Most games
LINDSAY, Troy (Red) 270
COBURN, Danny (Ips) 239
ROBERTS, Michael (Red) 221
BURKE, Danny (Bro/Red) 219
O'FLANAGAN, Shane (Wes/Bur) 210
Most points
PARFITT, Nick (Too/Bur) 1187
BOURKE, Greg (Cns/Bur/Wyn/Red) 1150
CRESSBROOK, Reggie (Tvl/Bur/Ips) 1089
RICHTERS, Damian (SC/Red) 1030
WILSHERE, John (Nor/Eas) 896
Most tries
PARFITT, Nick (Too/Bur) 101
EGGLESTONE, Heath (Cen) 99
CULLEN, Ryan (Cen/Red) 94
CRESSBROOK, Reggie (Tvl/Bur/Ips) 89
PERRY, Shane (Bro/Log/Red) 88
Most wins in succession
16 Burleigh 1998 R 16-1999 R 9
16 Nth Qld (18 undefeated) 2005 R 10 - 2006 R3
Most losses in succession
28 Logan 2001 R17 - 2002 R 22
Most points in a season
274 John Wilshere, Norths 1998
Most tries in a season
34 Daniel Kennedy, Burleigh 2002
As the Queensland Cup initially began as a representative competition that took over the old Winfield State League before becoming a proper club competition, many of the following clubs are "representative" sides that either withdrew (in the case of the Central Queensland Capras, Mackay, Bundaberg, Gold Coast Vikings, etc.) or folded (Cairns Cyclones, Port Moresby Vipers, etc.).
| Team | Location | Home Ground | First year in QLD Cup |
Last year in QLD Cup |
QLD Cup Premierships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aspley Broncos | Brisbane | Bishop Park | 2007 | 2007 | Nil |
| Brothers-Valleys | Brisbane | O'Callaghan Park | 2004 | 2004 | Nil |
| Bundaberg Grizzlies | Bundaberg | Salter Oval | 1996 | 1998 | Nil |
| Cairns Cyclones | Cairns | Barlow Park | 1996 | 2000 | Nil |
| Central Capras | Rockhampton | Browne Park | 1996 | 1997 | Nil |
| Gold Coast Vikings | Gold Coast | Owen Park and Carrara Stadium | 1998 | 1998 | Nil |
| Logan Scorpions | Logan City | Meakin Park | 1996 | 2002 | Nil |
| Mackay Sea Eagles | Mackay | Mackay Junior Rugby League Ground | 1996 | 1996 | Nil |
| North Queensland Young Guns | Townsville | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 2002 | 2007 | 2005 |
| Past Brothers | Brisbane | Corbett Park, Crosby Park, Lang Park, ANZ Stadium | 1996 | 1998 | Nil |
| Port Moresby Vipers | Port Moresby | Lloyd Robson Oval | 1996 | 1997 | Nil |
| Souths Magpies | Brisbane | Davies Park | 1996 | 2002 | Nil |
| Sunshine Coast Falcons | Sunshine Coast | Quad Park | 1996 | 1996 | Nil |
| Townsville Stingers | Townsville | Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville Sports Reserve | 1998 | 1998 | Nil |
| Toowoomba Clydesdales | Toowoomba | Athletic Oval (Clive Berghofer Stadium) | 1996 | 2006 | 1996, 2001 |
| Wests Panthers | Brisbane | Purtell Park | 1996 | 2003 | Nil |
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