Presidents Cup (rugby league)

For the British competition, see RFL President's Cup.
Presidents Cup
Current season or competition:
2023 NSWRL Presidents Cup
SportRugby league
Instituted1910
Inaugural season1910
Number of teams9
Country Australia
Premiers Maitland Pumpkin Pickers (2022)
Most titles South Sydney Rabbitohs (20 titles)
WebsitePresident Cup
Related competitionConferences:
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.

History

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]

Historic Presidents Cup competitions

Presidents Cup 1910–1996 (Original Under 21's Grade) (Awarded Presidents Cup)[2]
Year Premiers Score Runners-up
1910 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1911 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1912
1913 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1914
1915 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1916
1917
1918 North Sydney Bears
1919 Newtown Jets
1920 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1921 Newtown Jets
1922 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1923 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1924 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1925 Western Suburbs Magpies
1926
1927 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1928 Newtown Jets
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933 North Sydney Bears
1934
1935
1936 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1937
1938 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1939
1940
1941
1942 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1943 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1944 Newtown Jets
1945
1946 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
1947 Western Suburbs Magpies
1948 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1949 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1950 Newtown Jets
1951 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1952
1953 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1954
1955 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1956 Newtown Jets
1957
1958 Western Suburbs Magpies
1959
1960 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1961 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1962 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1963 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1964 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1965 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1966
1967
1968 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1969 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1970 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
1971 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1972 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1973
1974 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1975
1976
1977 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1978 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1979
1980 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1981 St George Dragons
1982 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1983 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1984
1985
1986 St George Dragons 24-20 Parramatta Eels
1987 St George Dragons 32-14 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1988 Parramatta Eels 28-14 Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1989 South Sydney Rabbitohs Canberra Raiders
1990 Canberra Raiders 13-6 St George Dragons
1991 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Parramatta Eels
1992 Western Suburbs Magpies St George Dragons
1993 Eastern Suburbs Roosters Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
1994 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Eastern Suburbs Roosters
1995 Newcastle Knights Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
1996 South Queensland Crushers 23-12 Parramatta Eels
Reserve Grade/First Division/Premier League/NSW Cup Premiers 1997–2010 (Awarded Presidents Cup)
Year Premiers Score Runners-Up
19971 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

Modern Presidents Cup

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.

2020 format

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.

2021–present: Statewide third grade

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.

Modern Presidents Cup champions

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

Conference winners

Central Conference

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

Northern Conference

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

Southern Conference

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

Western Conference

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

See also

References

  1. ^ "Presidents Cup steeped in history". New South Wales Rugby League. July 16, 2020.
  2. ^ "South Sydney Rabbitohs Trophies". www.ssralmanac.com. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  3. ^ "Regional and Metro teams to meet in unique 2020 Presidents Cup". New South Wales Rugby League. June 30, 2020.
  4. ^ "NRL 2020: New competition for the best country teams to take on their city rivals". NewsComAu. June 30, 2020.
  5. ^ "Presidents Cup". New South Wales Rugby League.
  6. ^ "Pickers trample Bulls to win another President's Cup". Newcastle Weekly. 25 September 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.