Current season or competition: 2022 New South Wales Rugby League | |
Sport | Rugby league |
---|---|
Formerly known as | Inter-District Competition Second Division Metropolitan League Metropolitan Cup Jim Beam Cup Bundaberg Red Cup |
Instituted | 1963 |
Inaugural season | 1963 |
Number of teams | 8 |
Country | Australia Fiji |
Premiers | Glebe Dirty Reds (2024) |
Most titles | Wentworthville Magpies (17 titles) |
Website | Ron Massey Cup |
Related competition | KOE NSW Cup Sydney Shield Presidents Cup NSW Challenge Cup |
The Ron Massey Cup (formerly known as the Bundaberg Red Cup and Jim Beam Cup) is a semi-professional development level rugby league competition in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, run jointly by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and the Country Rugby League of New South Wales (CRL). The competition is run concurrently with the National Rugby League (NRL). It currently comprises 13 teams drawn from the Sydney metropolitan area. The competition is named after Ron Massey, a former rugby league coach. Ron Massey died on 19 September 2016. [1]
The competition is an expanded version of the former Metropolitan Cup and Second Division competitions. The competition was renamed the Bundaberg Red Cup after the 2008 season (the last Jim Beam Cup season), after Bundaberg Rum replaced former sponsor Jim Beam. [2] For the 2013 season, the competition was re-branded as the Ron Massey Cup in honour of the former coach, tactician, mentor and administrator.
Colors | Club | Location | Stadium | Founded | Joined* |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles | Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia | H.E. Laybutt Fields | 1964 | 2012 | |
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Canterbury-Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia | Hammondville Oval | 1937 | 2023 | |
Glebe Dirty Reds | Concord, New South Wales, Australia | Goddard Park | 1908 | 2015a | |
Hills District Bulls | Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, Australia | Crestwood Oval | 1964 | 2016 | |
Kaiviti Silktails | Lautoka, Viti Levu, Fiji | Churchill Park, Lautoka | 2019 | 2020 | |
Mounties RLFC | Mount Pritchard, New South Wales, Australia | Aubrey Keech Reserve | 1927 | 2007 | |
Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | Ryde, New South Wales, Australia | T.G. Millner Field | 1962 | 2003b | |
St Marys Saints | St Marys, NSW, Australia | St Marys Leagues Stadium | 1908 | 2016c | |
Wentworthville Magpies | Wentworthville, New South Wales, Australia | Ringrose Park | 1963 | 2003 |
*: The season the team joined is in the Jim Beam Cup/Bundaberg Red Cup/Ron Massey Cup, not any other competition before this.
a- Glebe previously competed as the Glebe-Burwood-Concord Wolves until 2021. [3]
b- Ryde Eastwood did not compete from 2005 to 2020.
c- St Marys previously competed as a merged entity in 2003.
d- Western Suburbs did not compete in 2020.
|
(Known as Mungoball Tigers) (2003–2007, 2010–2014)
|
1 – Ourimbah withdrew from the competition midway through the 2005 season.
2 – Sydney Bulls withdrew from the competition midway through the 2011 season.
3 – St Johns Eagles joined the competition midway through the 2011 season, replacing the Sydney Bulls.
The Ron Massey Cup is the latest in a succession of Sydney-based second tier, semi-professional Rugby League competitions.
The 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 and 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 | Score | Runners-up | Winning Coach | Referee |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1963 | Kingsford | 9 – 7 | Cronulla-Caringbah Sharks | Col Pearce | |
1964 | Wentworthville Magpies | 20 – 5 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | Lewis Jones | Jack Harris |
1965 | Wentworthville Magpies | 31 – 3 | Penrith Panthers | Lewis Jones | Keith Holman |
1966 | Penrith Panthers | 9 – 7 | Wentworthville Magpies | Leo Trevena | Lin Turner |
1967 | Wentworthville Magpies | 25 – 6 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | John Farrelly | |
1968 | Wentworthville Magpies | 17 – 5 | Arncliffe Scots | Lewis Jones | John Farrelly |
1969 | Wentworthville Magpies | 20 – 2 | Sydney University | Lewis Jones | Les Samuelson |
1970 | Wentworthville Magpies | 15 – 5 | Blacktown Workers | Lewis Jones | Laurie Bruyeres |
1971 | Wentworthville Magpies | 21 – 15 | Sydney University | Lewis Jones | Keith Page |
1972 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | 18 – 14 | Wentworthville Magpies | Laurie Fagan | Keith Page |
1973 | Wentworthville Magpies | 12 – 8 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | D. Rayner | Don Macdonald |
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 | Score | Runners-up | Winning Coach | Referee |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1974 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | 37 – 9 | St Marys Saints | Laurie Fagan | D. MacDonald |
1975 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | 18 – 14 | Windsor Wolves | Laurie Fagan | |
1976 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | 10 – 8 | University of NSW |
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 the Guildford Owls, Mount 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 and 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 | Score | Runners up | Winning Coach | Referee |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | 19 – 6 | Hills District Bulls | Ken Wilson | Peter Filmer |
1991 | Guildford Owls | 21 – 6 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | Greg Pierce | Chris Ward |
1992 | Newtown Jets | 30 – 18 | Wentworthville Magpies | B Wakefield | |
1993 | St Marys Saints | 30 – 10 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | Mark O'Reilly | Kelvin Jeffes |
1994 | St Marys Saints | 32 – 14 | Hills District Bulls | Mark O'Reilly | Graeme West |
1995 | Newtown Jets | 26 – 8 | Wentworthville Magpies | Col Murphy | Matt Hewitt |
1996 | Newtown Jets | 28 – 16 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | Col Murphy | David Jay |
1997 | Newtown Jets | 18 – 8 | Guildford Owls | Col Murphy | |
1998 | Wentworthville Magpies | 18 – 12 | Kellyville | Ian McCann | |
1999 | Wentworthville Magpies | 30 – 22 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | Ian McCann | |
2000 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | 24 – 10 | St Marys Saints | Dave Nugent | |
2001 | St Marys Saints | 20 – 16 | Sydney Bulls | Tim O'Brien | Kelvin Jeffes |
2002 | Sydney Bulls | 44 – 10 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | Steve Ghosn | Rod Lawrence |
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 was heard on Hawkesbury Radio 89.9FM with Peter Jolly and Shane Skeen.
Year | Premiers | Score | Runners-up | Winning Coach | Referee |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | The Entrance Tigers | 14 – 10 | Wentworthville Magpies | Matt Parish | Jason Robinson |
2004 | Sydney Bulls | 22 – 16 | The Entrance Tigers | Steve Ghosn | Rod Lawrence |
2005 | Windsor Wolves | 23 – 18 | Sydney Bulls | Steve Ghosn | Jared Maxwell |
2006 | Sydney Bulls | 56 – 22 | Newtown Jets | David Bayssari | Alan Shortall |
2007 | The Entrance Tigers | 30 – 20 | Sydney Bulls | Jamy Forbes | Chris James |
2008 | Windsor Wolves | 36 – 16 | Sydney Bulls | Trent Rosa | Adam Gee |
The 2009 Grand Final was a closely fought battle between Minor Premiers Wentworthville Magpies and Cabramatta Two Blues, with Wentworthville coming out victorious by 24–20 in the game at Leichhardt Oval.
Year | Premiers | Score | Runners-up | Winning Coach | Referee |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | Wentworthville Magpies | 24 – 10 | Cabramatta Two Blues | Brett Cook | Chris Sutton |
2010 | Wentworthville Magpies | 38 – 28 | Bankstown City Bulls | Brett Cook | Jon Stone |
2011 | Cabramatta Two Blues | 28 – 20 | Mount Pritchard Mounties | Corey Ruttle | Robert Bowen |
2012 | Wentworthville Magpies | 16 – 14 | The Entrance Tigers | Alex Chan | Phil Henderson |
During the 2012/13 offseason it was announced that Bundaberg Rum had withdrawn their sponsorship, and the competition would be renamed as the Ron Massey Cup, after the great Parramatta assistant coach.
No. | Club | Premierships |
---|---|---|
1 | Wentworthville Magpies | 17 (1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1998, 1999, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019) |
2 | Ryde-Eastwood Hawks | 6 (1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1990, 2000) |
3 | Newtown Jets | 4 (1992, 1995, 1996, 1997) |
4 | St Marys Saints | 4 (1993, 1994, 2001, 2023) |
5 | The Entrance Tigers | 3 (2003, 2007, 2014) |
6 | Sydney Bulls | 3 (2002, 2004, 2006) |
7 | Mount Pritchard Mounties | 2 (2015, 2016) |
8 | Windsor Wolves | 2 (2005, 2008) |
9 | Cabramatta Two Blues | 1 (2011) |
10 | Guildford Owls | 1 (1991) |
11 | Penrith Panthers | 1 (1966) |
12 | Kingsford | 1 (1963) |
13 | Hills District Bulls | 1 (2022) |
Bold means the team is still currently playing in the competition.
The following timeline displays the participation of clubs in the Ron Massey Cup and its most recent predecessors, The Metropolitan Cup, the Jim Beam and Bundaberg Red Cups. The competitions had Top 4 final series from 1990 to 2002, Top 5 from 2003 to 2012, and Top 8 from 2013 to 2019. Three teams from the cancelled 2020 Ron Massey Cup participated in the 2020 President's Cup, two making the four team final series.
Since its establishment in 2003 the competition has both expanded and contracted in terms of numbers of sides competing. Aside from the original expansion of the Sydney-based competition into the Central Coast, the Bundaberg Red 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.
2003
2003 saw the inauguration of the new Jim Beam Cup. It featured eight teams from Sydney and four from the Central Coast.
2004
The St Mary's-Penrith Cougars left to focus on their NSW Premier League side, and were replaced by the Cabramatta Two Blues.
2005
2006
The Woy Woy Roosters withdrew.
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. The 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).
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. [6] The Cronulla Sutherland Sharks and the Campbelltown Eagles also joined the competition. The Seven Hills Demons announced that they would not field a team in the Jim Beam Cup in Season 2008. [7] The Entrance Tigers, who had claimed the 2007 title, unfortunately pulled out of the Jim Beam Cup due to the restrictions placed on gambling and smoking in clubs and pubs. [8] The Asquith Magpies also withdrew from the competition.
2009
2010
2011
In 2011, the Kingsgrove Colts joined the competition, based in the St George catchment area. As of Round 6, the Sydney Bulls left the competition due to financial difficulties.
2012
2013
The Asquith Magpies returned, replacing the St Johns Eagles. The Guildford Owls made their return, and the Western Suburbs Magpies made their return following the merger of the NSW Cup entities.
2014
2015
The reigning premiers, The Entrance Tigers withdrew. Western Suburbs, Cabramatta and Kingsgrove missed the eight-team finals series.
2016
The Hills District Bulls and St Marys Saints joined the competition.
2017
2018
Auburn did not field a team in the competition after being liquidated.
2019
Parts of this article (those related to 2022 competition) need to be updated.(May 2022) |
2020
For 2020 the 11 clubs in the list immediately below were included in the competition. After the first round on 14 & 15 March, the Ron Massey Cup was suspended and subsequently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. [9] In that single, first round the winning teams were the Kaiviti Silktails (40-16 on their debut), Concord-Burwood-Glebe Wolves (12-4), Wentworthville (18-14), St Marys (44-32) and Blacktown Workers (30-4). Guildford had the bye.
The NSWRL subsequently arranged two men's competitions, a President's Cup and a reconfigured Sydney Shield. [10] Hills District Bulls and Wentworthville entered teams in both competitions. Glebe-Burwood Wolves fielded a team in the President's Cup.
The President's Cup comprised four teams from within the Sydney metropolitan area and five teams from other areas of the state. The Sydney teams were Glebe-Burwood Wolves (finished as runners-up), North Sydney Bears (semi-finalist), Hills District Bulls (semi-finalist) and Wentworthville Magpies (8th). The teams from regions were Maitland Pickers (Premiers [11] ) from the Hunter Valley; Thirroul Butchers (5th) and Western Suburbs Red Devils (6th) from the Illawarra, Dubbo CYMS (7th) and a Western Rams representative team (9th). [12] The Western Rams played their home games in Forbes, Orange, Mudgee and Bathurst.
On 28 September 2020, the NSWRL announced their intention to expand, from the 2021 season, the Ron Massey Cup to become a statewide competition. The statement also affirmed that Kaiviti Silktails from Fiji would be part of that competition. [13] [14]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Ron Massey Cup was cancelled after one round of matches.
2021
2022
All of the above are available at the State Library of NSW, although some collections are incomplete.
The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve grade competition, and is now the premier open age competition in the state. The New South Wales Cup, along with the Queensland Cup, acts as a feeder competition to the National Rugby League premiership. The competition is the oldest continuous rugby league competition in the Australia.
Yileen "Buddy" Gordon is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NSW Cup. Gordon formerly played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Penrith Panthers. He was sacked by the West Tigers in February, 2014 for breach of contract. He currently plays in the Centres and has previously played in the back-row or at centre.
The Wentworthville Magpies, colloquially known as Wenty, are an Australian rugby league team based in the suburb of Wentworthville in Sydney's Western Suburbs. Founded in 1963, the club has competed in various Sydney district competitions and, since 2003, the semi-professional Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield competitions in NSW, Australia. The club also fielded a team in the Canterbury Cup NSW as part of a joint-venture with the Parramatta Eels between 2008 and 2019 acting as Parramatta's feeder club.
Cabramatta Two Blues, colloquially known as Cabra, is an Australian rugby league football club that was originally formed in 1919 and then later completely formed as the Two Blues in 1939. They have always based from the Parramatta Junior Leagues, and their junior teams compete in the Parramatta District Junior Rugby League Association. They currently compete in the Sydney Shield and have previously competed in the Ron Massey Cup however both sides did not field a side for the 2022 season in either competition. They play out of the Cabramatta, New South Wales, Sports Ground Complex which can fit up to 5,000 spectators. The Two Blues have won numerous A-Grade Titles with their last Premiership received in 2002.
Taniela Lasalo is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a lock, second-row forward or as a centre for the Hills District Bulls in the Ron Massey Cup.
David Neil Gower is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop, second-row and lock for the Hills District Bulls in the Ron Massey Cup competition.
The 2013 New South Wales Cup season is the second tier rugby league competition held in New South Wales, after the National Rugby League. The 2012 season of the New South Wales Cup commences on Saturday 19 March 2013. The Minor Premiership has ended with Cronulla sitting on top of the ladder at 43 points as the teams head into finals. The grand final will be played at ANZ Stadium at the 2013 NRL Grand Final, and will be broadcast by Fox Sports.
The Sydney Metropolitan Women's Rugby League was the premier Women's rugby league competition in the state of New South Wales, Australia. In 2017, the competition became known as the NSWRL Women's Premiership. The New South Wales Rugby League also administer open age women's and age group girls' competitions that sit below the NSWRL Women's Premiership. Within the Sydney Metropolitan region, there are several conferences.
The Sydney Shield is a rugby league football competition played in Sydney, New South Wales. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League.
The Mounties Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Mount Pritchard, New South Wales formed in 1927. They currently play in the Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield.
The 2015 New South Wales Cup season, was the second tier rugby league competition held in New South Wales, after the National Rugby League. The 2015 season kicked off on 7 March 2015 and was won by the Newcastle Knights.
The 2015 Ron Massey Cup is the 15th season of the semi-professional development level rugby league competition in New South Wales, Australia, run jointly by the New South Wales Rugby League and the Country Rugby League of New South Wales.
The Kingsgrove Colts Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Kingsgrove, New South Wales formed in 1955. They are in the St George junior rugby league and currently play in the Sydney Combined Competition
The Glebe-Burwood Wolves are a rugby league club based in Concord, New South Wales. They compete in the Ron Massey Cup and also field junior sides from Under 6 to Under 17 age groups in the Balmain District Junior Rugby League. In the Ron Massey Cup, they were initially known as the Concord-Burwood-Glebe Wolves, following a merger with foundation club Glebe. Their colours are charcoal and pink and since the incorporation of foundation club Glebe into the merger in 2017, the club occasionally wears the famous dirty red and white jersey worn by Glebe from 1908 to 1929. This is the first time in 87 years that the Glebe colours have been worn in a NSWRL competition.
The Asquith Magpies Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Asquith, New South Wales formed in 1953. They previously competed in the NSW Ron Massey Cup competition and the Sydney Shield. Asquith are currently a senior feeder club side to NSW Cup team the North Sydney Bears.
Cabramatta International Nines is a rugby league nines tournament held annually in Cabramatta, New South Wales, Australia. It was first held in 2003. The 2020 will be broadcast online by The81stMinute Call Team on steelesports.com.au with video streaming through the Cabramatta Facebook page. This will be the fourth time The81stMinute Call Team has broadcast the Nines.
Henry Raiwalui is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as scrum-half or stand-off for the London Broncos in the Betfred Super League.
Anthony Layoun is a Lebanon international rugby league footballer who plays for the Mount Pritchard Mounties in the Canterbury Cup NSW.
The NSWRL Women's Premiership is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. It is the only statewide open-age competition for women in New South Wales and is run by New South Wales Rugby League.
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, Ron Massey Cup, Sydney Shield and Canterbury Cup clubs.