The Sydney premiership kicked off in 1908, with 8 clubs competing (in order of formation): Glebe, South Sydney, Newtown, Balmain, Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs, North Sydney, and Newcastle. Cumberland joined in time for the second round of 1908, but after a rather dismal year they merged with Western Suburbs. Glebe were ejected after 1929, and Newtown after 1983. Newcastle withdrew after 1909 to form their own competition. Annandale replaced Newcastle in 1910, but were ejected after 1920. Sydney University fielded a strictly amateur team from 1920 to 1937. St George joined in 1921; Canterbury Bankstown in 1935, Manly Warringah and Parramatta in 1947, Cronulla Sutherland and Penrith in 1967, Canberra and Illawarra in 1982, Brisbane and the Gold Coast in 1988, and Newcastle rejoined in the same year, and Auckland, North Queensland, South Queensland, Western Reds all joined in 1995, and in the same year Eastern Suburbs, Canterbury Bankstown and Balmain changed their names to Sydney City, Sydney Bulldogs, and Sydney Tigers respectively. Canterbury Bankstown changed theirs back at the end of the year, and Balmain changed theirs back at the end of 1996.
There have generally been three grades of competition: firsts, reserves, and third grade. On occasions third grade has been replaced with an under-23s or an under-21s competition. A number of other clubs competed in the second and third grades in the early years.
14 teams have won premierships: South Sydney (20), St George (15), Balmain (11), Eastern Suburbs (11), Canterbury Bankstown (7), Manly Warringah (6), Western Suburbs (4), Parramatta (4), Newtown (3), Canberra (3), North Sydney (2), Brisbane (2), Penrith (1), and Newcastle (1).
Between 1956 and 1966 St George won 11 consecutive premierships, a feat that has never been equaled in any top level competition in any football code.
There have only been four occasions on which one club has won all three grades: Balmain (1915 and 1916), South Sydney (1925), and St George (1963).
Five clubs have gone through a season undefeated: Balmain (1915), North Sydney (1921), South Sydney (1925), Eastern Suburbs (1936 and 1937), and St George (1959).
Four clubs have gone through a season without a win: Annandale (1918 and 1920), University (1921, 1935 and 1937), South Sydney (1946), and Eastern Suburbs (1966).
Clubs that have held the wooden spoon include: Western Suburbs (15), Parramatta (11), University (10), North Sydney (9), Newtown (8), and others. Manly Warringah, Glebe, Newcastle, Brisbane, Auckland, and the Western Reds have never held the wooden spoon.
[Clubs]>/p>
Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Challenge Shield
1908 South Sydney+ 14-12 Eastern Suburbs
1909 South Sydney+ Balmain (on forfeit)
1910 Newtown+ 4-4 South Sydney (better record)
1911 Eastern Suburbs 11-8 Glebe+
1912 Eastern Suburbs+
1913 Eastern Suburbs+
(Eastern Suburbs won the Shield outright)
Hugh D. McIntosh Shield
1914 South Sydney+
1915 Balmain+
1916 Balmain+ 5-3 South Sydney
1917 Balmain+
(Balmain won the Trophy outright)
Truth and Sportsmanship Cup
1918 South Sydney+
1919 Balmain+
1920 Balmain+
1921 North Sydney+
1922 North Sydney+ 35-3 Glebe
1923 Eastern Suburbs+ 15-12 South Sydney
1924 Balmain+ 3-0 South Sydney
1925 South Sydney+
1926 South Sydney+ 11-5 University
1927 South Sydney+ 20-11 St George
(South Sydney won the Cup outright)
Second Truth and Sportsmanship Cup
1928 South Sydney 26-5 Eastern Suburbs (St George+)
1929 South Sydney+ 30-10 Newtown
1930 Western Suburbs+ 27-2 St George
1931 South Sydney 12-7 Eastern Suburbs+
1932 South Sydney+ 19-12 Western Suburbs
1933 Newtown+ 18-5 St George
Labor Daily Cup
1934 Western Suburbs 15-12 Eastern Suburbs+
1935 Eastern Suburbs+ 19-3 South Sydney
1936 Eastern Suburbs+ 32-12 Balmain
1937 Eastern Suburbs+
1938 Canterbury Bankstown+ 19-6 Eastern Suburbs
1939 Balmain+ 33-4 South Sydney
1940 Eastern Suburbs+ 24-14 Canterbury Bankstown
1941 St George 31-14 Eastern Suburbs+
1942 Canterbury Bankstown+ 11-9 St George
1943 Newtown+ 34-7 North Sydney
1944 Balmain 12-8 Newtown+
1945 Eastern Suburbs+ 22-18 Balmain
1946 Balmain 13-12 St George+
1947 Balmain 13-9 Canterbury Bankstown+
1948 Western Suburbs+ 8-5 Balmain
1949 St George 19-12 South Sydney+
1950 South Sydney+ 21-15 Western Suburbs
J J Giltinan Shield
1951 South Sydney+ 42-14 Manly Warringah
1952 Western Suburbs+ 22-12 South Sydney
1953 South Sydney+ 31-12 St George
1954 South Sydney 23-15 Newtown+
1955 South Sydney 12-11 Newtown+
1956 St George+ 18-12 Balmain
1957 St George+ 31-9 Manly Warringah
1958 St George+ 20-9 Western Suburbs
1959 St George+ 20-0 Manly Warringah
J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup
1960 St George+ 31-6 Eastern Suburbs
1961 St George 22-0 Western Suburbs+
1962 St George+ 9-6 Western Suburbs
1963 St George+ 8-3 Western Suburbs
1964 St George+ 11-6 Balmain
1965 St George+ 12-8 South Sydney
1966 St George+ 23-4 Balmain
1967 South Sydney 12-10 Canterbury Bankstown (St George+)
1968 South Sydney+ 13-9 Manly Warringah
1969 Balmain 11-2 South Sydney+
1970 South Sydney+ 23-12 Manly Warringah
1971 South Sydney 16-10 St George (Manly Warringah+)
1972 Manly Warringah+ 19-14 Eastern Suburbs
1973 Manly Warringah+ 10-7 Cronulla Sutherland
1974 Eastern Suburbs+ 19-4 Canterbury Bankstown
1975 Eastern Suburbs+ 38-0 St George
1976 Manly Warringah+ 13-10 Parramatta
1977 St George 9-9 Parramatta+
(AET, St George won replay 20-0)
1978 Manly Warringah 11-11 Cronulla Sutherland
(AET, Manly Warringah won replay 16-0) (Western Suburbs+)
1979 St George+ 17-13 Canterbury Bankstown
1980 Canterbury Bankstown 18-4 Eastern Suburbs+
1981 Parramatta 20-11 Newtown (Eastern Suburbs+)
J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup
1982 Parramatta+ 21-8 Manly Warringah
1983 Parramatta 18-6 Manly Warringah+
1984 Canterbury Bankstown+ 6-4 Parramatta
1985 Canterbury Bankstown 7-6 St George+
1986 Parramatta+ 4-2 Canterbury Bankstown
1987 Manly Warringah+ 18-8 Canberra
1988 Canterbury Bankstown 24-12 Balmain (Cronulla Sutherland+)
1989 Canberra 19-14 Balmain (South Sydney+)
(after extra time, 14-14 at full time)
1990 Canberra+ 18-14 Penrith
1991 Penrith+ 19-12 Canberra
1992 Brisbane+ 28-8 St George
1993 Brisbane 14-6 St George (Canterbury Bankstown+)
1994 Canberra 36-12 Canterbury Bankstown+
[Australian First Grade Premiership]
1908 Eastern Suburbs 1909 Eastern Suburbs Glebe 1910 Eastern Suburbs 5-2 Newtown 1911 Eastern Suburbs 12-0 Glebe 1912 Glebe 30-0 Redfern 1913 South Sydney 10-3 Grosvenor+ 1914 South Sydney Eastern Suburbs (North Sydney+) 1915 Balmain 9-3 Glebe 1916 Balmain 1917 South Sydney 1918 Glebe 1919 Glebe 1920 Glebe 1921 Glebe 1922 Newtown 1923 South Sydney 1924 South Sydney 1925 South Sydney 1926 South Sydney 1927 South Sydney 1928 Balmain 1929 South Sydney 1930 Balmain 1931 South Sydney 1932 South Sydney 1933 Balmain 1934 South Sydney 1935 Eastern Suburbs 1936 Western Suburbs 1937 Eastern Suburbs 1938 St George 1939 Canterbury Bankstown 1940 North Sydney 1941 Balmain 1942 North Sydney 1943 South Sydney 1944 Balmain 1945 South Sydney 1946 Balmain 1947 Newtown 1948 Newtown 1949 Eastern Suburbs 1950 Balmain 1951 Newtown 1952 South Sydney 1953 South Sydney 1954 Manly Warringah 1955 North Sydney 1956 South Sydney 1957 Balmain 1958 Balmain 1959 North Sydney 1960 Manly Warringah 1961 Western Suburbs 1962 St George 1963 St George 1964 St George 1965 Balmain 1966 South Sydney 1967 Balmain 1968 South Sydney 1969 Manly Warringah 1970 Newtown 1971 Canterbury Bankstown 1972 Canterbury Bankstown 1973 Manly Warringah 1974 Newtown 1975 Parramatta 1976 St George 1977 Parramatta 1978 Balmain 1979 Parramatta 1980 Canterbury Bankstown 1981 Western Suburbs 1982 Balmain 1983 South Sydney 1984 Balmain 1985 St George 1986 Eastern Suburbs 1987 Penrith (Manly Warringah+) 1988 Manly Warringah+ 22-2 Eastern Suburbs 1989 North Sydney 11-6 Parramatta+ 1990 Brisbane 14-6 Canberra+ (IET) 1991 North Sydney 12-6 Canberra+ 1992 North Sydney 28-14 Balmain 1993 North Sydney 5-4 Newcastle+ 1994 Cronulla Sutherland+ 14-4 Newcastle
[Australian Reserve Grade Premiership]
The Third grade competition became an under 23s competition from 1972 to 1981 and again from 1985 to 1987.
1908 Sydney 1909 South Sydney Federal Rozelle 1910 Sydney 15-2 Rozelle 1911 Leichhardt 5-0 South Sydney Kinkora 1912 South Sydney 5-0 South Sydney Federal 1913 South Sydney Federal 12-2 South Sydney Kinkora 1914 Eastern Suburbs 26-5 South Sydney Kinkora 1915 Balmain 5-0 Glebe 1916 Balmain 1917 Eastern Suburbs 1918 South Sydney 1919 Balmain 1920 Newtown 1921 Mascot 1922 Mascot 1923 Kensington 1924 Eastern Suburbs 1925 South Sydney 1926 Balmain 1927 Glebe 1928 South Sydney 1929 Eastern Suburbs 1930 Eastern Suburbs 1931 Eastern Suburbs 1932 Eastern Suburbs 1933 South Sydney 1934 Balmain 1935 Newtown 1936 Western Suburbs 1937 North Sydney 1938 Western Suburbs 1939 Western Suburbs 1940 St George 1941 Eastern Suburbs 1942 St George 1943 Newtown 1944 Western Suburbs 1945 North Sydney 1946 North Sydney 1947 Eastern Suburbs 1948 Balmain 1949 St George 1950 Balmain 1951 St George 1952 Manly Warringah 1953 St George 1954 Balmain 1955 Balmain 1956 Balmain 1957 St George 1958 Western Suburbs 1959 North Sydney 1960 Balmain 1961 Western Suburbs 1962 South Sydney 1963 St George 1964 Parramatta 1965 St George 1966 St George 1967 Western Suburbs 1968 Balmain 1969 South Sydney 1970 Eastern Suburbs 1971 Canterbury Bankstown 1972 St George Under-23s 1973 Balmain 1974 St George 1975 Cronulla Sutherland 1976 Eastern Suburbs 1977 Western Suburbs 1978 Penrith 1979 Parramatta 1980 Parramatta 1981 South Sydney Third Grade 1982 Parramatta 1983 St George 1984 Parramatta Under-23s 1985 St George 1986 South Sydney 1987 St George
The President's Cup is name of the under 21's competition. Initially it was played for by representative teams from the various Sydney junior leagues.
It became an under-21's competition in 1922, then an under-19's competition in 1976 and 1977, then an under-21's competition again in 1978. Between 1988 and 1994 it was raised to the status of a senior competition, taking the place of the Third Grade / Under 23's competition in determining the Club Championship. In 1995 it was again reduced to a junior competition.
It became an Australian competition in 1996, but is detailed here for completeness. The competition was disbanded at the end of 1996, the President's Cup then being awarded to the winner of the Second Grade.
1910 Eastern Suburbs 1911 Eastern Suburbs 15-2 Western Suburbs 1912 Balmain best record 1913 Eastern Suburbs 11-3 South Sydney 1914 Balmain 14-5 North Sydney 1915 Eastern Suburbs 1916 (no competition) 1917 (no competition) 1918 North Sydney 1919 Newtown 1920 Eastern Suburbs 1921 Newtown 1922 Eastern Suburbs Under-21s 1923 Eastern Suburbs 1924 Eastern Suburbs 1925 Western Suburbs 1926 Balmain 1927 Eastern Suburbs 1928 Newtown 1929 Balmain 1930 Balmain 1931 Canterbury Bankstown 1932 Balmain 1933 North Sydney 1934 Southern Districts 1935 St George 1936 South Sydney 1937 Northern Suburbs 1938 Eastern Suburbs 1939 Balmain 1940 Balmain 1941 St George 1942 South Sydney 1943 South Sydney 1944 Newtown 1945 Western Districts 1946 Manly Warringah 1947 Western Suburbs 1948 Eastern Suburbs 1949 Eastern Suburbs 1950 Newtown 1951 South Sydney 1952 Balmain 1953 South Sydney 1954 Balmain 1955 Eastern Suburbs 1956 Newtown 1957 St George 1958 Western Suburbs 1959 Balmain 1960 South Sydney 1961 South Sydney 1962 South Sydney 1963 South Sydney 1964 South Sydney 1965 South Sydney 1966 Balmain 1967 Balmain 1968 South Sydney 1969 South Sydney 1970 Manly Warringah 1971 South Sydney 1972 South Sydney 1973 Balmain 1974 South Sydney 1975 Parramatta Under-19s 1976 Canterbury Bankstown 1977 South Sydney Under-21s 1978 Eastern Suburbs 1979 Parramatta 1980 South Sydney 1981 St George 1982 South Sydney 1983 South Sydney 1984 Illawarra 1985 Penrith 1986 Penrith 1987 Eastern Suburbs 18-4 North Sydney 1988 Parramatta+ 28-14 Eastern Suburbs 1989 South Sydney 26-4 Canberra (Parramatta+) 1990 Canberra+ 16-12 St George 1991 Canterbury Bankstown 22-14 Parramatta+ 1992 Western Suburbs 15-14 St George 1993 Eastern Suburbs 17-4 Cronulla Sutherland 1994 Cronulla Sutherland 30-6 Eastern Suburbs+ 1995 Canberra 36-14 Manly Warringah+ 1996 South Queensland 24-12 Parramatta+
A junior competition for players under the age of 20 (18 to 1977, 19 to 1996). It was named after Harry Flegg, who was president of the NSWRL from 1929 to 1960.
It became an Australian competition in 1996, but is detailed here for completeness.
Under-18s 1961 Manly Warringah 1962 South Sydney 1963 Canterbury Bankstown 1964 South Sydney 1965 Western Suburbs 1966 South Sydney 1967 South Sydney 1968 South Sydney 1969 South Sydney 1970 Parramatta 1971 Canterbury Bankstown 1972 South Sydney 1973 Balmain 1974 Manly Warringah 1975 St George 1976 Canterbury Bankstown 1977 Penrith Under-19s (?not sure when it became so?) 1978 South Sydney 1979 Canterbury Bankstown 1980 Balmain 1981 Western Suburbs 1982 Balmain 1983 Canterbury Bankstown 1984 St George 1985 St George 1986 Parramatta 1987 Manly Warringah 20-0 Balmain 1988 Manly Warringah 19-10 Newcastle 1989 Canberra 26-8 Balmain 1990 Parramatta 22-8 Cronulla Sutherland 1991 Newcastle 28-12 Canberra 1992 Newcastle 26-16 Western Suburbs 1993 Canberra 28-6 St George 1994 Balmain 34-26 St George 1995 Sydney City 29-16 Manly Warringah 1996 St George+ 22-10 Manly Warringah Under-20s 1997 Balmain+ 13-12 Sydney City
A junior competition for players who are under the age of 18 (16 to 1977, 17 to 1996). It was named after George Ball, one of the five men responsible for the formation of the South Sydney club.
It became an Australian competition in 1996, but is detailed here for completeness.
Under-16s 1965 South Sydney 1966 Parramatta 1967 Parramatta 1968 Parramatta 1969 South Sydney 1970 St George 1971 Western Suburbs 1972 Canterbury Bankstown 1973 Parramatta 1974 South Sydney 1975 South Sydney 1976 South Sydney 1977 Penrith Under-17s 1978 Canterbury Bankstown 1979 South Sydney 1980 South Sydney 1981 Penrith 1982 Balmain 1983 Parramatta 1984 St George 1985 Parramatta 1986 South Sydney 1987 Parramatta 32-10 Canberra 1988 Parramatta 20-10 Penrith 1989 Illawarra 32-22 Penrith 1990 Newcastle 23-10 Manly Warringah 1991 Parramatta 32-6 Manly Warringah 1992 St George 20-0 Canterbury Bankstown 1993 Parramatta 28-20 St George 1994 South Sydney 22-20 Newcastle 1995 Canberra 36-6 Penrith 1996 Illawarra+ 8-0 Parramatta Under-18s 1997 Sydney City 11-10 Newcastle+ Under-17s 1998 South Sydney 20-16 Manly Warringah (Illawarra+)
A junior competition for players who are under the age of 15 (16 in 1997).
It became an Australian competition in 1996, but is detailed here for completeness.
Under-15s 1970 Parramatta 1971 Parramatta 1972 Parramatta 1973 Cronulla Sutherland 1974 South Sydney 1975 Parramatta 1976 Parramatta 1977 Cronulla Sutherland 1978 Canberra 1979 Penrith 1980 Group 12 1981 Parramatta 1982 Parramatta 1983 Group 6 1984 Canberra 1985 Penrith 1986 Parramatta 1987 Illawarra 14-10 Penrith 1988 Parramatta 18-12 Penrith 1989 Penrith 14-12 Parramatta 1990 Parramatta 14-10 Gold Coast 1991 Gold Coast 8-0 Cronulla Sutherland 1992 Newcastle 16-12 South Sydney 1993 Canberra 14-6 Parramatta 1994 Parramatta 19-18 Penrith 1995 Canberra 20-19 Parramatta 1996 Illawarra 36-20 Newcastle Under-16s 1997 Parramatta+ 28-10 North Sydney Under-15s 1998 Parramatta 24-10 Illawarra
In 1930, the NSW Rugby League introduced a club championship, the winner of which receives the Flowers Memorial Pennant.
The championship is calculated using a formula based on the number of points each club accumulates in each grade. The original formula was first grade points by 4, plus reserve grade points by 3, plus third grade points by 2. The last part was dropped after 1992 when it was decided that interstate teams would not have to field President's Cup sides.
The clubs that have won the most pennants are St George (18), Eastern Suburbs (10), South Sydney (9), Parramatta (8) and Balmain (5).
Flowers Memorial Pennant 1930 Eastern Suburbs 1931 Eastern Suburbs 1932 South Sydney 1933 South Sydney 1934 Eastern Suburbs 1935 Eastern Suburbs 1936 Eastern Suburbs 1937 Eastern Suburbs 1938 Canterbury Bankstown 1939 Canterbury Bankstown 1940 St George 1941 Balmain 1942 St George 1943 Balmain 1944 Balmain 1945 Eastern Suburbs 1946 St George 1947 Balmain 1948 Western Suburbs 1949 St George 1950 Balmain 1951 St George 1952 South Sydney 1953 South Sydney 1954 South Sydney 1955 St George 1956 St George 1957 St George 1958 St George 1959 St George 1960 Western Suburbs 1961 Western Suburbs 1962 St George 1963 St George 1964 St George 1965 St George 1966 St George 1967 South Sydney 1968 South Sydney 1969 South Sydney 1970 Eastern Suburbs 1971 St George 1972 Manly Warringah 1973 Newtown 1974 Eastern Suburbs 1975 Eastern Suburbs 1976 Parramatta 1977 Parramatta 1978 Parramatta 1979 Parramatta 1980 Parramatta 1981 Parramatta 1982 Parramatta 1983 Manly Warringah 1984 St George 1985 St George 1986 Parramatta 1987 334 Manly Warringah 1988 219 Manly Warringah 1989 South Sydney 1990 237 Canberra 1991 254 Western Suburbs 1992 258 Brisbane, Newcastle (tie) 1993 229 Canterbury Bankstown 1994 231 Canterbury Bankstown 1995 230 Cronulla Sutherland 1996 235 Brisbane 1997 254 Parramatta
A second division was first set up in 1963, and limped along under several names until 1976, whereupon it folded due to lack of teams. Two second division teams, Cronulla Sutherland and Penrith, joined the first division in 1967. The concept was resurrected again in 1990 as the Metropolitan Cup.
The Metropolitan Cup provides a stage between grade football and the junior district leagues.
[Metropolitan Cup player awards]Inter-District Competition 1963 Kingsford 9-7 Cronulla-Caringbah Second Division 1964 Wentworthville 20-5 Ryde-Eastwood 1965 Wentworthville 31-3 Penrith 1966 Penrith 9-7 Wentworthville 1967 Wentworthville 1968 Wentworthville Arncliffe 1969 Wentworthville 20-2 Sydney University 1970 Wentworthville 15-5 Blacktown 1971 Wentworthville 21-15 Sydney University 1972 Ryde-Eastwood 18-14 Wentworthville 1973 Wentworthville 12-8 Ryde-Eastwood Metropolitan League 1974 Ryde-Eastwood 37-9 St Mary's 1975 Ryde-Eastwood Windsor 1976 Ryde-Eastwood 10-8 University of NSW Metropolitan Cup 1990 Ryde-Eastwood 19-16 Hills District 1991 Guilford 21-6 Ryde-Eastwood 1992 Newtown 30-18 Wentworthville 1993 St Mary's 30-10 Ryde-Eastwood 1994 St Mary's 32-14 Hills District 1995 Newtown+ 26-8 Wentworthville 1996 Newtown 28-16 Ryde-Eastwood+ 1997 Newtown 18-8 Guildford (Wentworthville+)
1990 Bankstown 20-12 Guildford 1991 Ryde-Eastwood 10-3 Guildford 1992 Guildford 26-8 St Marys 1993 Ryde-Eastwood 19-4 Newtown 1994 Ryde-Eastwood 35-16 St Marys 1995 St Marys 20-16 Newtown 1996 Illawarra Red Devils 12-10 Ryde-Eastwood 1997 Wentworthville 14-12 Kellyville
It has been common practice for Sydney teams to warm up for the season by playing trial games. These games have never been very attractive to watch, because players were replaced and were moved around quite a bit, and so only the keenest supporters attend them. In 1962 it was decided to hold a pre-season competition to complement the trials. It was a four round competition held over five weekends, with the top teams playing off in a final. It proved quite popular, drawing crowds of up to 15,000 in its heyday. It had to be dropped in 1982, when the competition expansion mean't that there simply wasn't time for it at the start of the season.
Preseason Competition 1962 Canterbury Bankstown 14-10 Western Suburbs 1963 St George 17-16 Balmain 1964 St George 41-14 North Sydney 1965 St George 15-7 Western Suburbs 1966 South Sydney 11-3 North Sydney Wills Cup 1967 Balmain 11-10 Manly Warringah 1968 Penrith 28-12 Newtown 1969 South Sydney 19-7 Western Suburbs 1970 Canterbury Bankstown 20-11 St George 1971 St George 20-7 Cronulla Sutherland 1972 South Sydney 11-10 Eastern Suburbs 1973 Newtown 17-15 St George 1974 Eastern Suburbs 43-8 Cronulla Sutherland 1975 Parramatta Manly Warringah 1976 Balmain 17-5 Manly Warringah 1977 Eastern Suburbs 13-9 North Sydney Craven Mild Cup 1978 South Sydney 10-3 Canterbury Bankstown 1979 Eastern Suburbs 12-9 Balmain 1980 Manly Warringah 21-12 Balmain 1981 Eastern Suburbs 12-3 Parramatta
There have been a number of attempts to start an Australian competition akin to Britain's Challenge Cup, a knockout competition for more than just the Sydney teams. All have suffered from the same major problem--with a couple of exceptions, the teams from outside Sydney just weren't competitive.
The State Championship (which was also called the State Cup and the City Cup) was held during World War II. It was played for by the Sydney teams, plus the top teams from the Newcastle competition and teams representing other areas. Initially it was run during the Sydney Premiership finals series, then immediately after them, and finally on weekends set aside for it. It never achieved any real popularity, at least in Sydney, and was scrapped at the end of the war.
1939 Canterbury Bankstown 25-12 South Sydney 1941 Newtown 19-16 Eastern Suburbs 1943 Balmain 18-7 St George 1944 St George 20-13 Newtown 1945 Newtown 12-7 North Sydney
The same idea failed to raise much interest in the sixties, and was scrapped after two seasons.
1964 Newcastle 14-7 Parramatta 1965 Western Suburbs 16-14 Parramatta
In 1971 Cronulla Sutherland floated the idea of a competition like the State Cup, but one played for on Wednesdays during the season. That idea became the Midweek Cup. It was a much more successful competition than the State Cup, though it still suffered from the same problem of strong Sydney clubs thrashing clubs from other areas. It went through a number of format changes in order to try and fix this. It was eventually replaced by the Challenge Cup, a competition in which only the Sydney teams played.
Amco Cup 1974 Western Division 6-2 Penrith 1975 Eastern Suburbs 17-7 Parramatta 1976 Balmain 21-7 North Sydney 1977 Western Suburbs 6-5 Eastern Suburbs 1978 Eastern Suburbs 16-4 St George 1979 Cronulla Sutherland 22-5 Brisbane Tooth Cup 1980 Parramatta 8-5 Balmain 1981 South Sydney 10-2 Cronulla Sutherland KB Cup 1982 Manly Warringah 23-8 Newtown 1983 Manly Warringah 26-6 Cronulla Sutherland National Panasonic Cup 1984 Combined Brisbane 12-11 Eastern Suburbs 1985 Balmain 14-12 Cronulla Sutherland 1986 Parramatta 32-16 Balmain 1987 Balmain 14-12 Penrith Panasonic Cup 1988 St George 16-8 Brisbane 1989 Brisbane 22-20 Illawarra
The City and Sports Ground Cups were introduced in 1912 as post-season knockout competitions, at a time when there were no finals. The former was for first grade teams, the latter for reserve grade ones. The two cups were generally played for in parallel. In 1916 the Sports Ground Cup was renamed the League Cup.
The format changed in 1921. The premierships were awarded after one round robin of matches, and then a second round robin was played for the two Cups, with semifinals and a final. From 1922 to 1925 the practice continued, but with the second round robin counting towards both the premierships and the cups. The City Cup was discontinued after 1925, and the League Cup after 1926, when the league reintroduced finals for the premierships.
In 1937 and 1959 the premierships finished early due to Kangaroo tours, and City Cups were played to fill out the season.
In 1942 the Newcastle teams were unavailable for the State Championships, so a City Cup was played instead.
City Cup: 1912 South Sydney 30-5 Glebe 1913 Glebe 10-8 North Sydney 1914 Eastern Suburbs 6-5 South Sydney 1915 Eastern Suburbs 22-3 Glebe 1916 Eastern Suburbs 18-15 Glebe 1917 Balmain 14-9 South Sydney 1918 Western Suburbs 18-8 Newtown 1919 South Sydney 14-10 Glebe 1920 North Sydney 14-7 Western Suburbs (AET) 1921 South Sydney 21-10 Eastern Suburbs 1922 North Sydney 18-11 Eastern Suburbs 1923 Balmain 25-5 Glebe 1924 South Sydney 23-2 University 1925 South Sydney 15-8 Glebe 1937 Newtown 57-5 Eastern Suburbs 1942 Newtown 23-12 St George 1959 St George 26-22 North Sydney Sports Ground Cup: 1912 Eastern Suburbs 16-6 Glebe 1913 Balmain 13-0 Glebe 1914 South Sydney 16-15 Eastern Suburbs 1915 South Sydney 9-5 Glebe League Cup: 1916 South Sydney 18-3 Western Suburbs 1917 South Sydney 18-2 Glebe 1918 South Sydney 10-4 Eastern Suburbs 1919 South Sydney 10-7 North Sydney 1920 Glebe 9-6 Western Suburbs 1921 Newtown 17-8 Glebe 1922 South Sydney 1923 Balmain 1924 Newtown 1925 Newtown 1926 Western Suburbs
This was an abortive attempt to start a post season cup. Coming as an anticlimax to the grand final, and with the Kangaroo side touring in Britain, it failed to rouse much enthusiasm.
1963 Western Suburbs 17-11 Paramatta
This competition was introduced by Cronulla in 1970 for sides that failed to make the playoffs. It is best remembered for its experimentation with some new rules--six tackle football in 1970 and no stoppages for injuries in 1971.
Endeavour Cup 1970 Newtown 12-8 Balmain Thiess-Toyota Trophy 1971 Cronulla Sutherland 20-13 Canterbury Bankstown
This was a one off competition played between the seven sides that failed to make the finals and the first team eliminated from them. It was played at the same time as the final series, and naturally enough failed to attract much public interest.
1978 North Sydney 23-14 South Sydney
In 1990, the midweek cup competition was replaced with a preseason competition, in which only the Sydney teams played. Most matches are played as double headers under floodlights in country towns. It was dropped after 1995 to make way for the 'Challenge' part of the league draw.
Channel Ten Challenge Cup 1990 Canberra 12-2 Penrith Lotto Challenge Cup 1991 Brisbane 20-16 Penrith Tooheys Challenge Cup 1992 Illawarra 4-2 Brisbane 1993 Canberra 21-18 Western Suburbs 1994 South Sydney 27-26 Brisbane 1995 Brisbane 30-14 Cronulla Sutherland
A seven aside tournament was introduced in 1988 as a curtain raiser to the premiership.
In 1992 it was expanded, with teams from around the world taking part alongside the Sydney teams. The teams were divided into pools, with each team's final position within its pool deciding whether it played off for the cup, trophy, or plate.
In 1995 the format was again changed so that only overseas teams could be placed into the plate competition.
Nissan Rugby League Sevens
1988 South Sydney 28-18 Canberra
1989 Balmain 12-10 Eastern Suburbs
1990 Manly Warringah 24-22 Parramatta
1991 Newcastle 24-22 St George
Nissan World Rugby League Sevens
1992 CUP Wigan 18-6 Brisbane
TROPHY Eastern Suburbs 14-10 Illawarra
PLATE Fiji 18-14 Gold Coast
Coca-Cola World Rugby League Sevens
1993 CUP Eastern Suburbs 18-12 Manly Warringah
TROPHY Cronulla Sutherland 20-14 Parramatta
PLATE Fiji 28-24 Western Suburbs
1994 CUP Manly Warringah 44-12 St George
TROPHY Canberra 26-22 Papua New Guinea
PLATE Great Britain 24-22 Balmain
1995 CUP Manly Warringah 36-12 Fiji
TROPHY Sydney Tigers 20-12 Sydney Bulldogs
PLATE Tonga 20-4 USA
1996 CUP Newcastle 48-18 North Sydney
TROPHY St George 22-14 South Sydney
PLATE Gold Coast 14-6 Western Suburbs
1997 CUP Parramatta 32-22 North Sydney
TROPHY Balmain 22-16 Newcastle
PLATE St George 18-8 South Queensland
Played for annually before the start of the season by St George and South Sydney, with all moneys raised going towards hospital funding in the South Sydney and St George areas.
1982 St George 9-7 South Sydney
1983 St George 28-10 South Sydney
1984 South Sydney 24-6 St George
1985 St George 10-8 South Sydney
* This also counted as a National Panasonic Cup match.
1986 St George 12-0 South Sydney
1987 St George 28-14 South Sydney
1988 South Sydney 30-6 St George
1989 South Sydney 20-16 St George
1990 South Sydney 10-10 St George
1991 South Sydney 16-16 St George
1992 South Sydney 21-20 St George
1993 St George 10-8 South Sydney
1994 St George 14-11 South Sydney
1995 St George 18-10 South Sydney
1996 St George 30-6 South Sydney
1997 St George 26-18 South Sydney
* This also counted as a Country Carnival match.
1998 St George 14-4 South Sydney
* This also counted as a Country Carnival match.
Started in 1996 as a day competition between Manly Warringah and North Sydney. The two clubs play each other at all levels of competition, and the club with the most points at the end of the day wins the competition.
1996 Manly Warringah 1997 ???