Queensland Cup 2383498 225905615 2008-07-15T23:17:25Z 124.191.144.82 /* Player of the Year */ {{Infobox sports league |logo=Queensland Wizard Cup logo.PNG |pixels=200px |sport=[[Rugby League]] |founded=1996 |teams=11 |country={{AUS}} |champion= [[Tweed Heads Seagulls]] |website=[http://www.qrl.com.au/queensland_cup/ Queensland Cup] }} The '''Queensland Cup''' is the premier [[rugby league football]] competition in the state of [[Queensland]]. It, along with the [[New South Wales Cup]], acts as a feeder competition to the [[National Rugby League]]. It is the biggest state competition of any sport in Queensland, with teams mostly coming from [[South East Queensland]] but with key regional cities in north and central Queensland (such as [[Cairns, Queensland|Cairns]], [[Mackay, Queensland|Mackay]] and [[Rockhampton, Queensland|Rockhampton]]) also represented. 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. ==Club Information== {| align="center" class="wikitable" |- bgcolor="#FF0033" |- ! Team !! Home Ground !! City !! Joined |- | '''[[Burleigh Bears]]''' || Pizzey Park || [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]] || 1997 |- | '''[[Central Comets]]''' || [[Browne Park]] || [[Rockhampton, Queensland|Rockhampton]] || 1996 |- | '''[[Easts Tigers]]''' || [[Langlands Park]] || [[Brisbane]] || 1996 |- | '''[[Ipswich Jets]]''' || North Ipswich Reserve || [[Ipswich, Queensland|Ipswich]] || 1996 |- | '''[[Mackay Cutters]]'''|| Mackay DJRL grounds || [[Mackay, Queensland|Mackay]] || 2007 |- |'''[[Northern Pride RLFC]]'''|| Barlow Park || [[Cairns, Queensland|Cairns]] || 2007 |- | '''[[Norths Devils]]''' || Bishop Park || [[Brisbane]] || 1996 |- | '''[[Redcliffe Dolphins]]''' || [[Dolphin Oval]] || [[City of Redcliffe|Redcliffe]] || 1996 |- | '''[[Souths Logan Magpies]]''' || Brandon Park <br> Davies Park || [[Brisbane]] <br> [[Logan, Queensland|Logan]] || 1996 |- | '''[[Tweed Heads Seagulls]]''' || Piggabeen Sports Complex || [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]] || 2003 |- | '''[[Wynnum Manly Seagulls]]''' || Kougari Oval || [[Brisbane, Queensland|Brisbane]] || 1996 |- |} ==History of the Queensland Cup== [[Image:Channel Nine Qld Cup.jpg|thumb|100px|The logo for the Channel Nine Cup]][[Image:Bundy Gold Qld Cup.jpg|thumb|100px|The logo for the Bundy Gold Cup]] ===The Brisbane Rugby League=== 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 repective 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 [[Joh Bjelke-Peterson|Bjelke-Peterson]] Queensland, the [[New South Wales Rugby League|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 [[Penrith Panthers]], [[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. ===The Brisbane Broncos=== 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 Magpies|Souths-Logan]] ===The Beginning of the Queensland Cup=== 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 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 2-year sponsorship of the competition and it was known as the Bundy Gold Cup. 2005 saw the welcome announcement of Wizard Home Loans becoming naming right sponsor for the competition, and it is now officially known as the Queensland Wizard Cup. ===2007 - Loss of the Clydesdales=== ''Main Article: [[2007 Queensland Cup Season]]'' 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."<ref>[http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20881575-23214,00.html Broncos lose stablemate Clydesdales | The Australian<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The following day it was announced that the [[Aspley Broncos]] would be replacing the Clydesdales, and acting as the [[Brisbane Broncos]] feeder club.<ref>[http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=338858 Aspley new Brisbane Broncos feeder club : thewest.com.au<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ===2008 - Northern Expansion=== ''Main Article: [[2008 Queensland Cup Season]]'' 2008 saw the Queensland Cup once again have teams based in the northern cities of [[Cairns]] and [[Mackay, Queensland|Mackay]] after absences of 7 and 12 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 [[National Youth Competition|NRL under 20's competition]]. ===The Future=== Shortly after signing a partnership with [[National Rugby League]] team the [[Manly Sea Eagles]] to develop rugby league on the Sunshine Coast, the [[Sunshine Coast Falcons]] said that they had already received conditional approval for acceptance into the Queensland Cup from the Queensland Rugby League, provided they come up with at least $500,000 in sponsorship money. Sunshine Coast Falcons CEO said that he was “very confident” that the club would attract enough sponsorship.<ref>[http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2007/nov/09/coast-lands-footy-coup/ Manly to invest $1m in Coast league | thedaily.com.au<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> There is ongoing speculation as to how the Wizard Cup will fare with the introduction of the National Rugby League's Under-20s competition in 2008.<ref>[http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,20840238-5003409,00.html National under-20 comp has support | The Courier-Mail<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The [[WA Reds]] are expected to apply for the 2009 season as part of their 5-year plan to return to the [[National Rugby League|NRL]].<ref>[http://www.warugbyleague.com.au/content/wateam1/] WA Wins Bid for National Team: The Journey to the NRL Begins, ''WA Rugby League'', Retrieved on 15 December 2006</ref> ==The Competition== ===The Draw=== The 11 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. ===The Rounds=== Normally, there is a round each weekend, which involves 5 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 v. Country Rugby League (Queensland)|City vs. Country]] fixture, as well as allowing more games to be shown on free-to-air television, on ABC-TV. Games kick off at 2 pm Saturdays for the TV game, and at 3 pm Saturdays and Sundays for the remainder. North and Central Queensland both often play their home games at the 7.30 timeslot to avoid playing in the heat of the day. ===Points and Ladder=== The winner of each game per round is awarded two points on the League Ladder, however the team with the bye is awarded no points for that round. If a game is drawn between the two teams, each team is awarded one point each. At the end of the regular season, the five 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 during games minus points conceded. === Current Table === Team Pts '''Souths Logan Magpies 22 '''Ipswich Jets 20''' '''Northern Pride 20''' '''Redcliffe Dolphins 15''' '''Burleigh Bears 14''' '''Wynnum Seagulls 14''' '''Easts Tigers 13''' '''Central Comets 12''' '''Tweed Heads 11''' '''Mackay Cutters 9''' '''Norths Devils 6''' ===Finals Series=== The Queensland Cup uses a final-five series, which has been used for decades not only in Queensland but also in the NSWRL's Winfield Cup. This consists of a number of knockout, qualifying and sudden death games, which see the two remaining teams play in the Grand Final, which is traditionally played at [[Suncorp Stadium]] (Lang Park). It has only been played elsewhere three times, at Dolphin Oval in 2001-03, due to the redevelopment of Suncorp Stadium and the 2003 Rugby World Cup. ==NRL Affiliation== 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. * [[Brisbane Broncos]] - Redcliffe Dolphins, Wynnum-Manly Seagulls, Eastern Suburbs Tigers, Norths Devils, Central Comets * [[North Queensland Cowboys]] - Mackay Cutters, Northern Pride * [[Gold Coast Titans]] - Burleigh Bears, Tweed Heads Seagulls, Ipswich Jets * [[Canberra Raiders]] - Souths Logan Magpies ==Media Coverage== 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. ===Television=== 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). The QRL has speculated that the Grand Final might be moved to a night timeslot to maximise television coverage from 2008 onwards. ===Radio=== In 2006, community broadcaster Bay FM began broadcasting Wynnum-Manly home games, and Wynnum won radio station [[Nova 106.9]]'s club that Brisbane really really loves. ==Sponsorship== For sponsorship reasons, the competition is officially known as the '''Queensland Wizard Cup'''. However it is widely referred to simply as the '''Queensland Cup''' by a majority of fans. The fact that the competition is televised on the government-funded [[Australian Broadcasting Commission]]'s station, which has strict policies banning advertising and the mention of sponsor's names, may be part of the reason the "Wizard" part of the competition's title is rarely used. The competition has previously been named the [[Channel Nine Cup]] and [[Bundy Gold Cup]]. ==2007 Season Draw and Results== * [http://www.qrl.com.au/queensland_cup/q_cup_draw.php 2007 Queensland Wizard Cup Draw] * [http://www.qrl.com.au/queensland_cup/q_cup_results.php 2007 Queensland Cup Results] ==Queensland Cup premiers== {| border=1 style="border-collapse:collapse;" cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 width=80% |- bgcolor=#C1D8FF !rowspan=2 width=5%|Season !rowspan=1 colspan=4|Grand Final Information !rowspan=2 width=27%|Minor Premiers |- bgcolor=#EFEFEF !rowspan=1 width=25%|Premiers !rowspan=1 width=8%|Score !rowspan=1 width=25%|Runner-Up !rowspan=1 width=8%|Crowd |- align=center bgcolor=#F5FAFF |'''1996''' |align=left | [[Toowoomba Clydesdales]] |8-6 |align=left | [[Redcliffe Dolphins]] |align=center | 6,500 |align=left | [[Toowoomba Clydesdales]] |- align=center bgcolor=#F5FAFF |'''1997''' |align=left | [[Redcliffe Dolphins]] |18-16 |align=left | [[Easts Tigers]] |align=center | ? |align=left | [[Wynnum-Manly Seagulls]] |- align=center bgcolor=#F5FAFF |'''1998''' |align=left | [[Norths Devils]] |35-16 |align=left | [[Wests Panthers]] |align=center | 4,283 |align=left | [[Norths Devils]] |- align=center bgcolor=#F5FAFF |'''1999''' |align=left | [[Burleigh Bears]] |12-10 |align=left | [[Redcliffe Dolphins]] |align=center | ? |align=left | [[Redcliffe Dolphins]] |- align=center bgcolor=#F5FAFF |'''2000''' |align=left | [[Redcliffe Dolphins]] |28-26 |align=left | [[Toowoomba Clydesdales]] |align=center | 7,280 |align=left | [[Redcliffe Dolphins]] |- align=center bgcolor=#F5FAFF |'''2001''' |align=left | [[Toowoomba Clydesdales]] |28-26 |align=left | [[Redcliffe Dolphins]] |align=center | 7,000 |align=left | [[Toowoomba Clydesdales]] |- align=center bgcolor=#F5FAFF |'''2002''' |align=left | [[Redcliffe Dolphins]] |34-10 |align=left | [[Ipswich Jets]] |align=center | 10,000 |align=left | [[Redcliffe Dolphins]] |- align=center bgcolor=#F5FAFF |'''2003''' |align=left | [[Redcliffe Dolphins]] |31-18 |align=left | [[Burleigh Bears]] |align=center | 8,000 |align=left | [[Burleigh Bears]] |- align=center bgcolor=#F5FAFF |'''2004''' |align=left | [[Burleigh Bears]] |22-18 |align=left | [[Easts Tigers]] |align=center | 9,398 |align=left | [[Burleigh Bears]] |- align=center bgcolor=#F5FAFF |'''2005''' |align=left | [[North Queensland Young Guns]] |36-6 |align=left | [[Burleigh Bears]] |align=center | 6,893 |align=left | [[North Queensland Young Guns]] |- align=center bgcolor=#F5FAFF |'''2006''' |align=left | [[Redcliffe Dolphins]] |27-6 |align=left | [[Toowoomba Clydesdales]] |align=center | 5,538 |align=left | [[Toowoomba Clydesdales]] |- align=center bgcolor=#F5FAFF |'''2007''' |align=left | [[Tweed Heads Seagulls]] | 28-18 |align=left | [[Redcliffe Dolphins]] |align=center | 7,000 |align=left | [[North Queensland Young Guns]] |} ==Player of the Year== {| align="center" class="wikitable" |- bgcolor="#FF0033" ! Year !! Player !! Club |- | 1996 || Robbie Schmidt || {{leagueicon|Cairns Cyclones|16}} [[Cairns Cyclones]] |- | 1997 || Alan Wieland || {{leagueicon|Wests Panthers|16}} [[Wests Panthers]] |- | 1998 || [[Shane Perry]] || {{leagueicon|Logan Scorpions|16}} [[Logan Scorpions]] |- | 1999 || [[Michael Roberts (rugby league)|Michael Roberts]] || {{leagueicon|Redcliffe Dolphins|16}} [[Redcliffe Dolphins]] |- | 2000 || Chris Lawler || {{leagueicon|Ipswich Jets|16}} [[Ipswich Jets]] |- | 2001 || [[Michael Roberts (rugby league)|Michael Roberts]] || {{leagueicon|Redcliffe Dolphins|16}} [[Redcliffe Dolphins]] |- | 2002 || Scott Thorburn || {{leagueicon|Easts Tigers|16}} [[Easts Tigers]] |- | 2003 || Denny Lambert || {{leagueicon|Wynnum-Manly|16}} [[Wynnum-Manly Seagulls]] |- | 2004 || Jace Van Dijk || {{leagueicon|Souths-Logan Magpies|16}} [[Souths-Logan Magpies]] |- | 2005 || Ricky Bird || {{leagueicon|Ipswich Jets|16}} [[Ipswich Jets]] |- | 2006 || Brandon Costin || {{leagueicon|Souths-Logan Magpies|16}} [[Souths-Logan Magpies]] |- | 2007 || [[Shannon Walker]] || {{leagueicon|Tweed Heads Seagulls|16}} [[Tweed Heads Seagulls]] |} Source<ref>[http://www.qrl.com.au/qrl_history/award_winners.php Queensland Rugby League:: QRL.com.au<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ==Queensland Cup records== ==Previous teams== As the Queensland Cup initially began as a representative competition that took over the old [[Winfield State League (rugby league competition)|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). {| align="center" class="wikitable" |- bgcolor="#FF0033" |- ! Team !! Location !! Home Ground !! First year in<br />QLD Cup !! Last year in<br />QLD Cup !! QLD Cup<br />Premierships |- | {{leagueicon|Aspley Broncos|16}} '''[[Aspley Broncos]]''' || [[Brisbane]] || Bishop Park ||2007||2007||Nil |- | {{leagueicon|Brothers-Valleys|16}} '''[[Brothers-Valleys]]''' ||Brisbane|| O'Callaghan Park||2002||2004||Nil |- | {{leagueicon|Bundaberg Grizzlies|16}} '''Bundaberg Grizzlies''' ||Bundaberg|| Salter Oval ||1996||1996,1998||Nil |- | {{leagueicon|Cairns Cyclones|16}} '''[[Cairns Cyclones]]''' ||Cairns|| Barlow Park ||1996||2000||Nil |- | {{leagueicon|Central Capras|16}} '''[[Queensland Rugby League Central Division|Central Capras]]''' || Rockhampton||Browne Park ||1996||1997||Nil |- | {{leagueicon|Gold Coast Vikings|16}} '''[[Gold Coast Vikings]]''' ||Gold Coast||Owen Park and Carrara Stadium||1998||1998||Nil |- | {{leagueicon|Logan Scorpions|16}} '''[[Logan Scorpions]]''' ||Logan City||Meakin Park||1996||2002||Nil |- | {{leagueicon|Burleigh Bears|16}} '''Mackay Sea Eagles''' || Mackay || Mackay Junior Rugby League Ground || 1996 || 1996||Nil |- | {{leagueicon|North Queensland Young Guns|16}} '''[[North Queensland Young Guns]]''' || [[Townsville]]|| Dairy Farmers Stadium || 2002||2007||2005 |- | {{leagueicon|Past Brothers|16}} '''[[Past Brothers rugby league club|Past Brothers]]''' || Brisbane||Corbett Park, Crosby Park, Lang Park, ANZ Stadium||1996||1998||Nil |- | {{leagueicon|Port Moresby Vipers|16}} '''[[Port Moresby Vipers]]''' ||Port Moresby||Lloyd Robson Oval||1996||1997||Nil |- | {{leagueicon|Souths Magpies|16}} '''[[Souths Magpies]]''' ||Brisbane||Davies Park||1996||2002||Nil |- | {{leagueicon|Sunshine Coast Falcons|16}} '''[[Sunshine Coast Falcons]]''' || Sunshine Coast || Quad Park || 1996 || 1996||Nil |- | {{leagueicon|Townsville Stingers|16}} '''Townsville Stingers''' ||Townsville||[[Dairy Farmers Stadium]], Townsville Sports Reserve||1998||1998||Nil |- | {{leagueicon|Toowoomba Clydesdales|16}} '''[[Toowoomba Clydesdales]]''' || Toowoomba || Athletic Oval (Clive Berghofer Stadium) || 1996||2006||1996, 2001 |- | {{leagueicon|Wests Panthers|16}} '''[[Wests Panthers]]''' ||Brisbane||Purtell Park||1996||2003||Nil |- |} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== ===Queensland Cup News=== * [http://www.qrl.com.au Queensland Rugby League] * [http://www.qrl.com.au/queensland_cup/ Queensland Rugby League Queensland Cup Page] * [http://queensland.rleague.com Rleague.com's Queensland page] * [http://www.leagueunlimited.com/team.asp?ID=QRL League Unlimited's Queensland Page] ===Queensland Rugby League forums=== * [http://forums.rleague.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20 Rleague's Queensland Forum] * [http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/forumdisplay.php?f=88 League Unlimited's Queensland Forum] ==See also== * [[Brisbane A-Grade Rugby League|FOGS Cup and FOGS Colts Challenge]] * [[Brisbane Rugby League premiership]] * [[Winfield State League (rugby league competition)|Winfield State League]] * [[Queensland Rugby League]] {{Rugby League in Queensland}} [[Category:Rugby league in Australia]] [[Category:Sport in Queensland]] [[Category:Australian rugby league competitions]] [[fr:Queensland Cup]]