The NSWRL Harold Matthews Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales between teams made up of players aged under 16. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). The competition is made up of NSW-based clubs and includes both junior representative teams of the elite National Rugby League (NRL) and clubs that do not field teams in the NRL competition.
Current season or competition: [[2022 Harold Matthews Cup]] | |
Sport | Rugby league |
---|---|
Instituted | 1970 |
Inaugural season | 1970 |
Number of teams | 15 |
Country | Australia (15 teams) |
Premiers | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (2023) |
Most titles | Parramatta Eels (20 titles) |
Website | Harold Matthews Cup |
Broadcast partner | NSWRL channel on facebook |
Related competition | Andrew Johns Cup S. G. Ball Cup |
The competition is named after Harold Matthews, a Balmain Tigers secretary who later was appointed as manager of the Australian Test squad and later went on to become secretary of the NSWRL and ARL.[1][2]
In 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, 15 clubs fielded teams in the NSWRL UNE Harold Matthews Cup.
In the 1970s and early 1980s the Harold Matthews Cup was played in a carnival format over three to five successive days. Teams from the country groups and regions competed alongside representative teams from the NSWRL clubs of Sydney. The competition later changed to a partial round-robin format.
Former teams in the Harold Matthews Cup include: Gold Coast Titans (2009), Melbourne Storm (2013-14), South-Western Sydney Academy of Sport (2008–16) and Western Sydney Academy of Sport (2007–17).
After the sixth round on March 14 & 15, the 2020 competition was suspended and subsequently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[3]
No. | Club | Seasons |
---|---|---|
1 | Parramatta Eels | 20 (1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2016) |
2 | Penrith Panthers | 7 (1979, 1985, 1989, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010) |
3 | Newcastle Knights | 5 (1992, 2000, 2014, 2017, 2019) |
4 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 4 (2007, 2009, 2011, 2023) |
4 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 4 (1973, 1977, 2001, 2015) |
6 | Canberra Raiders | 3 (1984, 1993, 1995) |
7 | Illawarra Steelers | 2 (1987, 1996) |
7 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 2 (2018, 2021) |
9 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 1 (1974) |
9 | Canberra Rugby League (CRL) | 1 (1978) |
9 | Group 12 (Central Coast, CRL) | 1 (1980) |
9 | Group 6 (CRL) | 1 (1983) |
9 | Gold Coast Seagulls | 1 (1991) |
9 | Western Suburbs Magpies | 1 (2022) |
Bold means that the team is still currently plays in the competition.