Hastings Deering Colts

The Hastings Deering Colts is a junior rugby league competition based in Queensland, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition is administered by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL), and is contested by fourteen teams, thirteen of which are located in Queensland and one in Northern New South Wales.

Hastings Deering Colts
Current season or competition:
2020 Hastings Deering Colts season
SportRugby league
Instituted12 October 2017[1]
Inaugural season2018
ChairmanBruce Hatcher
Number of teams14
Country Australia (14 teams)
Holders Sunshine Coast Falcons (2019)
Most titles Norths Devils
Sunshine Coast Falcons (1 title)
Websiteqrl.com.au
Related competitionJersey Flegg Cup
Mal Meninga Cup

From 2018 to 2020, the Hastings Deering Colts was an under-20 competition before moving to an under-21 format for the 2021 season.

History

Before the advent of the Hastings Deering Colts, there had been no statewide, full season under-20 competition in Queensland. The FOGS Colts Challenge, which ran from 1986 to 2017, only featured sides from south east Queensland. From 2008 to 2017, the National Rugby League (NRL) administered their own under-20 competition, the National Youth Competition, which featured the three Queensland-based NRL clubs, the Brisbane Broncos, Gold Coast Titans and North Queensland Cowboys, and a plethora of young players from the state. In 2016, the NRL announced that the National Youth Competition would be discontinued after the 2017 season, in favour of state-based under-20 competitions, administered by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL).[2]

In 2017, in preparation for the new competition, the QRL ran a shortened, statewide under-20 competition called the FOGS U20s Cup. The competition, which was won by the Redcliffe Dolphins, ran over nine-weeks, alongside the Mal Meninga Cup, and featured all 15 teams who would eventually participate in the Hastings Deering Colts.[3][4]

On 12 October 2017, the QRL announced the Hastings Deering Colts as the state's under-20 competition, running alongside the senior Queensland Cup competition, with 13 Queensland Cup sides fielding a team in the inaugural season.[1] On 9 October 2018, the Victoria Thunderbolts left the competition after one season to return to the NSWRL setup, joining the Jersey Flegg Cup.[5]

On 17 March 2020, two days after the completion of Round One, the QRL announced a 10-week suspension of the competition until 5 June, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] On 27 March, ten days after the suspension, the QRL confirmed the cancellation of the competition for the 2020 season.[7][8]

On 19 October 2020, the QRL announced that the competition would return in 2021 and would be played under an under-21 format.[9]

Teams

The Hastings Deering Colts consists of 14 teams, thirteen based in Queensland and one in northern New South Wales. The league operates on a single group system, with no divisions or conferences and no relegation and promotion from other leagues. Much like the Queensland Cup, each club in the competition has an affiliation with a team in the NRL.

Hastings Deering Colts
Club Est. City Stadium Premierships Last NRL affiliate
Brisbane Tigers 1917 Brisbane Langlands Park 0 - Melbourne Storm
Burleigh Bears 1934 Gold Coast Pizzey Park 0 - Gold Coast Titans
Central Queensland Capras 1996 Rockhampton Browne Park 0 - Brisbane Broncos
Ipswich Jets 1982 Ipswich North Ipswich Reserve 0 - Newcastle Knights
Mackay Cutters 2007 Mackay BB Print Stadium Mackay 0 - North Queensland Cowboys
Northern Pride 2007 Cairns Barlow Park 0 - North Queensland Cowboys
Norths Devils 1933 Brisbane Pathion Park 1 2018 Brisbane Broncos
Redcliffe Dolphins 1947 Redcliffe Dolphin Stadium 0 - New Zealand Warriors
Souths Logan Magpies 1918 Brisbane Davies Park 0 - Brisbane Broncos
Sunshine Coast Falcons 1996 Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast Stadium 1 2019 Melbourne Storm
Townsville Blackhawks 2015 Townsville Jack Manski Oval 0 - North Queensland Cowboys
Tweed Heads Seagulls 1909 Tweed Heads Piggabeen Sports Complex 0 - Gold Coast Titans
Western Mustangs 2017 Toowoomba Gold Park 0 - Gold Coast Titans
Wynnum Manly Seagulls 1951 Brisbane BMD Kougari Oval 0 - Brisbane Broncos

Season structure

Regular season

The Hastings Deering Colts follows the same regular season format as the Queensland Cup, with games usually played as curtain-raisers to the senior fixtures. Beginning in early March, a round of regular season games is then played almost every weekend for twenty-three weeks, ending in early September. Unlike the Queensland Cup, the Hastings Deering Colts features three full rounds where every team receives a bye and a split round in Round 19. These rounds are scheduled in to accommodate university exam periods.[10][11]

Teams receive two competition points for a win, and one point for a draw. The bye also receives two points; a loss, no points. Teams on the ladder are ranked by competition points, then match points differential (for and against) and points percentage are used to separate teams with equal competition points. At the end of the regular season, the club which is ranked highest on the ladder is declared minor premiers.

Finals series

After using a top six final series system in 2018, the competition followed the Queensland Cup in adopting a top eight final series for the 2019 season.[11][12] The eight finalists are split into two groups for the opening week of the finals series. The top four teams have the best chance of winning the premiership and play the two Qualifying Finals. The winners get a bye through to Week Three of the finals to play home Preliminary Finals, while the losers play home Semi-Finals in Week Two. The bottom four teams play the two Elimination Finals, where the winners advance to Week Two away games and the losers' seasons are over.

The winners of two Preliminary Finals then contest the Grand Final, which is played in late September at Suncorp Stadium, as a curtain-raiser to the Queensland Cup Grand Final.

Premiership Winners
Year Premiers
2018 Norths Devils
2019 Sunshine Coast Falcons
2020 Season cancelled

See also

References
  1. "New comp to strengthen pathways". 11 October 2017.
  2. "NRL replaces Holden Cup under 20s with new NSW, Qld competitions in 2018 - Fox Sports". www.foxsports.com.au.
  3. "QRL gets jump on new under-20s comp". 3 March 2017.
  4. "FOGS U20s Cup state final teams". QRL. 2 May 2017.
  5. "Victoria To Make Welcome Return To NSWRL". NSWRL. 9 October 2018.
  6. https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2020/05/18/qrl-coronavirus-updates/
  7. https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2020/03/27/2020-qrl-statewide-competitions-cancelled/
  8. https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2020/03/27/major-second-tier-competitions-cancelled-across-australia/
  9. "QRL commits to statewide footprint as key changes unveiled". QRL. 19 October 2020.
  10. "Hastings Deering Colts draw". 25 January 2018.
  11. "Historic draw alignment to benefit fans". 13 December 2019.
  12. "High stakes and ladders: 2018 finals format". 31 July 2018.
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