Presidents Cup (Rugby League)

The NSWRL President 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 (mainly from the Illawarra District), Ron Massey Cup, Sydney Shield and Canterbury Cup clubs.

Presidents Cup
Current season or competition:
2020 Presidents Cup
SportRugby league
Instituted1910
Inaugural season1910
Number of teams9
Country Australia
Premiers Maitland Pumpkin Pickers (2020)
Most titles Maitland Pumpkin Pickers (1 title)
WebsitePresident Cup
Related competitionCanterbury Cup
Ron Massey Cup
Sydney Shield
NSW Challenge Cup

History

The Presidents Cup is a Rugby League competition, governed by New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). It was 1910 when Sir James Joynton Smith, the newly-appointed President of the NSWRL, donated the trophy. Joynton Smith was the Lord Mayor of Sydney and earned a knighthood for his philanthropic work. A shrewd businessman, he was a key figure in the game up until his death in 1943.

Initially the Presidents Cup competition was for representative teams from each district’s junior league. It ran in this format until the 1980s, and became a renowned nursery for producing champion players.

As the NSWRL premiership expanded in the 1980s the Presidents Cup became the Third Grade premiership trophy and then stepped up to become the Reserve Grade or Premier League trophy as the competition was known at the turn of the century.[1]

In 2020, the competition returned in light of NSWRL competitions being cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis. These cancelled competitions include the NSW Cup, Ron Massey Cup and the Newcastle Rugby League competition. Nine teams will compete in the returning edition; North Sydney Bears, Dubbo CYMS, Thirroul Butchers, Western Suburbs Red Devils, Western Rams, Hills District Bulls, Wentworthville Magpies, Maitland Pumpkin Pickers and Glebe-Burwood Wolves. The competition was played over nine rounds with two weeks of finals including the Grand Final on 27-Sep at Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta.[2][3][4] Maitland Pickers won the Grand Final 17-16 over Glebe-Burwood Wolves, capturing the Premiership as well as the minor-premiership for topping the regular season ladder. Hooker Alex Langbridge was named both the player of the Grand Final and of the season as a whole.

Teams

In 2020, 9 teams in the Presidents Cup with teams being made up from both amateur and semi-professional clubs.

Presidents Cup Premiers
Year Premiers Score Runners Up Minor Premier Wooden Spoon Reference
2020 Maitland Pumpkin Pickers 17 – 16 Glebe-Burwood Wolves Maitland Pumpkin Pickers Western Rams [5]

Premiership Tally
No. Club Seasons
1 Maitland Pumpkin Pickers 1 (2020)

See also

References
  1. "Presidents Cup steeped in history". New South Wales Rugby League. July 16, 2020.
  2. "Regional and Metro teams to meet in unique 2020 Presidents Cup". New South Wales Rugby League. June 30, 2020.
  3. "NRL 2020: New competition for the best country teams to take on their city rivals". NewsComAu. June 30, 2020.
  4. "Presidents Cup". New South Wales Rugby League.
  5. "Competition". www.playrugbyleague.com. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
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