Ron Massey Cup

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Ron Massey Cup
Current season or competition:
2013 Ron Massey Cup Logo.jpg
SportRugby league
Formerly known asInter-District Competition
Second Division
Metropolitan League
Metropolitan Cup
Jim Beam Cup
Bundaberg Red Cup
Instituted1963
Inaugural season1963
Number of teams11
Country Australia
 Fiji
PremiersWestern Suburbs colours.svg Wentworthville Magpies (2019)
Most titlesWestern Suburbs colours.svg Wentworthville Magpies (17 titles)
WebsiteRon Massey Cup
Related competitionCanterbury Cup NSW
Sydney Shield
Presidents Cup
NSW Challenge Cup

The Ron Massey Cup (formerly known as the Bundaberg Red Cup and Jim Beam Cup) is a semi-professional development level rugby league competition in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, run jointly by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and the Country Rugby League of New South Wales (CRL). The competition is run concurrently with the National Rugby League (NRL). It currently comprises 13 teams drawn from the Sydney metropolitan area. The competition is named after Ron Massey, a former rugby league coach. Ron Massey died 19 September 2016.[1]

The competition is an expanded version of the former Metropolitan Cup and Second Division competitions. The competition was renamed the Bundaberg Red Cup after the 2008 season (the last Jim Beam Cup season), after Bundaberg replaced former sponsor Jim Beam.[2] For the 2013 season, the competition was re-branded as the Ron Massey Cup, when Bundaberg Rum withdrew their sponsorship.

Clubs[]

2020 season[]

For 2020 the 11 clubs in the table immediately below were included in the competition. After the first round on 14 & 15 March, the Ron Massey Cup was suspended and subsequently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[3] In that single, first round the winning teams were the Kaiviti Silktails (40-16 on their debut), Concord-Burwood-Glebe Wolves (12-4), Wentworthville (18-14), St Marys (44-32) and Blacktown Workers (30-4). Guildford had the bye.

The NSWRL subsequently arranged two men's competitions, a President's Cup and a reconfigured Sydney Shield.[4] Hills District Bulls and Wentworthville entered teams in both competitions. Glebe-Burwood Wolves fielded a team in the President's Cup.

The President's Cup comprised four teams from within the Sydney metropolitan area and five teams from other areas of the state. The Sydney teams were Glebe-Burwood Wolves (finished as Runners-Up), North Sydney Bears (Semi-Finalist), Hills District Bulls (Semi-Finalist) and Wentworthville Magpies (8th). The teams from regions were Maitland Pickers (Premiers[5]) from the Hunter Valley; Thirroul Butchers (5th) and Western Suburbs Red Devils (6th) from the Illawarra, Dubbo CYMS (7th) and a Western Rams representative team (9th).[6] The Western Rams played their home games in Forbes, Orange, Mudgee and Bathurst.

On 28 September 2020, the NSWRL announced their intention to expand, from the 2021 season, the Ron Massey Cup to become a statewide competition. The statement also affirmed that Kaiviti Silktails from Fiji would be part of that competition.[7][8]

Colors Club Location Stadium Founded Joined*
Western Suburbs colours.svg Asquith Magpies Asquith, NSW, Australia Storey Park 1953
Northern Eagles colours.svg Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles Blacktown, NSW, Australia H.E. Laybutt Fields 1964 2012
New South Wales colours.svg Cabramatta Two Blues Cabramatta, NSW, Australia New Era Stadium 1919 2004
Scorpions.png Glebe-Burwood Wolves Concord, NSW, Australia Goddard Park 2000 2015b
Giantscolours.svg Guildford Owls Guildford, NSW, Australia McCredie Park 1956 2003c
Bullscolours.svg Hills District Bulls Baulkham Hills, NSW, Australia Crestwood Oval 1964 2016
Cronulla colours.svg Kaiviti Silktails Lautoka, Viti Levu, Fiji Mascot Oval 2019 2020
Wellington colours.svg Mounties RLFC Mount Pritchard, NSW, Australia Aubrey Keech Reserve 1927 2007
Ireland colours.svg St Mary's Saints St Marys, NSW, Australia St Marys Leagues Stadium 1908 2016d
Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies Wentworthville, NSW, Australia Ringrose Park 1963 2003
Australian colours.svg Windsor Wolves Windsor, NSW, Australia Windsor Sporting Complex 1908 2013

*: The season the team joined is in the Jim Beam Cup/Bundaberg Red Cup/Ron Massey Cup, not any other competition before this.
a - Concord Burwood previously competed as a merged entity from 2012 to 2014.
b - Guildford did not compete between 2005 to 2012.
c - St Marys previously competed as a merged entity in 2003.

Former Teams in the Ron Massey Cup[]

1 - Ourimbah withdrew from the competition midway through the 2005 season.
2 - Sydney Bulls withdrew from the competition midway through the 2011 season.
3 - St Johns Eagles joined the competition midway through the 2011 season, replacing the Sydney Bulls.

History[]

The Ron Massey Cup is the latest in a succession of Sydney-based second tier, semi-professional Rugby League competitions.

Inter-District/Second Division (1963 - 1973)[]

The second tier senior Rugby League competition in Sydney was the Inter-District Competition established in 1963 by the NSWRL. It was renamed the Second Division in 1964. Like succeeding competitions the Second Division had a high turnover of participating clubs. The 'promotion' of two of the two biggest clubs Penrith Panthers (1966 champions) and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, at the conclusion of the 1966 season did not help the long-term stability of the competition.

During this period Wentworthville ("The Magpies") was the most successful club, competing in every grand final of the Second Division, winning a total of 8 premierships (including 5 in a row between 1967 and 1971). Due to their domination of the competition 'Wenty' was widely considered the best candidate for promotion to the NSWRL Premiership when two positions were made available for the 1967 competition. Due to their proximity to Parramatta, where a Premiership club was established in 1947, the Magpies were overlooked.

Year Premiers Score Runners-Up Winning Coach Referee
1963 Australian colours.svg Kingsford 9 – 7 Western Suburbs colours.svg Cronulla-Caringbah Sharks Col Pearce
1964 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 20 – 5 Illawarra colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks Lewis Jones J. Harris
1965 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 31 – 3 Oxfordcolours.png Penrith Brothers Lewis Jones K. Holman
1966 Oxfordcolours.png Penrith Brothers 9 – 7 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies Leo Trevena L. Turner
1967 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 25 – 6 Illawarra colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks J. Farrelly
1968 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 17 – 5 Bullscolours.svg Arncliffe Scots Lewis Jones J. Farrelly
1969 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 20 – 2 University colours.svg Sydney University Lewis Jones L. Samuelson
1970 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 15 – 5 Northern Eagles colours.svg Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles Lewis Jones L. Bruyeres
1971 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 21 – 15 University colours.svg Sydney University Lewis Jones Keith Page
1972 Illawarra colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 18 – 14 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies Laurie Fagan Keith Page
1973 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 12 – 8 Illawarra colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks D. Rayner

The Metropolitan League (1974 - 1976)[]

The Second Division was reorganised in 1974 and renamed the Metropolitan League. It was dominated by the club. In the absence of Wentworthville, who competed in the Illawarra Rugby League competition, Ryde-Eastwood won all three Metropolitan League titles. The Metropolitan League was dismantled in 1976 and with it the idea of a second-tier competition.

Year Premiers Score Runners-Up Winning Coach Referee
1974 Illawarra colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 37 – 9 Ireland colours.svg St Marys Saints Laurie Fagan D. MacDonald
1975 Illawarra colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 18 – 14 Australian colours.svg Windsor Wolves Laurie Fagan
1976 Illawarra colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 10 – 8 Castleford colours.svg University of NSW

The Metropolitan Cup (1990 - 2002)[]

The concept of the second-tier competition was resurrected in 1990 with the establishment of the Metropolitan Cup. Many teams that were involved in the former Second Division and Metropolitan League were included in the new competition, including and Wentworthville. Other teams in the new competition included the Guildford Owls, Mount Pritchard, Bankstown Greyhounds, Western Suburbs Magpies and the Hills District Bulls. The Newtown Jets, who had been exiled from the New South Wales Rugby League premiership at the close of the 1983 season, were also granted admission into the competition in 1991 and became a successful club in their second life, winning 4 premierships (including 3 in a row between 1995 and 1997).Other teams who competed in the cup over the years included St. Marys Saints, West Wollongong Red Devils, Moorebank Rams (Bulldogs), UTS Roosters, Windsor Wolves, Cabramatta Blues, Sydney Bulls and the Kellyville Bushrangers

The final Metropolitan Cup was contested in 2002 and was won by a newly formed club, the Sydney Bulls, defeating in the last grand final of the Metropolitan Cup.

Year Premiers Score Runners up Winning Coach Referee
1990 Illawarra colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 19 – 6 Bullscolours.svg Hills District Bulls Ken Wilson Peter Filmer
1991 Country colours.svg Guildford Owls 21 – 6 Illawarra colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks Greg Pierce Chris Ward
1992 Newtown colours.svg Newtown Jets 30 – 18 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies B Wakefield
1993 Ireland colours.svg St Marys Saints 30 – 10 Illawarra colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks Mark O'Reilly Kelvin Jeffes
1994 Ireland colours.svg St Marys Saints 32 – 14 Bullscolours.svg Hills District Bulls Mark O'Reilly Graeme West
1995 Newtown colours.svg Newtown Jets 26 – 8 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies Col Murphy Matt Hewitt
1996 Newtown colours.svg Newtown Jets 28 – 16 Illawarra colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks Col Murphy David Jay
1997 Newtown colours.svg Newtown Jets 18 – 8 Country colours.svg Guildford Owls Col Murphy
1998 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 18 – 12 North Sydney colours.svg Kellyville Ian McCann
1999 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 30 – 22 Illawarra colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks Ian McCann
2000 Illawarra colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 24 – 10 Ireland colours.svg St Marys Saints Dave Nugent
2001 Ireland colours.svg St Marys Saints 20 – 16 South Sydney colours.svg Sydney Bulls Tim O'Brien Kelvin Jeffes
2002 South Sydney colours.svg Sydney Bulls 44 – 10 Illawarra colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks

Jim Beam Cup (2003-2008)[]

The Jim Beam Cup, 2008

The Jim Beam Cup was established in 2003 as part of another overall restructure of the NSWRL competitions operating in the levels below the NRL. The Jim Beam Cup was intended to lay the foundations of a semi-professional 'State League' competition (similar to the Queensland Cup) and included four non-Sydney teams from the Central Coast (Erina Eagles, The Entrance Tigers, , and Woy Woy Roosters.) With the inclusion of these clubs (who field teams in the Central Coast Division of the CRL) the Jim Beam Cup became a cooperative effort between the NSWRL and the CRL.

Radio coverage was heard on Hawkesbury Radio 89.9FM with and Shane Skeen.

Year Premiers Score Runners-Up Winning Coach Referee
2003 Balmain colours.svg The Entrance Tigers 14 – 10 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies Matt Parish Jason Robinson
2004 South Sydney colours.svg Sydney Bulls 22 – 16 Balmain colours.svg The Entrance Tigers Steve Ghosn Rod Lawrence
2005 Australian colours.svg Windsor Wolves 23 – 18 South Sydney colours.svg Sydney Bulls Steve Ghosn Jared Maxwell
2006 South Sydney colours.svg Sydney Bulls 56 – 22 Newtown colours.svg Newtown Jets David Bayssari Allan Shortall
2007 Balmain colours.svg The Entrance Tigers 30 – 20 South Sydney colours.svg Sydney Bulls Jamy Forbes Chris James
2008 Australian colours.svg Windsor Wolves 36 – 16 South Sydney colours.svg Sydney Bulls Trent Rosa Adam Gee

Bundaberg Red Cup (2009 - 2012)[]

The 2009 Grand Final was a closely fought battle between Minor Premiers Wentworthville Magpies and Cabramatta Two Blues, with Wentworthville coming out victorious by 24–20 in the game at Leichhardt Oval.

Year Premiers Score Runners-up Winning Coach Referee
2009 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 24 – 10 New South Wales colours.svg Cabramatta Two Blues Brett Cook Chris Sutton
2010 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 38 – 28 South Sydney colours.svg Bankstown City Bulls Brett Cook Jon Stone
2011 New South Wales colours.svg Cabramatta Two Blues 28 – 20 Wellington colours.svg Mount Pritchard Mounties Corey Ruttle Robert Bowen
2012 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 16 – 14 Balmain colours.svg The Entrance Tigers Alex Chan Phil Henderson

Ron Massey Cup (2013 - )[]

During the 2012/13 offseason it was announced that Bundaberg Rum had withdrawn their sponsorship, and the competition would be renamed as the Ron Massey Cup, after the great Parramatta assistant coach.

Year Premiers Score Runners-up Minor Premiers Wooden Spoon Winning Coach Referee
2013 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 32 – 18 Wellington colours.svg Mount Pritchard Mounties Alex Chan Adam Cassidy
2014 Balmain colours.svg The Entrance Tigers 22 – 18 Wellington colours.svg Mount Pritchard Mounties Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies Scorpions.png Burwood North Ryde United Jamy Forbes Adam Cassidy
2015 Wellington colours.svg Mount Pritchard Mounties 30 – 14 Hullcolours.svg Asquith Magpies Wellington colours.svg Mount Pritchard Mounties Great Britain colours.svg Kingsgrove Colts Chris Hutchinson Daniel Olford
2016 Wellington colours.svg Mount Pritchard Mounties 36 – 16 Ireland colours.svg St Marys Saints Wellington colours.svg Mount Pritchard Mounties Great Britain colours.svg Kingsgrove Colts Mark Speechley Ryan Jackson
2017 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 38 – 4 Penrith Panthers square flag icon with 2017 colours.svg Auburn Warriors Ireland colours.svg St Marys Saints Western Suburbs colours.svg Western Suburbs Magpies Chris Yates Ryan Jackson
2018 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 38 – 4 Ireland colours.svg St Marys Saints Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies Oxfordcolours.png Penrith Brothers Brett Cook Darian Furner
2019 Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 32 – 14 Ireland colours.svg St Marys Saints Hullcolours.svg Wentworthville Magpies Oxfordcolours.png Penrith Brothers Brett Cook Kieron Irons
2020 Season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
2021

Premiership Tally[]

No. Club Premierships
1 Western Suburbs colours.svg Wentworthville Magpies 17 (1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1998, 1999, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019)
2 St. George colours.svg Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 6 (1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1990, 2000)
3 Newtown colours.svg Newtown Jets 4 (1992, 1995, 1996, 1997)
4 Balmain colours.svg The Entrance Tigers 3 (2003, 2007, 2014)
5 South Sydney colours.svg Sydney Bulls 3 (2002, 2004, 2006)
6 Ireland colours.svg St Mary's Saints 3 (1993, 1994, 2001)
7 Wellington colours.svg Mount Pritchard Mounties 2 (2015, 2016)
8 Australian colours.svg Windsor Wolves 2 (2005, 2008)
9 New South Wales colours.svg Cabramatta Two Blues 1 (2011)
10 Annandale colours.svg Guildford Owls 1 (1991)
11 Oxfordcolours.png Penrith Brothers 1 (1966)
12 Australian colours.svg Kingsford 1 (1963)

Bold means the team is still currently playing in the competition.

Teams[]

Since its establishment in 2003 the competition has both expanded and contracted in terms of numbers of sides competing. Aside from the original expansion of the Sydney-based competition into the Central Coast, the Bundaberg Red Cup has continued to expand throughout Sydney, moving away from its Western Sydney base in 2005 with the inclusion of two Northern Sydney sides: the Asquith Magpies and Belrose Eagles.

2003[]

2003 saw the inauguration of the new Jim Beam Cup. It featured eight teams from Sydney and four from the Central Coast.

2004[]

The St Mary's-Penrith Cougars left to focus on their NSW Premier League side, and were replaced by the Cabramatta Two-Blues.

2005[]

2006[]

The Woy Woy Roosters withdrew.

2007[]

In 2007, 12 clubs competed for the Jim Beam Cup. New clubs Shellharbour, Chester Hill, Seven Hills and Mount Pritchard competed for the first time. The Newtown Jets dropped out of the competition to concentrate on their club's 2007 NSWRL Premier League campaign.

In terms of geographical spread four clubs were based in the Parramatta District (Wentworthville, Seven Hills, Cabramatta and Mount Pritchard), two on the Central Coast of NSW (Erina and The Entrance) and Canterbury-Bankstown (Chester Hill and Sydney Bulls) and one each in Penrith (Windsor Wolves), Manly-Warringah (Belrose), Illawarra (Shellharbour) and North Sydney (Asquith).

2008[]

In 2008, for the first time, an interstate team entered the competition, a Western Australia Rugby League representative side known as the WA Reds, with a view to developing the game in the state in order to secure a future NRL franchise in 2011 - 2012.[10] The Cronulla Sutherland Sharks and the Campbelltown Eagles also joined the competition. The Seven Hills Demons announced that they would not field a team in the Jim Beam Cup in Season 2008.[11] The Entrance Tigers, who had claimed the 2007 title, unfortunately pulled out of the Jim Beam Cup due to the restrictions placed on gambling and smoking in clubs and pubs.[12] The Asquith Magpies also withdrew from the competition.

2009[]

2010[]

2011[]

In 2011, the Kingsgrove Colts joined the competition, based in the St George catchment area. As of Round 6, the Sydney Bulls left the competition due to financial difficulties.

2012[]

2013[]

The Asquith Magpies returned, replacing the St Johns Eagles. The Guildford Owls made their return, and the Western Suburbs Magpies made their return following the merger of the NSW Cup entities.

2014[]

2015[]

The reigning premiers, The Entrance Tigers withdrew. Western Suburbs, Cabramatta and Kingsgrove missed the eight-team finals series.

2016[]

The Hills District Bulls and St Mary's Saints joined the competition.

2017[]

2018[]

Auburn did not field a team in the competition after being liquidated.

2019[]

2020[]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Ron Massey Cup was cancelled after one round of matches.

2021[]

[13]

See also[]

Sources[]

  • Big League
  • Daily Telegraph (Australia)
  • E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook
  • History of the Hawks 1963 - 2004 : a history of Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club and Ryde-Eastwood District Rugby League Football Club Inc. (2004), Chris Karas
  • Never a backward step: the story of St Mary's Rugby League Club (2008), Alan Whiticker.
  • NSWRL Annual Reports
  • Rugby League News (available on Trove)
  • Rugby League Week
  • St George & Sutherland Leader
  • Sydney Morning Herald

All of the above are available at the State Library of NSW, although some collections are incomplete.

  • NSWRL News, 2016 Grand Final edition.

References[]

  1. ^ Pengilly, Adam (19 September 2016). "Rugby league tactician Ron Massey dies, aged 86". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  2. ^ Massoud, Josh (14 November 2008). "Row over Jim Beam, Bundaberg Rum sponsorship". Herald Sun. Melbourne: News Limited.
  3. ^ "NSWRL cancels nine competitions for 2020 season". NSWRL. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Regional and Metro teams to meet in unique 2020 Presidents Cup". NSWRL. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  5. ^ Harris, Kristy-Lee (27 September 2020). "Lamb finesses with a field goal to gift Maitland the trophy". NSWRL. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  6. ^ "President's Cup 2020 - Ladder". League Unlimited. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  7. ^ "NSWRL unveils exciting blueprint for football comps". NSWRL. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  8. ^ Ward, Courtney (28 September 2020). "Restructure to Southern Corridor won't impact Group Seven Rugby League competition". South Coast Register. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  9. ^ "NSWRL cancels nine competitions for 2020 season". New South Wales Rugby League. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  10. ^ Read, Brent (22 May 2008). "WA eyes return as Sydney clubs battle". The Australian. Sydney: News Limited. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
  11. ^ "WA Wins Bid for National Team: The Journey to the NRL Begins". WA Rugby League. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2006.
  12. ^ "The Entrance Withdraw from the 2008 Jim Beam Cup".[dead link]
  13. ^ "Draw".
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