Amco Cup

The Amco Cup trophy

The Amco Cup (subsequently known by various other sponsors' names including the Tooth Cup, KB Cup, National Panasonic Cup and Panasonic Cup) was a mid-week rugby league competition held in Australia between 1974 and 1989. The format was usually a straight knock-out, but various group formats were used between 1979 and 1982. It aired on Channel Ten with Ray Warren and Keith Barnes the commentators for many years. The concept was created by Colin McLennan.

History

Promoter Colin McLennan, who also brought to Australia the jazz legend Benny Goodman and comedians Dudley Moore and Peter Cook, was the man who brought the mid-week Cup to life.[1] The competition was essentially a "made for TV" event, featuring 4 x 20-minute quarters and a penalty countback rule in the event of a draw. Matches were played under floodlights, usually on a Wednesday evening. Initially Leichhardt Oval in Sydney was the main venue, though later matches were played at Lang Park in Brisbane, Parramatta Stadium and various country centres in New South Wales. The competition was scrapped after the increasingly professional clubs resented the additional burdens on their players caused by the mid-week games. In 1990 it was replaced by a preseason challenge cup played for only by the Sydney Rugby League premiership teams.

Competitions

Teams

The number and composition of teams varied considerably over the course of the competition.

Region/CompetitionYearsTeams
NSW Metro Club Teams1974–1989Balmain Tigers, Brisbane Broncos (from 1988), Canberra Raiders (from 1982) Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs, Cronulla Sutherland Sharks, Eastern Suburbs Roosters, Gold Coast Giants (from 1988), Illawarra Steelers (from 1982), Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Newcastle Knights (from 1988), Newtown Jets (to 1983), North Sydney Bears, Parramatta Eels, Penrith Panthers, St George Dragons, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Western Suburbs Magpies.
NSW Country Divisional Teams1974–1978Illawarra, Monaro, Newcastle (from 1975), North Coast, Northern Division, Riverina, Southern Division, Western Division
NSW Second Division Premiers1974–1977Ryde-Eastwood
Qld Metro Club Teams1975–1978Eastern Suburbs Tigers (from 1976), Northern Suburbs Devils, Redcliffe Dolphins (from 1976), Southern Suburbs Magpies, Fortitude Valley Diehards, Western Suburbs Panthers (from 1976), Wynnum-Manly Seagulls (from 1977)
New Zealand Provincial Team/s1974–1985Auckland Capitals (1974–1980, 1984–1985), Canterbury Capitals (1976–1977), Central Districts (1981, 1983), South Island (1982), Wellington Capitals (1978)
Australian Regional Representative Teams1979–1989Brisbane Capitals, NSW Country, Queensland Country (to 1984)
Australian State Teams1977–1978, 1986–1987Northern Territory (not 1986), South Australia (1987 only), Victoria (1987 only), Western Australia
Queensland Country Regional Teams1975–1978Central Queensland (from 1977), Gold Coast (1978), Ipswich, North Queensland (from 1976), Toowoomba, Wide Bay (from 1976)
Papua New Guinea team1986–1989Port Moresby

Winners, Runners-Up and # Teams

YearWinnersScoreRunners-UpScore# Teams
1974 Western Division6 Penrith Panthers221
1975 Eastern Suburbs Roosters17 Parramatta Eels728
1976 Balmain Tigers21 North Sydney Bears735
1977 Western Suburbs Magpies6 Eastern Suburbs Roosters538
1978 Eastern Suburbs Roosters16 St. George Dragons438
1979 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks22 Brisbane Capitals516
1980 Parramatta Eels8 Balmain Tigers516
1981 South Sydney Rabbitohs10 Cronulla-Sutherland216
1982 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles23 Newtown Jets818
1983 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles26 Cronulla-Sutherland618
1984 Brisbane Capitals12 Eastern Suburbs Roosters1117
1985 Balmain Tigers14 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks1216
1986 Parramatta Eels32 Balmain Tigers1617
1987 Balmain Tigers14 Penrith Panthers1220
1988 St. George Dragons16 Balmain Tigers819
1989 Brisbane Broncos22 Illawarra Steelers2019

Multiple Winners

Cup and Premiership in the Same Season

  • Easts in 1975.
  • Parramatta in 1986.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Rowlands, David (24 May 1988). "Lights, Kick-off, Action... 14 Years of the Cup". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
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