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Amco Cup

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Amco Cup
The Amco Cup Trophy
Organising bodyNew South Wales Rugby League
Founded1974; 50 years ago (1974)
Abolished1989; 35 years ago (1989)
RegionAustralia
Number of teams16-38
Related competitionsNSWRL, BRL, CRL, QRL, NZRL
Last championsBrisbane Broncos (1989)
Most successful club(s)Balmain (3 titles)

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

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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.

Naming rights sponsors

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Participating teams

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Year Teams NSW QLD NSWRL Country QRL Country NSWRL Second Division New Zealand State Papua New Guinea
1974 21 All 12 – All 7 except Newcastle – Ryde-Eastwood Auckland – –
1975 28 All 12 Fortitude Valley, Past Brothers, Norths, Souths All 8 Ipswich, Toowoomba Ryde-Eastwood Auckland – –
1976 35 All 12 All 7 except Wynnum-Manly All 8 All 4 except Central Queensland, Gold Coast Ryde-Eastwood Auckland, Canterbury Northern Territory –
1977 37 All 12 All 8 All 8 All 5 except Gold Coast – Auckland, Canterbury Northern Territory, Western Australia –
1978 38 All 12 All 8 All 8 All 6 – Auckland, Wellington Northern Territory, Western Australia –
1979 16 All 12 Brisbane NSW Country Queensland Country – Auckland – –
1980 16 All 12 Brisbane NSW Country Queensland Country – Auckland – –
1981 16 All 12 Brisbane NSW Country Queensland Country – Central Districts – –
1982 18 All 14 Brisbane NSW Country Queensland Country – South Island – –
1983 18 All 14 Brisbane NSW Country Queensland Country – Central Districts – –
1984 17 All 13 Brisbane NSW Country Queensland Country – Auckland – –
1985 16 All 13 Brisbane NSW Country – – Auckland – –
1986 17 All 13 Brisbane NSW Country – – – Western Australia Port Moresby
1987 20 All 13 Brisbane NSW Country – – – Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia Port Moresby
1988 19 All 16 Brisbane NSW Country – – – – Port Moresby
1989 19 All 16 Brisbane NSW Country – – – – Port Moresby

Champions by Year

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Year Winners Score Runners-up Venue Crowd
1974 Western Division 6-2 Penrith Leichhardt Oval 16,000
1975 Easterm Suburbs 17-7 Parramatta Leichhardt Oval 18,907
1976 Balmain 21-7 North Sydney Leichhardt Oval 21,670
1977 Western Suburbs 6-5 Eastern Suburbs Leichhardt Oval 15,350
1978 Eastern Suburbs 16-4 St. George Leichhardt Oval 14,000
1979 Cronulla 22-5 Combined Brisbane Leichhardt Oval 15,800
1980 Parramatta 8-5 Balmain Leichhardt Oval 17,829
1981 South Sydney 10-2 Cronulla Leichhardt Oval 23,079
1982 Manly 23-8 Newtown Leichhardt Oval 14,490
1983 Manly 26-6 Cronulla Leichhardt Oval 15,086
1984 Combined Brisbane 12-11 Eastern Suburbs Leichhardt Oval 13,000
1985 Balmain 14-12 Cronulla Leichhardt Oval 15,000
1986 Parramatta 32-16 Balmain Leichhardt Oval 15,839
1987 Balmain 14-12 Penrith Parramatta Stadium 16,823
1988 St. George 16-8 Balmain Parramatta Stadium 22,191
1989 Brisbane 22-20 Illawarra Parramatta Stadium 16,698

Most NSWRL Midweek Cup Titles

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Club Titles Years won
Balmain 3 1976, 1985, 1987
Easts (Sydney) 2 1975, 1978
Parramatta 2 1980, 1986
Manly 2 1982, 1983
Western Division 1 1974
Wests (Sydney) 1 1977
Cronulla 1 1979
Souths (Sydney) 1 1981
Brisbane (Capitals) 1 1984
St. George 1 1988
Brisbane (Broncos) 1 1989

Cup and Premiership in the Same Season

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  • Easts in 1975.
  • Parramatta in 1986.

See also

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References

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  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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