NRL State Championship

(Redirected from 2019 NRL State Championship)

The NRL State Championship is a rugby league match contested by the premiers of the two elite second-tier competitions in Australia, the New South Wales Cup and the Queensland Cup. The match has been played as a curtain-raiser to the NRL Grand Final at Stadium Australia since it was introduced by the National Rugby League (NRL) in 2014. The match acts as Super Bowl-type to determine the National Reserve Grade Champions.

NRL State Championship
SportRugby league
Instituted2014
Countries Australia
 New Zealand
 Papua New Guinea
Premiers Norths Devils (2024)
Websitewww.NRL.com
Broadcast partner
Related competitionNSW Cup
Queensland Cup
National Rugby League

History

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The origins of the NRL State Championship can be traced back to an idea from the Queensland media during the 1984 Brisbane Rugby League season when two club sides had agreed to play a one-off match.[citation needed] This was when the competitions of the Sydney Rugby League premiership and the Brisbane Rugby League premiership operated independently of each other with the only exception being State of Origin time, when players crossed paths. While the New South Wales media's general consensus was always that Sydney-based NSWRL was the premier and stronger of the two major rugby league competition, all seemed to be set for the one-off match before the NSWRL hierarchy stepped in and put a stop to the proposed match.[citation needed]

The 1984 Brisbane Rugby League Wynnum-Manly Seagulls team was unquestionably Queensland's best, the team defeated a Southern Suburbs Districts Magpies side coached by Wayne Bennett and boasting names such as Gary Belcher, Mal Meninga, Peter Jackson, Bob Lindner in the 1984 Brisbane Rugby League Grand Final by a record 42–8 scoreline. Many supporters north of the border believe they were also better than the 1984 Sydney Rugby League champion team the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. The Brisbane media were so confident about the strength of this super Wynnum side that they suggested a challenge match between the Seagulls and the Sydney Premiers Canterbury Bankstown.[citation needed]

It was an idea liked by the QRL, but if the suggestion is that the NSWRL were the roadblock, Canterbury prop Peter Tunks said the Bulldogs players and officials were just as keen to make the game happen as their northern rivals. "There was talk in the media about it and we were keen to play it because they obviously had a pretty good side with Wally, Gene Miles, Greg Dowling but we loved playing anybody back in those days", Tunks said. "We knew that it was a decent comp in Brisbane but we obviously didn't think it was as strong as the Sydney comp because this was the be-all and end-all. At Canterbury, we really loved a challenge and we would have loved the opportunity of going up against a team full of great players like they had. It's like anything, to be the best you have to beat the best and that was our attitude but unfortunately it didn't come off. I don't know where we were supposed to play but it would have been good fun."[1][2]

The NRL State Championship is marketed as "The best New South Wales club versus the best Queensland club". However, in both the New South Wales and Queensland Cups there are or were clubs based outside their respective states:

In 2014 the Northern Queensland Pride representing the Queensland Cup defeated the Penrith Panthers representing the New South Wales Cup in the first NRL State Championship Grand Final. The match has been played every subsequent year, with the exception of 2020 when it was not held on account of both competitions being cancelled due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021 with the remainder of the New South Wales Cup being cancelled also due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney.

Results

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The NRL State Championship match is a curtain-raiser to the final match on NRL Grand Final day, with the winner crowned the NRL State Champions. Between 2014 and 2017 the match was played after the now-defunct NRL Youth Grand Final and before the NRL Grand Final.[3][4] In 2018 the match was played after the NRL Women's Grand Final and before the NRL Men's Grand Final. Since 2019 it has been played before the NRL Women's Grand Final and the NRL Men's Grand Final.
In 2020 the NRL State Championship match was not played due to the cancellation of the state premierships after Round 1 caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, and wasn't played in 2021 due the COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney.
The NRL State Championship match made its return in 2022.

NRL State Championship winners

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NRL
Season
NRL State Championship Player of the Match
Premiers Score Runners-up Venue
2014   Northern Pride 32–28   Penrith Panthers Stadium Australia   Javid Bowen
2015   Ipswich Jets 26–12   Newcastle Knights Stadium Australia  Matt Parcell
2016   Illawarra Cutters 54–12   Burleigh Bears Stadium Australia   Drew Hutchison
2017   Penrith Panthers 42–18   PNG Hunters Stadium Australia   Kaide Ellis
2018   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 42–18   Redcliffe Dolphins Stadium Australia   Josh Cleeland
2019   Newtown Jets 20–16   Burleigh Bears Stadium Australia  Toby Rudolf
2020 Match was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Australia.[5]
2021 Match was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in New South Wales.
2022   Penrith Panthers 44–10   Norths Devils Stadium Australia   J'maine Hopgood
2023   South Sydney Rabbitohs 42–22   Brisbane Tigers Stadium Australia   Tyrone Munro
2024   Norths Devils 20–18   Newtown Jets Stadium Australia   Oryn Keeley

State Championship Teams

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Rugby League Team City/Town Suburb/Suburbs District/Region/State/Territory Nation
  Penrith Panthers Sydney Penrith New South Wales Australia
  Northern Pride Cairns Barlow Park Queensland Australia
  Ipswich Jets Ipswich North Ipswich Queensland Australia
  Illawarra Cutters Wollongong Wollongong New South Wales Australia
  Canterbury Bulldogs Sydney Belmore New South Wales Australia
  Newtown Jets Sydney Marrickville New South Wales Australia
  Burleigh Bears Gold Coast Miami Queensland Australia
  Newcastle Knights Newcastle New Lambton New South Wales Australia
  PNG Hunters Port Moresby Port Moresby National Capital District Papua New Guinea
  Redcliffe Dolphins Moreton Bay Redcliffe Queensland Australia
  Norths Devils Brisbane Nundah Queensland Australia
  Brisbane Tigers Brisbane Coorparoo Queensland Australia
  South Sydney Rabbitohs Sydney Redfern New South Wales Australia

State Championship Team Performance/s

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Rugby League Team Games Pld Games Won Games Lost Years Pld Years Won Years Lost
  Penrith Panthers 3 2 1 2014, 2017, 2022 2017, 2022 2014
  South Sydney Rabbitohs 1 1 0 2023 2023
  Canterbury Bulldogs 1 1 0 2018 2018
  Illawarra Cutters 1 1 0 2016 2016
  Ipswich Jets 1 1 0 2015 2015
  Northern Pride 1 1 0 2014 2014
  Norths Devils 2 1 1 2022, 2024 2024 2022
  Newtown Jets 2 1 1 2019, 2024 2019 2024
  Newcastle Knights 1 0 1 2015 2015
  PNG Hunters 1 0 1 2017 2017
  Redcliffe Dolphins 1 0 1 2018 2018
  Brisbane Tigers 1 0 1 2023 2023
  Burleigh Bears 2 0 2 2016, 2019 2016, 2019

Media coverage

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Live television coverage for the NRL State Championship is broadcast by Australia's Fox Sports and Nine (which includes Nine's regional affiliates NBN, WIN and IMP until 2015 and mid 2016)[6] while live radio coverage is broadcast by Australia's ABC Grandstand around Australia via both the ABC Radio Mobile App (Digital Radio Stadion) and their network of FM and AM Local Radio Stations.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The greatest game never played". NRL - The official site of the National Rugby League. October 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Our Colourful History". WynnumSeagulls.com.au. 11 June 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  3. ^ "State Championship preview: Panthers v Pride". NRL - The official site of the National Rugby League. October 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  4. ^ "The greatest game never played". NRL - The official site of the National Rugby League. October 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  5. ^ "NSWRL cancels nine competitions for 2020 season". New South Wales Rugby League. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  6. ^ "State Championship preview: Panthers v Pride". NRL.com. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  7. ^ "Rugby League". ABC News Sport. Retrieved 4 May 2017.