Harold Matthews Cup

The NSWRL Harold Matthews Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales between teams made up of players aged under 17. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). The competition is made up of NSW-based clubs and includes both junior representative teams of the elite National Rugby League (NRL) and clubs that do not field teams in the NRL competition.

Harold Matthews Cup
Current season or competition:
[[2022 Harold Matthews Cup]]
SportRugby league
Instituted1970
Inaugural season1970
Number of teams17
Country Australia (16 teams)
 New Zealand 1 team
Premiers New Zealand Warriors (2024)
Most titles Parramatta Eels (20 titles)
WebsiteHarold Matthews Cup
Broadcast partnerNSWRL channel on facebook
Related competitionAndrew Johns Cup
S. G. Ball Cup

The competition is named after Harold Matthews, a Balmain Tigers secretary who later was appointed as manager of the Australian Test squad and later went on to become secretary of the NSWRL and ARL.[1][2]
The competition was run as a knock-out tournament until 1991.[3][4] From the 1992 onwards, the format has been a number of home-and-away rounds in which all teams compete, followed by a finals series.[5]

The clubs

In 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, 15 clubs fielded teams in the NSWRL UNE Harold Matthews Cup.
The New Zealand Warriors joined the competition in 2024, having previously fielded teams in the older age S.G. Ball Cup. The Melbourne Storm re-joined the Harold Matthews Cup in 2024, having previously fielded a team in the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

In the 1970s and early 1980s the Harold Matthews Cup was played in a carnival format over three to five successive days. Teams from the country groups and regions competed alongside representative teams from the NSWRL clubs of Sydney. The competition later changed to a partial round-robin format.

Former teams in the Harold Matthews Cup include: Gold Coast Titans (2009), South-Western Sydney Academy of Sport (2008–16) and Western Sydney Academy of Sport (2007–17).

After the sixth round on March 14 & 15, the 2020 competition was suspended and subsequently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[6]

Harold Matthews Cup Premiers

Knock-Out Tournament
YearAgePremiersRunners UpReport
1970 Parramatta Eels
1971 Parramatta Eels
1972 Parramatta Eels
1973 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
1974 South Sydney Rabbitohs
1975 Parramatta Eels
1976U14 Parramatta Eels
1977U14 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
1978U14Canberra Rugby League (CRL) Parramatta Eels[7]
1979U14 Penrith Panthers
1980U14Group 12 (CRL) Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks[8]
1981U14 Parramatta Eels
1982U14 Parramatta Eels
1983U14Group 6 Rugby League (CRL) Penrith Panthers[9]
1984U14 Canberra RaidersCentral Coast[10]
1985U14 Penrith Panthers
1986U15 Parramatta Eels Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
1987U15 Illawarra Steelers Penrith Panthers
1988U15 Parramatta Eels Penrith Panthers[11]
1989U15 Penrith Panthers Parramatta Eels
1990U15 Parramatta Eels Gold Coast Seagulls
1991U15 Gold Coast Seagulls Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

Regular Season and Finals

Since 1992, the Harold Matthews Cup has been run as a regular season — a series of home-and-away matches — followed by a final series.[5] The number of rounds in the regular season is limited, with the limit being less than the number of teams. This means that each team plays some but not all of their opponents in the competition.

YearAgePremiers ScoreRunners UpMinor PremiersWooden SpoonReport
1992U15 Newcastle Knights South Sydney Rabbitohs
1993U15 Canberra Raiders Parramatta Eels[12]
1994U15 Parramatta Eels Penrith Panthers
1995U15 Canberra Raiders Parramatta Eels[13]
1996U15 Illawarra Steelers Newcastle Knights
1997U16 Parramatta Eels
28–10
 North Sydney Bears Parramatta Eels[14]
1998U16 Parramatta Eels
1999U16 Parramatta Eels South Sydney Rabbitohs
2000U16 Newcastle Knights Penrith Panthers
2001U16 Cronulla Sharks Penrith Panthers
2002U16 Penrith Panthers
38–0
 Newcastle Knights[15]
2003U15 Parramatta Eels
28–4
 St George Dragons[16]
2004U16 Parramatta Eels
18–16
 Penrith Panthers Parramatta Eels Wests Magpies
2005U16 Penrith Panthers
38–10
 Illawarra Steelers Illawarra Steelers Newcastle Knights
2006U16 Penrith Panthers
20–8
 Canterbury Bulldogs Canterbury Bulldogs North Sydney Bears
2007U16 Canterbury Bulldogs
18–14
 Penrith Panthers Canterbury Bulldogs North Sydney Bears
2008U16 Parramatta Eels
30–17
 Penrith Panthers Penrith Panthers South-West Academy
2009U16 Canterbury Bulldogs
34–22
 Parramatta Eels Canterbury Bulldogs South-West Academy
2010U16 Penrith Panthers
22–12
 Parramatta Eels Parramatta Eels South-West Academy
2011U16 Canterbury Bulldogs
13–12
 Illawarra Steelers Illawarra Steelers North Sydney Bears
2012U16 Parramatta Eels
39–32
 Newcastle Knights South Sydney Rabbitohs Sydney Roosters[17][18]
2013U16 Parramatta Eels
24–16
 South Sydney Rabbitohs South Sydney Rabbitohs South-West Academy[19][20]
2014U16 Newcastle Knights
34–4
 Penrith Panthers Newcastle Knights North Sydney Bears[21][22]
2015U16 Cronulla Sharks
30–16
 Parramatta Eels Parramatta Eels Sydney Roosters[23][24]
2016U16 Parramatta Eels
16–14
 Newcastle Knights Parramatta Eels South-West Academy[25][26]
2017U16 Newcastle Knights
26–20
 Manly Sea Eagles Newcastle Knights Wests Magpies[27][28]
2018U16 Manly Sea Eagles
26–18
 Parramatta Eels Penrith Panthers North Sydney Bears[29][30]
2019 U16 Newcastle Knights
28–8
 Canterbury Bulldogs Newcastle Knights St George Dragons [31][32]
2020 Season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[33]
2021 U17 Manly Sea Eagles
24–12
 Parramatta Eels Manly Sea Eagles Canberra Raiders [34]
2022 U17 Wests Magpies
42–16
 Cronulla Sharks Wests Magpies Central Coast Roosters [35]
2023 U17 Canterbury Bulldogs
32–6
 Newcastle Knights Penrith Panthers Manly Sea Eagles
2024 U17 New Zealand Warriors
34–16
 Wests Magpies Canterbury Bulldogs Balmain Tigers [36]

Premiership Tally
No. Club Seasons
1 Parramatta Eels 20 (1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2016)
2 Penrith Panthers 7 (1979, 1985, 1989, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010)
3 Newcastle Knights 5 (1992, 2000, 2014, 2017, 2019)
4 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 4 (2007, 2009, 2011, 2023)
4 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 4 (1973, 1977, 2001, 2015)
6 Canberra Raiders 3 (1984, 1993, 1995)
7 Illawarra Steelers 2 (1987, 1996)
7 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 2 (2018, 2021)
9 South Sydney Rabbitohs 1 (1974)
9 Canberra Rugby League (CRL) 1 (1978)
9 Group 12 (Central Coast, CRL) 1 (1980)
9 Group 6 (CRL) 1 (1983)
9 Gold Coast Seagulls 1 (1991)
9 Western Suburbs Magpies 1 (2022)
9 New Zealand Warriors 1 (2024)

Bold means that the team is still currently plays in the competition.

See also

References
  1. "1920". TIGERS. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  2. New South Wales Rugby Football League. "Harold Matthews - League was his Life". Rugby League news. Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. Retrieved 7 September 2020 – via Trove.
  3. Hannan, Bevan (10 June 1990). "Raiders still in contest". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. p. 16. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  4. Hannan, Bevan (5 July 1991). "Stanik's stunning selection". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. p. 27. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  5. Lilley, John (17 April 1992). "Ball side flies the flag for Canberra". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. p. 2. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  6. "NSWRL cancels nine competitions for 2020 season". NSWRL. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  7. "Sport in Brief". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 24 April 1978. p. 16. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  8. Harrison, Ian (14 August 1980). "Group 12 wins Matthews Cup". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. p. 16. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  9. "Sports results, details". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 4 April 1983. p. 12. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  10. "Under-14 team waits six years for win". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 14 April 1984. p. 51. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  11. "Times Sport". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 14 June 1988. p. 27. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  12. Kirkman, Janette (2 May 1993). "Excellent U15s roll the Eels". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. p. 17. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  13. Hannan, Bevan (1 May 1995). "Raiders outclass favourites to take junior title". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. p. 25. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  14. "District Representative Competitions". New South Wales Rugby League Limited Annual Report: 22. 1997 – via State Library of NSW.
  15. "NSWRL District Representative Competitions". New South Wales Rugby League Annual Report: 15. 2002 – via State Library of NSW.
  16. "NSWRL District Representative Competitions". New South Wales Rugby League Annual Report: 13. 2003 – via State Library of NSW.
  17. "Eels win Harold Matthews Cup". Fairfield City Champion. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  18. "NSWRL 2012 Harold Matthews Cup - GRAND FINAL". OurFootyTeam. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  19. "2013 HMATTS Grand Final". NSWRL. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  20. "Under 16s Go Down in Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final in 2013". South Sydney Rabbitohs. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  21. "Cessnock boys star in Harold Matthews grand final". Cessnock Advertiser. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  22. "2014 Harold Matthews Grand Final". NSWRL. 4 May 2017 [2014]. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  23. "District Reps: Harold Matthews Grand Final". ParraEels. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  24. "Harold Matthews highlights: Grand Final". NSWRL. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  25. "Live Blog – Harold Matthews Grand Final vs Newcastle Knights". The Cumberland Throw. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  26. "Highlights - 2016 Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final". NSWRL. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  27. Gardiner, James (6 May 2017). "Newcastle Knights score in extra-time to snatch thrilling comeback win over Manly Sea Eagles in Harold Matthews Cup final". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  28. "Highlights - Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final". NSWRL. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  29. Masterton, Simon (5 May 2018). "Sea Eagles Win First-Ever UNE Harold Matthews Cup". NSWRL. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  30. "Highlights - UNE Harold Matthews Grand Final". NSWRL. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  31. Honeysett, Stuart (4 May 2019). "Newcastle crowned Harold Matthews champions". NSWRL. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  32. "Highlights - UNE Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final". NSWRL. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  33. "NSWRL cancels nine competitions for 2020 season". New South Wales Rugby League. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  34. "Fainu puts on masterclass for Harold Matthews decider". NSWRL. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  35. Honeysett, Stuart (30 April 2022). "Magpies cap stunning season with Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final win". NSWRL. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  36. Micallef, Tayla (27 April 2024). "Warriors make history with UNE Harold Matthews Cup title". NSWRL. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
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