The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fifteen teams, thirteen of which are based in

, with one based in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and one in Central Province,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. The competition is the present-day embodiment of Queensland's top-level club competition. It replaced the

Winfield State League The Winfield State League was a rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It was administered by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition was the QRL's parallel to the NSWRL's Amco Cup knockout and ran alongside the Brisbane ...

in 1996 and accompanied the

Brisbane Rugby League The Brisbane Rugby League premiership was a rugby league football competition in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first held in 1922 and for every year until 1997. The competition was reinstated in Brisbane Rugby League (2001), 2001, kno ...

, before becoming the premier competition in 1998, following the disbanding of the

History

Origin and establishment

Since its inaugural season in 1922, the

was the premier competition in the state of

. Like its counterpart, the Sydney Rugby Football League, the Brisbane Rugby League was thriving, boasting big crowds and large, loyal supporter bases with their respective clubs. The clubs were constant, with new teams rarely entering the competition. However, in 1956, when poker machines ("pokies") were introduced in New South Wales but not in Queensland, Sydney's clubs were able to recruit the best players from Brisbane,

Rugby Union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and overseas. Within the space of several years, the Sydney Rugby League had come to dominate the code within Australia. In the 1980s, the NSWRFL began to further expand and supersede the Brisbane competition in popularity and media coverage. In 1982, the first clubs based outside of Sydney, the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...

and

Illawarra Steelers The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On 13 December 1980, they were the ...

, were admitted. In 1988, two Queensland-based sides, the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...

and Gold Coast Giants, along with the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in New ...

, another team from regional New South Wales, were formed and gained entry into the competition. The Broncos would sign Brisbane Rugby League stars like

Wally Lewis Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sp ...

Gene Miles Gene Miles (born 21 July 1959) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative , he played his club football in the Brisbane Rugby Le ...

and

Allan Langer Allan Jeffrey "Alfie" Langer AM (born 30 July 1966) is an Australian former multi-award-winning rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and worked as an assistant coach for the Australian national team, the Queenslan ...

. In the space of one season, media coverage and match attendance for the Brisbane Rugby League dropped significantly.

1996–1997: The beginning

In 1996, the Queensland Cup was formed, replacing the

, as new federal government laws banned cigarette companies from sponsoring sport. Originally branded the Channel Nine Cup, the 15 round regular season competition featured sixteen teams, fifteen from Queensland and one from

. The

Toowoomba Clydesdales The Western Clydesdales (formerly Toowoomba Clydesdales) are a rugby league football club based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. The Clydesdales originally played in the Queensland Cup from the competition's inception in 1996 until 2006, an ...

were crowned the inaugural premiers, defeating the

Redcliffe Dolphins Redcliffe Dolphins are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Redcliffe, Queensland, Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1947, they were accepted into the Brisbane Rugby League premiership (rugby league competition), Brisbane R ...

in the Grand Final. In 1997, three teams withdrew from the competition and the

Burleigh Bears The Burleigh Bears are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Gold Coast, Australia. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. Since their admission to the competition in 1997, the ...

joined, becoming the first Gold Coast-based side.

1998–2002: Premier competition

In 1998, the competition became the top level of rugby league in the state, following the end of the Brisbane Rugby League. Channel Nine also ended their sponsorship for the 1998 season, with competition going under name, the Queensland Cup. A sixteen-team competition returned in 1998, with the Bundaberg Grizzlies rejoining and the Gold Coast Vikings being formed. In 1999, the Grizzlies and Vikings both left the competition, as well as inaugural club Brisbane Brothers and the Townsville Stingers, who played just one season. In 2000,

Bundaberg Rum Bundaberg Rum, colloquially known as Bundy, is a dark rum owned by Diageo. It is produced in Bundaberg East, Queensland, Australia, by the Bundaberg Distilling Company. In 2010, the Bundaberg Distilling Company was inducted into the Queensland ...

began a two-year sponsorship of the competition and it was known as the Bundy Gold Cup. The 2000 season was also the first in which all twelve teams remained from the season prior. It would not last long though, as the

Cairns Cyclones The Cairns Cyclones were a rugby league team that competed in the QRL Queensland Cup competition from 1996 to 2000. The inaugural 1996 team included the Captain/Coach and six first grade players from CDRL's Smithfield-based Ivanhoes Rugby Leag ...

folded after the 2000 season, leaving no

north Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its Tropical North Queensland, trop ...

representation in the competition. In 2002, the

North Queensland Young Guns The North Queensland Young Guns were a rugby league team competing in the Queensland Cup. They acted as a feeder team for the North Queensland Cowboys. The Cowboys had previously entered reserve grade teams in the Australian Rugby League and Su ...

, a

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

-based

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

feeder club, were admitted into the competition. At the end of the 2002 season, the

Logan Scorpions The Logan Scorpions were an Australian rugby league football club from the suburb of Slacks Creek in Logan City, Queensland. Due to financial difficulties, the club ceased operation at the end of the 2002 Queensland Cup season, and merged wit ...

, an inaugural club, left the competition.

2003–2006: Interstate expansion

In 2003, the

Tweed Seagulls The Tweed Heads Seagulls, often referred to simply as Tweed or Seagulls or Tweed Seagulls, is a rugby league club based in Tweed Heads, New South Wales. It is one of only two club teams based outside of Queensland to play in the Queensland C ...

joined the competition, becoming the first

-based side. The club had originally applied for the 2002 season but were unsuccessful. However, following a merger of the

and

Souths Magpies The Souths Logan Magpies, more commonly referred to by their former names Southern Suburbs Magpies, or South Brisbane Magpies, or often simply referred to as Souths, are a rugby league football club based in the southern suburbs of Brisbane, Au ...

to form the

Souths Logan Magpies The Souths Logan Magpies, more commonly referred to by their former names Southern Suburbs Magpies, or South Brisbane Magpies, or often simply referred to as Souths, are a rugby league football club based in the southern suburbs of Brisbane, Au ...

, a spot was opened up and

Tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

were admitted. Another inaugural club would leave the competition in 2004, with the

Wests Panthers The Western Suburbs Panthers, or the West Brisbane Panthers, or often simply referred to as Wests for short, is a semi professional rugby league club based in the western suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The club is the oldest in the ...

exiting, and Brothers-Valleys, a merger of

Past Brothers The Past Brothers Rugby League Football Club, or Brisbane Brothers Rugby League Football Club nicknamed the Leprechauns, or more commonly known as Brothers, or as The Brethren, was a rugby league club based in the city of Brisbane, Australia, ...

and the

Fortitude Valley Diehards The Fortitude Valley Diehards, often referred to simply as Valleys, are an Australian semi-professional rugby league football club based in the Brisbane suburb of Fortitude Valley. History Until their demise in 1995, the Fortitude Valley Dieh ...

, joining for a single season. In 2005, the competition became known as the Queensland Wizard Cup, after Wizard Home Loans became the major sponsor.

2007: Loss of the Clydesdales

Although the QRL had anticipated that the same teams from 2006 would participate in the 2007 competition, it was announced on 5 December 2006 that inaugural club, the

, who were the reigning minor premiers, would be withdrawing from the competition for financial reasons.

chairman Bruno Cullen said that "It didn't make sense to have this club up there running at what was looking like a $250,000 loss for the year." The following day it was announced that the

Aspley Broncos The Aspley Broncos (formerly Aspley Demons and Aspley Devils) are a rugby league club in Brisbane, Australia. Aspley competes in the FOGS Cup and FOGS Colts Challenge competitions. In 2007 they competed in the Queensland Cup as a feeder club t ...

would be replacing the Clydesdales, and acting as the

feeder club. The Aspley Broncos would play just a single season in the competition. The 2007 season marked the first time a team based outside of Queensland would win the competition, with the

defeating the

in the Grand Final.

2008–2013: Further expansion

2008 saw the Queensland Cup once again have teams based in the northern cities of

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

and Mackay after absences of seven and twelve years, respectively. These new teams replaced Aspley and North Queensland as part of the rationalisation of rugby league below the NRL level caused by the introduction of the NRL under 20s competition. In 2009, the

Sunshine Coast Falcons The Sunshine Coast Falcons are a rugby league football team based on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. They compete in the Queensland Cup and their home ground is Sunshine Coast Stadium. The Falcons are currently affiliated with the NRL team Melbo ...

rejoined the competition after thirteen-year absence, after signing a partnership with the

Manly Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League seaso ...

to develop rugby league on the Sunshine Coast. The side played as the Sea Eagles and won the premiership in their first year. In 2010, Super was announced as the new major sponsor, with the competition becoming known as the Intrust Super Cup. From 2009 to 2013, the competition featured the same twelve teams for five straight seasons.

2014–2021:
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
and
Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
return

In 2014, the

PNG Hunters The Papua New Guinea Hunters (also referred to as PNG Hunters) are a professional rugby league football club based in Papua New Guinea. They were formed in December 2013 and compete in the Queensland Cup, a second tier competition in Australia. ...

entered the competition, becoming the first

based side in the competition since the Port Moresby Vipers in 1997. In their inaugural season, the side was based out of the

East New Britain East New Britain is a Provinces of Papua New Guinea, province of Papua New Guinea, consisting of the north-eastern part of the island of New Britain and the Duke of York Islands. The capital of the province is Kokopo, not far from the old capital ...

town of

Kokopo Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea. It is administered under Kokopo/Vunamami Urban LLG. The capital was moved from Rabaul in 1994 when the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted. As a result, the population o ...

. On 10 September 2014, QRL chairman Peter Betros announced that the Brothers Townsville-led

Townsville Blackhawks The Townsville & Districts Blackhawks are an Australian semi-professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Que ...

bid had been successful and the side would compete in the 2015 season. On 5 October 2014, the Northern Pride became the first Queensland Cup side to win the

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 ...

, defeating the heavily favoured

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

New South Wales Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

side in the inaugural final. In 2017, the Hunters won their first Queensland Cup premiership, defeating the

in the Grand Final and becoming the first team outside of Australia, and the second from outside of Queensland to win the competition. On 27 March 2020, after round one of the season was completed, the 2020 Intrust Super Cup competition was suspended, and subsequently cancelled for the first time in its history due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, with no premiers being crowned. In September 2020, the

Easts Tigers The Brisbane Tigers are a rugby league club based at Langlands Park, in the suburb of Coorparoo in Brisbane, Australia. Since 1996, they have competed in the Queensland Cup, having competed in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership (rugby league ...

were renamed as the

Brisbane Tigers The Brisbane Tigers are a rugby league club based at Langlands Park, in the suburb of Coorparoo in Brisbane, Australia. Since 1996, they have competed in the Queensland Cup, having competed in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership (rugby league ...

for the 2021 season onward. The Tigers had played under the name of Easts or Eastern Suburbs since the formation of the Queensland Cup in 1996.

2022–present: Hostplus Cup and return of the Clydesdales

In November 2021, Hostplus became the naming rights sponsor of the competition for the 2022 season, replacing Intrust Super after the two companies had merged. On July 17, the QRL announced that the Western Clydesdales, previously called the Toowoomba Clydesdales would (re)enter the competition for the 2023 season, becoming the competition's fifteenth team.

Queensland Cup teams

The Queensland Cup consists of 15 teams, 13 from

, and 1 each from

National Capital District A capital district, capital region, or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any politic ...

of Papua New Guinea and

, and operates on a single group system, with no divisions or conferences and no relegation and promotion from other leagues.
A number of clubs in the Queensland Cup have an affiliation with a team in the Australian national competition, the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

Current teams

Former teams

As the Queensland Cup initially began as a representative competition that took over the old

before becoming a proper club competition, many of the following clubs were "representative" sides that either withdrew (in the case of Mackay and Bundaberg) or folded (

and Port Moresby Vipers).

Participating clubs by season

Season structure

Pre-season

The Queensland Cup pre-season typically begins in February and ends in early March. Clubs generally use this time to organise trial matches to test playing combinations. Usually, Queensland Cup teams will play each other in trials, while some face

(NRL) sides. For example, in 2018, the

played trial matches against the

Central Queensland Capras The Central Queensland Capras are a semi-professional rugby league football club primarily based in Rockhampton, Queensland and representing Central Queensland. They play in the Hostplus Cup in Queensland, which is a second-tier competition in ...

and

Regular season

The Queensland Cup regular season usually begins in early March and runs until late August. A round of regular season games is played every weekend for twenty-four weeks. In most rounds, matches are played on Saturday nights/afternoons and Sunday afternoons. Each team receives one bye during the regular season. The regular season also features a number of themed rounds, where proceeds from the games go to various charities. In 2018, these rounds included

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the British Empire under the command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the ...

Round,

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

Round, Men of League Round, Women in League Round, "Turn to Me" Round and the annual Country Week.

Country Week

The Queensland Cup has the largest regional footprint of any professional sporting code in Queensland, hosting regular season and trial matches over a large geographical footprint. In Round 20, 2011 the

game against the Northern Pride was relocated from the Magpies home ground in Brisbane to Yusia Ginau Oval,

Bamaga Bamaga ( , ) is an Indigneous town and locality about from the northern tip of Cape York in the north of Queensland, Australia. It is within the Northern Peninsula Area Region. It is one of the northernmost settlements in continental Australi ...

on Cape York. The game attracted 2000 spectators, and was so successful that the following year QRL in partnership with the Queensland Government introduced the 'Country Week' concept and took matches to regional Queensland, country towns and cities, to engage fans at a grassroots level. This round usually takes place in July. Locations which have hosted Country Week games include: * 2012: Blackwater, Kilcoy,

Moranbah Moranbah is a coal mining town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Moranbah had a population of 9,425. In addition to the permanent population, Moranbah also has ...

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive mines in world history, based on co ...

* 2013:

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

Whitsundays The Whitsunday Islands are 74 continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Brisbane. The northernmost of the islands are off the coast by the town of Bowen, while the southernmost islands are ...

, Woodford,

Yarrabah Yarrabah (traditionally ''Jarrabah'' in the Gunggandji language spoken by the indigenous Gunggandji people) is a coastal town and locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Yarrabah, Queensland, Australia. It is an Aboriginal community. In the , t ...

* 2014:

Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York ...

Longreach Longreach is a rural town and locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and I ...

Mareeba Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ''meeting of the water ...

Kingaroy Kingaroy () is a rural town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is situated on the Road Junction, junction of the D'Aguilar Highway, D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highway, Buny ...

(

East New Britain Province East New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea, consisting of the north-eastern part of the island of New Britain and the Duke of York Islands. The capital of the province is Kokopo, not far from the old capital of Rabaul, which was largely ...

) * 2015: Blackall,

Bundaberg Bundaberg () is the major regional city in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the List of cities in Australia by population, ninth largest city in the state. The Bundaberg central business district is situa ...

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits und ...

, Dalby, Innisfail,

Stanthorpe Stanthorpe is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Stanthorpe had a population of 5,286 people. The area surrounding the town is known as the Granite Belt. Geography Stant ...

* 2016: Barcaldine, Charleville,

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. Located in the Greater Sunshine Coast, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River ( ...

Ravenshoe Ravenshoe ( ) is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Ravenshoe had a population of 1,332 people. Geography Ravenshoe is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is ...

* 2017:

, Clermont, Julia Creek,

Mundubbera Mundubbera ( ) is a rural town and a locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Mundubbera had a population of 1,120 people. Mundubbera is the self-proclaimed "Citrus Capital of Queensland", although ...

, Winton,

St George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

* 2018: Bowen,

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the '' Endeavour'', for ...

Goondiwindi Goondiwindi () is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , the locality of Goondiwindi had a population of 6, ...

, Hughenden,

Lae Lae (, , later ) is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River on the northern coast of Huon Gulf. It is at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is ...

( M. P.), Maryborough, Normanton * 2019:

Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay towar ...

, Ingham,

Nanango Nanango is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nanango had a population of 3,679 people. Geography Nanango is situated north-west of the ...

, Pittsworth,

Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately ...

* 2020: Country Week was cancelled due to the COVID-19

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

* 2021: Atherton,

Chinchilla Chinchilla refers to either of two species ('' Chinchilla chinchilla'' and '' Chinchilla lanigera'') of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha, and are native to the Andes mountains in South America. They live in colonies called "her ...

, Dysart,

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

Murgon Murgon () is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Murgon had a population of 2,220 people. Geography Murgon is in the region of Queensland ...

Quilpie Quilpie ( ) is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Quilpie, Shire of Quilpie, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Quilpie had a population of 530 people. The town is the administrative cent ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

* 2022:

Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...

Cunnamulla Cunnamulla () is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, Queensland, Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the 2021 Au ...

Monto Monto was the nickname for the one-time red light district in the northeast of Dublin, Ireland. The Monto was roughly the area bounded by Talbot Street, Amiens Street, Gardiner Street and Seán McDermott Street (formerly Gloucester Street) in ...

Sarina Sarina is a rural town and coastal Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Sarina had a population of 5,619 people. Geography Sarina lies just inland of the east coa ...

Springsure Springsure is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Springsure had a population of 950 people. Geography Springsure is situated by road ...

* 2023:

Biloela Biloela ( ) is a rural town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Banana, Central Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the shire. In the , the locality of Biloela had a population of 5,692. The loc ...

, Kilcoy,

Miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English f ...

, Proserpine,

Weipa Weipa () is a coastal mining town in the local government area of Weipa Town in Queensland. It is one of the largest towns on the Cape York Peninsula. It exists because of the enormous bauxite deposits along the coast. The Port of Weipa is main ...

, Wondai In addition to this round games have also been played in regional locations during regular rounds in: * Atherton,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

(Northern Pride v Burleigh Bears, 2016; Northern Pride v Townsville Blackhawks, 2018) *

(Souths Logan v Northern Pride, 2011) * Barcaldine,

Hervey Bay Hervey Bay () is a city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located on the bay of the same name open to ...

* Innisfail,

(Northern Pride v Wynnum Manly, 2022) *

Morobe Province Morobe is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km2, with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands Province ...

North Stradbroke Island North Stradbroke Island (Janday language, Jandai: ''Minjerribah''), colloquially ''Straddie'' or ''North Straddie'', is an island that lies within Moreton Bay in the Australian state of Queensland, southeast of the centre of Brisbane. Original ...

* Tully,

(Northern Pride v Sunshine Coast, 2023) * Woorabinda,

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

Finals Series

The eight highest placed teams at the end of the regular season compete in the finals series. The system consists of a number of games between the top eight teams over four weeks in September, until only two teams remain. These two teams then contest the Grand Final, which is usually played in late September. Over the years, the Queensland Cup has used a number of different finals series systems, usually involving five to six and now eight teams. In 2019, the current eight team final series system will be adopted.

Grand Final

The Queensland Cup Grand Final, which determines the season's premiers, is one of the state's major sporting events. It is usually contested at

Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...

, having been held there annually since 2014, although other venues have been used, such as

Dolphin Stadium Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Southeastern United States, located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the Universit ...

, North Ipswich Reserve and

Sunshine Coast Stadium Sunshine Coast Stadium is a multi-sport venue located at Bokarina in the Kawana Waters urban centre on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. The stadium is the main venue in a sporting precinct that also includes seven fields. Developmen ...

. The Grand Final had traditionally been played on Saturday afternoons, until moving to Sunday afternoons beginning in 2010. Since 2007, the player judged to be the man-of-the-match is awarded the prestigious

Duncan Hall Duncan Hall (24 August 192518 January 2011) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s, singled out as having been amongst the greatest of the 20th century. He played in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership fo ...

Medal.

Premiership winners

List of most successful clubs

Teams are ranked in order of premierships won, grand final runners up then minor premierships won. To see the complete list of Queensland Cup records, see List of Queensland Cup records. Team names in bold are the teams currently playing in the Queensland Cup ''Notes:'' * Toowoomba Clydesdales withdrew from the Queensland Cup after 2006 and returned as Western Clydesdales in 2023

NRL State Championship Match

Since 2014, The NSW Cup Grand Final Match has been played on the same day as the QLD Cup Grand Final, the weekend prior to the NRL Grand Final, allowing for the creation of the

which saw the NSW Cup premiers face off against the QLD Cup Premiers as a curtain raiser to the

NRL Grand Final The NRL Grand Final is an annual rugby league match to determine the premiers of every National Rugby League season. It is a major sport event in Australia and regarded as the biggest showcase of rugby league football in the world. Since 1999 ...

, originally following the National Youth Competition Grand Final from 2014 to 2017 and following the NRL Women's Grand Final in their inaugural premiership year in 2018. In 2019 however, the State Championship was the first of three grand finals played on the day, preceding both the NRL Women's premiership and NRL premiership, with the exception of 2020 and 2021 State Championships being cancelled due to COVID-19. The Northern Pride and Ipswich Jets became the first two QRL teams to win the State Championship with the next six championships won by the NSWRL (With the exception of the 2020 & 2021 NRL State Championship Matches Cancelled due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Pandemic and lockdown in NSW). The Norths Devils would break the streak run winning the 2024 NRL State Championship against the Newtown Jets during the 2024 NRL Grand Final.

Champions: Queensland Cup

* Northern Queensland Pride (2014) *

Ipswich Jets The Ipswich Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Ipswich, Queensland. Their name comes from nearby RAAF Base Amberley, one of the largest airbases in Australia. The Jets compete in the Queensland Cup competition. Original ...

(2015) *

Norths Devils The Northern Suburbs Devils, or North Brisbane Devils, or often simply referred to as Norths for short, are a rugby league club representing the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. The team colours are sky blue, navy blue and gold. They pl ...

(2024)

NRL State Championship Match

Since 2014, The QLD Cup Grand Final Match has been played on the same day as the NSW Cup Grand Final, the weekend prior to the NRL Grand Final, allowing for the creation of the

which saw the QLD Cup premiers face off against the NSW Cup Premiers as a curtain raiser to the

, originally following the National Youth Competition Grand Final from 2014 to 2017 and following the NRL Women's Grand Final since 2018. In 2019 the NRL State Championship was played prior the NRL Women's Grand Final. The 2020 State Championship was cancelled due to the Queensland and New South Wales competitions being cancelled after Round 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2021 State Championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney.

NRL State Championship winners

Honours

At the end of each season at the QRL presentation night, the

Petero Civoniceva Petero Civoniceva ( (Thee-vo-nee-thee-vah); born 21 April 1976), is a Fijian-Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international represent ...

Medal is awarded to the Queensland Cup player voted as the best and fairest over the entire season. Formerly known as

The Courier Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northern ...

Medal, in 2018, the medal was renamed after former

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

and

representative

. After each game, the referees award three votes to the best player, two votes to the second-best player, and one vote to the third-best player. Previous winners include

and

representatives

Greg Inglis Gregory Paul Inglis (born 15 January 1987), also known by the nickname of "G.I.", is a retired Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer, who regularly played as a centre, fullback, five-eighth and wing. From 2011 to 2019, Ing ...

and

Daly Cherry-Evans Daly Cherry-Evans (born 20 February 1989) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League. Regarded as one of the best halfbacks of the modern ga ...

. Since 2007, the man of the match in the Grand Final has been awarded the

Medal. The medal is named in honour of ARL Team of the Century member

, who played 24 games for Queensland and 22 games for Australia between 1948 and 1955. Past recipients include Tony Williams and Jake Granville, who would go onto win

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

premierships shortly after their Queensland Cup success.

20th Year Anniversary Team

On 21 September 2015, the QRL announced their Queensland Cup 20th Year Anniversary team. The 17-man team was chosen by a selection panel consisting of Brad Tallon (Queensland Rugby League statistician), Steve Ricketts (rugby league journalist), David Wright (former ABC commentator) and Mike Higgison (rugby league historian). To be eligible for selection, a player must've played a minimum of 75 games in the competition. Rick Stone, who coached the

from 1997 to 2005 (winning two premierships), was named coach of the side, while longtime referee Tony Maksoud was included as referee of the team.

Records

The following records are taken from the QRL's official website and are correct as of the end of the 2019 season.

Team

* Most premierships – 6

* Most minor premierships – 6

* Most wooden spoons – 5

* Highest score in a game – 98, Toowoomba against Western Suburbs Panthers (2003) * Longest winning streak – 17 matches, Northern Pride (2010–2011) * Longest undefeated streak – 22 matches,

(2010–2011) * Longest losing streak – 36 matches,

(2013–2014)

Individual

* Most games – Phil Dennis, 282 games * Most tries – Daniel Ogden, 155 tries * Most points – Nick Parfitt 1,421 points (113 tries, 483 goals) * Most points in a season 318, Liam Georgetown (2013) * Most tries in a season 34, Daniel Kennedy 2004 * Most points in a game 40, Damien Richter 2002, Greg Bourke 2002 * Most tries in a game 7, Chris Walker 2000, Anthony Zipf 2004

Media coverage & Sponsorship

Although the Queensland Cup has never had the same amount of media coverage that the pre-

Brisbane Rugby League did, in recent years it has experienced a resurgence in interest from both the Queensland media and from casual fans alike.

Television

In 2018, the match of the round was televised live on the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

in Queensland at 1:00pm (AEST) on Saturdays. Previously, the match of the round had been broadcast by Nine on Sunday afternoons and before that, on

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

on Saturday afternoons. The match is later replayed during the week on

Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...

Fox League Fox League is an Australian subscription television channel dedicated to screening rugby league (both domestic and international) matches and related programming. It is owned by Fox Sports Pty Limited and is available throughout Australia on Fox ...

channel. The match of the round returned to Sunday afternoons for the 2019 season. The non-broadcast games are recorded for highlights and judiciary and coaching purposes.

Radio

From 2006 to 2013, community broadcaster Bay FM began broadcasting matches of the

Wynnum Manly Seagulls The Wynnum Manly Seagulls are an Australian rugby league football club based at Kougari Oval, in Brisbane's bayside suburb of Manly West, Queensland, Manly West, which neighbours the suburb of Wynnum, Queensland, Wynnum. They competed in the Bri ...

with commentators Mike Higgison and Troy Robbins. In 2015, a group of community broadcasters including Switch 1197, Valley FM Esk and Phoenix Radio

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

began broadcasting matches featuring the

Online

Starting from 2022 Queensland Rugby League announced a new streaming deal with Cluch.tv under the website name Qplus.TV where fan can subscribe to watch every game live.

Sponsorship

Due to sponsorship, the Queensland Cup has gone under many different names since first being held in 1996. Originally known as the Channel Nine Cup, it has been known as the Hostplus Cup since 2022. * Channel Nine Cup (1996–1997) * Bundy Rum Gold Cup (2000–2001) * Wizard Cup (2005–2008) * Intrust Super Cup (2010–2021) * Hostplus Cup (2022–present)

References

External links

Queensland Cup News

Queensland Rugby League

Queensland Rugby League Queensland Cup Page

Rleague.com's Queensland page

League Unlimited's Queensland Page

Queensland Rugby League forums

Rleague's Queensland Forum

League Unlimited's Queensland Forum
{{Rugby League in Queensland Rugby league competitions in Queensland Recurring sporting events established in 1996 1996 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 1996 Multi-national professional sports leagues

History

Origin and establishment

1996–1997: The beginning

1998–2002: Premier competition

2003–2006: Interstate expansion

2007: Loss of the Clydesdales

2008–2013: Further expansion

2022–present: Hostplus Cup and return of the Clydesdales

Queensland Cup teams

Current teams

Former teams

Participating clubs by season

Season structure

Pre-season

Regular season

Country Week

Finals Series

Grand Final

Premiership winners

List of most successful clubs

NRL State Championship Match

Champions: Queensland Cup

NRL State Championship Match

NRL State Championship winners

Honours

20th Year Anniversary Team

Records

Team

Individual

Media coverage & Sponsorship

Television

Radio

Online

Sponsorship

See also

References

External links

Queensland Cup News

Queensland Rugby League forums