2018 NSW Cup season
The 2018 Intrust Super Premiership NSW season was the tenth season of the New South Wales Cup, the top rugby league competition administered by the New South Wales Rugby League. The competition acts as a second-tier league to the ten New South Wales-based National Rugby League clubs, as well the Canberra Raiders and New Zealand Warriors. The winner of the Premiership, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, competed against the winner of the 2018 Queensland Cup, the Redcliffe Dolphins in the 2018 NRL State Championship, which they won 42-18. The Penrith Panthers were the defending champions, following their 20-12 victory against the Wyong Roos in the 2017 Grand Final.[1]
| 2018 Intrust Super Premiership NSW | |
|---|---|
| League | NSW Cup |
| Duration | 24 Rounds + Finals (March-September 2018) |
| Teams | 12 |
| Broadcast partners | Fox League, Nine Network |
| 2018 season | |
| Premiership winners |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
Teams
In 2018, 12 clubs fielded teams in the Intrust Super Premiership. Illawarra RLFC were renamed to the St George Illawarra Dragons to bring the club in line with the NRL’s ‘whole of game’ strategy, that will also see top-grade squads increased from 25 players to 30.[2]
An under-20s competition will be run in parallel to the New South Wales Cup.[3]
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Penrith Panthers |
24 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 550 | 410 | 140 | 38 |
| 2 |  St George Illawarra Dragons |
24 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 494 | 414 | 80 | 32 |
| 3 |  Newtown Jets |
24 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 607 | 419 | 188 | 30 |
| 4 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
24 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 537 | 452 | 85 | 30 |
| 5 |  Western Suburbs Magpies |
24 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 477 | 473 | 4 | 28 |
| 6 |  Mount Pritchard Mounties |
24 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 532 | 461 | 71 | 26 |
| 7 |  New Zealand Warriors |
24 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 429 | 489 | -60 | 24 |
| 8 |  Wyong Roos |
24 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 501 | 579 | -78 | 24 |
| 9 |  Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles |
24 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 476 | 496 | -20 | 22 |
| 10 |  Wentworthville Magpies |
24 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 436 | 583 | -147 | 22 |
| 11 |  North Sydney Bears |
24 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 479 | 532 | -53 | 20 |
| 12 |  Newcastle Knights |
24 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 379 | 589 | -210 | 16 |
- Teams highlighted in green have qualified for the finals
- The team highlighted in blue has clinched the minor premiership
- The team highlighted in red has clinched the wooden spoon
Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee(s) | Crowd | |||
| QUALIFYING AND ELIMINATION FINALS | ||||||
| Penrith Panthers |
28 – 18 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
Saturday 1 September | Penrith Stadium | 1,000 | |
| Mount Pritchard Mounties |
21 – 20 | New Zealand Warriors |
Saturday 1 September | Penrith Stadium | ||
| Western Suburbs Magpies |
14 – 18 | Wyong Roos |
Sunday 2 September | Penrith Stadium | 1,000 | |
 St George Illawarra Dragons |
28 – 26 | Newtown Jets |
Sunday 2 September | Penrith Stadium | ||
| SEMI-FINALS | ||||||
| Newtown Jets |
34 – 16 | Mount Pritchard Mounties |
Saturday 8 September | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium | 1,000 | |
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
34 – 24 | Wyong Roos |
Sunday 9 September | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium | 1,000 | |
| PRELIMINARY FINALS | ||||||
| Penrith Panthers |
24 – 28 | Newtown Jets |
Saturday 15 September | Leichhardt Oval | 2,000 | |
| St George Illawarra Dragons |
26 – 28 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
Sunday 16 September | Leichhardt Oval | 1,000 | |
| GRAND FINAL | ||||||
| Newtown Jets |
12 – 18 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
Sunday 22 September | Leichhardt Oval | 6,000 | |
Source: [4]
NRL State Championship
As premiers of the NSW Cup, the Cannterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs faced Queensland Cup premiers Redcliffe Dolphins in the NRL State Championship match.
Sunday, 30 September 3:40pm (AEST) |
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
42 – 18 |  Redcliffe Dolphins |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Josh Cleeland (36', 38') 2 Rhyse Martin (6') 1 Chris Smith (47') 1 Renouf To'omaga (52') 1 Jayden Okunbor (72') 1 Fa'amanu Brown (77') 1 Goals: Rhyse Martin 5/6 (8', 37', 48', 54', 58' pen) Greg Eastwood 1/1 (74') Josh Cleeland 1/1 (78') |
1st: 16 – 6 2nd: 26 – 12 |
Tries: 2 (30', 60') Kotoni Staggs 1 (74') James Taylor Goals: 2/2 Bryce Donovan (61', 75') 1/1 Kotoni Staggs (31') |
Television Broadcast
Fox League will continue to broadcast a game per round, however Channel 9 will also be broadcasting a game per round starting with the 2018 for the first time.
References
- Media, NRL Digital. "Panthers Clinch 2017 Intrust Super Premiership". NRL CLUBS. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- Media, NRL Digital. "Dragons adopt Nuclear Model in 2018". NRL CLUBS. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- Media, NRL Digital. "New State-Based Under-20 Competitions From 2018". NRL CLUBS. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- "Draw". New South Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 10 March 2023.