Foxtel Cup
The Leagues Championship Cup,[1] officially branded under the sponsor's name as the Foxtel Cup,[2] was an annual Australian rules football club knockout cup competition involving clubs from the various state league competitions from around Australia. The tournament was organised by the Australian Football League (AFL), and was held annually between 2011 and 2014.
| Most recent season or competition: 2014 | |
 | |
| Sport | Australian rules football |
|---|---|
| Inaugural season | 2011 |
| Ceased | 2014 |
| No. of teams | 16 (2011-12), 10 (2013), 9 (2014) |
| Country | Australia |
| Last champion(s) | Williamstown |
| Most titles | Williamstown (2) |
| Qualification | Invitation |
| TV partner(s) | Fox Sports Australia |
The competition was first held in 2011, featuring sixteen teams from around the country who qualified based on their finishing positions in their previous state league season. In 2011 and 2012, matches were played mostly as curtain-raisers to AFL Saturday night games, or occasionally as a stand-alone game in the same timeslot;[3] in 2013 and 2014, matches were mostly played as stand-alone games on Tuesday nights.[4] In both cases, matches were televised on subscription television provider and competition naming rights sponsor Foxtel; and clubs played matches on or adjacent to bye weeks in their respective state league fixtures. Total annual prize money for the competition was about $250,000, with $40,000 going to the winner.[5]
Williamstown was the inaugural Foxtel Cup champions when it defeated Claremont by 21 points in the 2011 Grand Final.[6] Claremont went one better the following year to become 2012 Foxtel Cup Champions defeating Werribee by 44 points.[7] West Adelaide defeated East Fremantle by four points in the 2013 Grand Final. Williamstown won its second Foxtel Cup championship in 2014 by beating West Perth by 63 points.
Qualification
For the inaugural Foxtel Cup in 2011, the AFL invited the highest three ranked teams from the South Australian National Football League, the Victorian Football League and the West Australian Football League; the top two teams from the Queensland Australian Football League; and the top team from AFL Sydney and the Tasmanian Football League – based on those leagues' 2010 seasons. The Greater Western Sydney Giants (which was playing in the NEAFL in 2011 as preparation for entering the Australian Football League in 2012), and the Northern Territory Football Club received special invitations.[8][9]
However, despite the SANFL signing on to be part of the Cup competition, its top three clubs – Central District, Norwood and Woodville-West Torrens – all rejected their invitations to compete,[10] citing lack of prize money, sponsorship conflicts, salary cap implications, schedule concerns and removing the focus from their SANFL premiership ambitions.[11] Eventually, the SANFL positions in the competition were taken up by West Adelaide, North Adelaide and Port Adelaide Magpies, none of whom even reached the SANFL finals in 2010.[12] In 2013 it was announced that the SANFL's top three teams of the 2012 season, Norwood, West Adelaide and North Adelaide, had committed to play in the Foxtel Cup in 2014. At the time of the announcement midway through the 2013 SANFL season the three teams were again the top three on the SANFL premiership ladder, showing that among South Australian clubs, the Foxtel Cup was gaining recognition.
In 2013 and 2014, the scale of the competition was reduced from sixteen teams to nine or ten. In those seasons, the WAFL, SANFL and VFL each contributed two teams to the competition, who entered the competition at the quarter-final stage; and the remaining teams came from the NEAFL and TFL, who contested pre-qualifying rounds before entering the quarter-finals.
The AFL announced on 1 August 2011 that public interest and television audiences well-supported the inaugural year of the Foxtel Cup and as a result the competition would continue for the next five years.[13] However, following the heavy burden of playing mid-week games on the competing clubs, the decision was made to cease the Foxtel Cup after its fourth season, 2014.[14]
Results
2011 Foxtel Cup
Grand Final
| GF (AFL Rd 20) 6 August 2011 3:05 pm WST[15] |
Claremont | 38–59 stand alone game |
Williamstown | Subiaco Oval, Perth | |
| 1.2 (8) 2.2 (14) 5.5 (35) 5.8 (38) |
match report | 2.1 (13) 4.3 (27) 6.4 (40) 9.5 (59) |
Attendance: 1,405 | ||
| Goals | |||||
| Beau Wilkes 2, Jack Bradshaw, Chad Jones, Gerrick Weedon |
Nathan Djerrkura 2, Christian Howard 2, Jordan Roughead 2, Ed Barlow, Andrew Hooper, Jason Tutt |
||||
| Bests | |||||
| Kane Mitchell, Andrew Foster, Gerrick Weedon, Brett Jones Lewis Stevenson, Thomas Swift |
Ben Jolley, Jordan Roughead, Mitch Wallis, Christian Howard, Nathan Djerrkura 2, Matthew Panos |
2012 Foxtel Cup
Grand Final
| Grand Final (AFL Rd 19) 2 August 2012 19:35 WST |
Werribee | 55 - 99 stand alone game |
Claremont | Subiaco Oval, Perth | |
| 3.0 (18) 5.4 (34) 5.4 (34) 8.7 (55) |
match report | 4.3 (27) 7.3 (45) 11.7 (73) 15.9 (99) |
|||
| Goals | |||||
| Ben Warren 3, Levi Greenwood, Leigh Harding, Ben McKinley, Scott Sherlock, Ben Speight |
Thomas Lee 6, Jack Bradshaw 2, Nick Suban 2, Alistair Gillespie, Alroy Gilligan, Jeremy McGovern, Jarryd Morton, Ian Richardson |
||||
| Bests | |||||
| Levi Greenwood, Ben Speight, Matthew O'Dwyer, Ben Warren, Leigh Harding, Ben Ross |
Thomas Lee, Nick Suban, Jeremy McGovern, Alroy Gilligan, Rory Walton, Ian Richardson |
2013 Foxtel Cup
Grand Final
| Grand Final 6 August 2013 20:35 EST |
East Fremantle | 28 - 32 stand alone game |
West Adelaide | Football Park, Adelaide | |
| 0.3 (3) 0.4 (4) 1.10 (16) 2.16 (28) |
match report | 1.2 (8) 4.5 (29) 4.7 (31) 4.8 (32) |
|||
| Goals | |||||
| Hancock, Stephen | Beech 2, Silverlock, Still | ||||
| Bests | |||||
| Peake, O’Brien, Bayliss, Stephen, Dodd | Schmidt (Coles Medalist), Beech, Mangan, Silverlock, Caire |
2014 Foxtel Cup
Grand Final
| Grand Final 22 July 2014 20:35 EST |
West Perth | 8 - 71 stand alone game |
Williamstown | Kardinia Park, Geelong | |
| 0.2 (2) 0.2 (2) 0.2 (2) 1.2 (8) |
match report | 5.4 (34) 5.9 (39) 7.11 (53) 10.11 (71) |
|||
| Goals | |||||
| C.Chalmers | C.Nastasi 2, S.Clouston 2, J.Johnstone 2, J.Owen, J.Dorgan, K.Lambert, S.Tighe |
||||
| Bests | |||||
| A.Strijk, R.Kerr, L.Tedesco | B.Davies, K.Lambert, S.Tighe, N.Sing, D.Fahey, J.McKenzie, S.Clouston |
Coles Medal
The Coles Medal was awarded to the best player onfield in the Foxtel Cup Grand Final.
| Year | Coles Medallist | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Ben Jolley | Williamstown Football Club |
| 2012 | Thomas Lee | Claremont Football Club |
| 2013 | Chris Schmidt | West Adelaide Football Club |
| 2014 | Ben Davies | Williamstown Football Club |
List of participants
Stadiums
| Adelaide | Adelaide | Blacktown | Darwin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Football Park Capacity: 51,224 |
Adelaide Oval Capacity: 53,000 |
Blacktown ISP Oval Capacity: 10,000 |
Marrara Oval Capacity: 15,000 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Geelong | Gold Coast | Hobart | Launceston |
| Kardinia Park Capacity: 33,500 |
Carrara Stadium Capacity: 25,000 |
Bellerive Oval Capacity: 16,200 |
York Park Capacity: 20,000 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Melbourne | Melbourne | Perth | Sydney |
| Docklands Stadium Capacity: 56,347 |
Melbourne Cricket Ground Capacity: 100,018 |
Subiaco Oval Capacity: 43,500 |
Sydney Cricket Ground Capacity: 46,000 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
See also
- NFL Night Series and AFC Night Series, similar interstate Australian rules football club competitions which operated from 1976–1979 and from 1977–1987 respectively.
References
- Reid, Russell (15 October 2010). "WAFL backs State leagues knockout comp". The West Australian.
- "Foxtel Cup". Australian Football League. 9 February 2011. Archived from the original on 12 February 2011.
- "GWS Giants to play in planned champions league". Herald Sun. 25 November 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
- McNicol, Adam (3 December 2012). "Trimmer Foxtel Cup in 2013". afl.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
- Paton, Al (8 December 2010). "Draft fixture reveals match-ups in new Leagues Championship Cups". Herald Sun.
- Schmook, Nathan (6 August 2011). "Seagulls swoop". afl.com.au. Melbourne: Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
- Guthrie, Ben (2 August 2012). "Claremont belts Werribee in Foxtel Cup Grand Final". afl.com.au. Melbourne: Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- Morris, Grey (13 December 2010). "Should Thunder contest Champions League?". NT News. Darwin: News Limited. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
- Barton, Joe (25 November 2010). "Greater Western Sydney Giants get nod for Champions League-style AFL competition in 2011". Fox Sports Australia. Premier Media Group. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
- Morgan, Kym (9 December 2010). "SANFL may field second stringers". Adelaide Advertiser.
- Homfray, Reece (13 December 2010). "Top SANFL teams to snub new Leagues Champions Cup". Herald Sun. Melbourne. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
- "SANFL Statement – League Club Championships". sanfl.com.au. Adelaide: South Australian National Football League. 15 December 2010.
- Hope, Shayne (2 August 2011). "Foxtel Cup here to stay". Perth: The West Australian. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
- "Foxtel Cup not to continue in 2015 season". Australian Football League. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- Foxtel Cup Grand Final fixture
- Ainslie Football Club Official Website
- Aspley Australian Football Club Official Website Archived 21 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Belconnen Football Club Official Website
- Box Hill Hawks Football Club Official Website
- Burnie Football Club Official Website
- Claremont Football Club Official Website
- Clarence Football Club Official Website Archived 28 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- East Fremantle Football Club Official Website
- East Perth Football Club Official Website
- Greater Western Sydney Giants Official Website
- "Labrador Australian Football Club Official Website". Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
- Launceston Football Club Official Website
- Morningside Australian Football Club Official Website Archived 4 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Mount Gravatt Australian Football Club Official Website
- North Adelaide Football Club Official Website
- North Ballarat Official Website
- Northern Bullants Official Website
- Northern Territory Football Club Official Website
- Norwood Football Club Official Website
- Port Adelaide Magpies Football Club Official Website Archived 18 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- "Port Melbourne Official Website". Archived from the original on 5 September 2007. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- Queanbeyan Football Club Official Website
- South Adelaide Football Club Official Website
- Southport Australian Football Club Official Website
- Subiaco Football Club Official Website
- "Swan Districts Club Official Website". Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
- Sydney Hills Eagles Football Club Official Website
- Werribee Official Website
- West Adelaide Football Club Official Website
- West Perth Football Club Official Website
- Western Storm Football Club facebook page
- Williamstown FC Sportingpulse Website
External links
- Official Foxtel Cup website
- Official AFL Canberra website
- AFL Northern Territory
- AFL Queensland State Site
- North East Australian Football League - official website
- South Australian National Football League – official website
- Official Sydney AFL Site
- Tasmanian Football League Website
- Victorian Football League – official website
- Western Australian Football League – official website