Ron Massey Cup

The Ron Massey Cup (formerly known as the Bundaberg Red Cup and Jim Beam Cup) is a semi-professional development level rugby league competition in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, run jointly by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and the Country Rugby League of New South Wales (CRL). The competition is run concurrently with the National Rugby League (NRL). It currently comprises 13 teams drawn from the Sydney metropolitan area. The competition is named after Ron Massey, a former rugby league coach. Ron Massey died 19 September 2016.[1]

Ron Massey Cup
Current season or competition:
2022 New South Wales Rugby League
SportRugby league
Formerly known asInter-District Competition
Second Division
Metropolitan League
Metropolitan Cup
Jim Beam Cup
Bundaberg Red Cup
Instituted1963
Inaugural season1963
Number of teams9
Country Australia
 Fiji
Premiers Hills District Bulls (2022)
Most titles Wentworthville Magpies (17 titles)
WebsiteRon Massey Cup
Related competitionKOE NSW Cup
Sydney Shield
Presidents Cup
NSW Challenge Cup

The competition is an expanded version of the former Metropolitan Cup and Second Division competitions. The competition was renamed the Bundaberg Red Cup after the 2008 season (the last Jim Beam Cup season), after Bundaberg replaced former sponsor Jim Beam.[2] For the 2013 season, the competition was re-branded as the Ron Massey Cup, when Bundaberg Rum withdrew their sponsorship.

Clubs
Colors Club Location Stadium Founded Joined*
Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia H.E. Laybutt Fields 1964 2012
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Canterbury-Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia Hammondville Oval 1937 2023
Glebe Dirty Reds Concord, New South Wales, Australia Goddard Park 1908 2015a
Hills District Bulls Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, Australia Crestwood Oval 1964 2016
Kaiviti Silktails Lautoka, Viti Levu, Fiji Churchill Park, Lautoka 2019 2020
Mounties RLFC Mount Pritchard, New South Wales, Australia Aubrey Keech Reserve 1927 2007
Ryde-Eastwood Hawks Ryde, New South Wales, Australia T.G. Millner Field 1962 2003b
St Marys Saints St Marys, NSW, Australia St Marys Leagues Stadium 1908 2016c
Wentworthville Magpies Wentworthville, New South Wales, Australia Ringrose Park 1963 2003

*: The season the team joined is in the Jim Beam Cup/Bundaberg Red Cup/Ron Massey Cup, not any other competition before this.
a - Glebe previously competed as the Glebe-Burwood-Concord Wolves until 2021.[3]
b - Ryde Eastwood did not compete from 2005 to 2020.
c - St Marys previously competed as a merged entity in 2003.
d - Western Suburbs did not compete in 2020.

Former teams in the Ron Massey Cup

1 – Ourimbah withdrew from the competition midway through the 2005 season.
2 – Sydney Bulls withdrew from the competition midway through the 2011 season.
3 – St Johns Eagles joined the competition midway through the 2011 season, replacing the Sydney Bulls.

History

The Ron Massey Cup is the latest in a succession of Sydney-based second tier, semi-professional Rugby League competitions.

Inter-District/Second Division (1963–1973)

The second tier senior Rugby League competition in Sydney was the Inter-District Competition established in 1963 by the NSWRL. It was renamed the Second Division in 1964. Like succeeding competitions the Second Division had a high turnover of participating clubs. The 'promotion' of two of the two biggest clubs Penrith Panthers (1966 champions) and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, at the conclusion of the 1966 season did not help the long-term stability of the competition.

During this period Wentworthville ("The Magpies") was the most successful club, competing in every grand final of the Second Division, winning a total of 8 premierships (including 5 in a row between 1967 and 1971). Due to their domination of the competition 'Wenty' was widely considered the best candidate for promotion to the NSWRL Premiership when two positions were made available for the 1967 competition. Due to their proximity to Parramatta, where a Premiership club was established in 1947, the Magpies were overlooked.

YearPremiersScoreRunners-upWinning CoachReferee
1963 Kingsford 9 – 7 Cronulla-Caringbah Sharks Col Pearce
1964 Wentworthville Magpies 20 – 5 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks Lewis Jones Jack Harris
1965 Wentworthville Magpies 31 – 3 Penrith Panthers Lewis Jones Keith Holman
1966 Penrith Panthers 9 – 7 Wentworthville Magpies Leo Trevena Lin Turner
1967 Wentworthville Magpies 25 – 6 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks John Farrelly
1968 Wentworthville Magpies 17 – 5 Arncliffe Scots Lewis Jones John Farrelly
1969 Wentworthville Magpies 20 – 2 Sydney University Lewis Jones Les Samuelson
1970 Wentworthville Magpies 15 – 5 Blacktown Workers Lewis Jones Laurie Bruyeres
1971 Wentworthville Magpies 21 – 15 Sydney University Lewis Jones Keith Page
1972 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 18 – 14 Wentworthville Magpies Laurie Fagan Keith Page
1973 Wentworthville Magpies 12 – 8 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks D. Rayner Don Macdonald

The Metropolitan League (1974–1976)

The Second Division was reorganised in 1974 and renamed the Metropolitan League. It was dominated by the Ryde-Eastwood club. In the absence of Wentworthville, who competed in the Illawarra Rugby League competition, Ryde-Eastwood won all three Metropolitan League titles. The Metropolitan League was dismantled in 1976 and with it the idea of a second-tier competition.

YearPremiersScoreRunners-upWinning CoachReferee
1974 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 37 – 9 St Marys Saints Laurie Fagan D. MacDonald
1975 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 18 – 14 Windsor Wolves Laurie Fagan
1976 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 10 – 8 University of NSW

The Metropolitan Cup (1990–2002)

The concept of the second-tier competition was resurrected in 1990 with the establishment of the Metropolitan Cup. Many teams that were involved in the former Second Division and Metropolitan League were included in the new competition, including Ryde-Eastwood and Wentworthville. Other teams in the new competition included the Guildford Owls, Mount Pritchard, Bankstown Greyhounds, Western Suburbs Magpies and the Hills District Bulls. The Newtown Jets, who had been exiled from the New South Wales Rugby League premiership at the close of the 1983 season, were also granted admission into the competition in 1991 and became a successful club in their second life, winning 4 premierships (including 3 in a row between 1995 and 1997).Other teams who competed in the cup over the years included St. Marys Saints, West Wollongong Red Devils, Moorebank Rams (Bulldogs), UTS Roosters, Windsor Wolves, Cabramatta Blues, Sydney Bulls and the Kellyville Bushrangers

The final Metropolitan Cup was contested in 2002 and was won by a newly formed club, the Sydney Bulls, defeating Ryde-Eastwood in the last grand final of the Metropolitan Cup.

YearPremiersScoreRunners upWinning CoachReferee
1990 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 19 – 6 Hills District Bulls Ken Wilson Peter Filmer
1991 Guildford Owls 21 – 6 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks Greg Pierce Chris Ward
1992 Newtown Jets 30 – 18 Wentworthville Magpies B Wakefield
1993 St Marys Saints 30 – 10 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks Mark O'Reilly Kelvin Jeffes
1994 St Marys Saints 32 – 14 Hills District Bulls Mark O'Reilly Graeme West
1995 Newtown Jets 26 – 8 Wentworthville Magpies Col Murphy Matt Hewitt
1996 Newtown Jets 28 – 16 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks Col Murphy David Jay
1997 Newtown Jets 18 – 8 Guildford Owls Col Murphy
1998 Wentworthville Magpies 18 – 12 Kellyville Ian McCann
1999 Wentworthville Magpies 30 – 22 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks Ian McCann
2000 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 24 – 10 St Marys Saints Dave Nugent
2001 St Marys Saints 20 – 16 Sydney Bulls Tim O'Brien Kelvin Jeffes
2002 Sydney Bulls 44 – 10 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks Steven Ghosn Rod Lawrence

Jim Beam Cup (2003–2008)
The Jim Beam Cup, 2008

The Jim Beam Cup was established in 2003 as part of another overall restructure of the NSWRL competitions operating in the levels below the NRL. The Jim Beam Cup was intended to lay the foundations of a semi-professional 'State League' competition (similar to the Queensland Cup) and included four non-Sydney teams from the Central Coast (Erina Eagles, The Entrance Tigers, Ourimbah Magpies, and Woy Woy Roosters.) With the inclusion of these clubs (who field teams in the Central Coast Division of the CRL) the Jim Beam Cup became a cooperative effort between the NSWRL and the CRL.

Radio coverage was heard on Hawkesbury Radio 89.9FM with Peter Jolly and Shane Skeen.

YearPremiersScoreRunners-upWinning CoachReferee
2003 The Entrance Tigers 14 – 10 Wentworthville Magpies Matt Parish Jason Robinson
2004 Sydney Bulls 22 – 16 The Entrance Tigers Steve Ghosn Rod Lawrence
2005 Windsor Wolves 23 – 18 Sydney Bulls Steve Ghosn Jared Maxwell
2006 Sydney Bulls 56 – 22 Newtown Jets David Bayssari Alan Shortall
2007 The Entrance Tigers 30 – 20 Sydney Bulls Jamy Forbes Chris James
2008 Windsor Wolves 36 – 16 Sydney Bulls Trent Rosa Adam Gee

Bundaberg Red Cup (2009–2012)

The 2009 Grand Final was a closely fought battle between Minor Premiers Wentworthville Magpies and Cabramatta Two Blues, with Wentworthville coming out victorious by 24–20 in the game at Leichhardt Oval.

YearPremiersScoreRunners-upWinning CoachReferee
2009 Wentworthville Magpies 24 – 10 Cabramatta Two Blues Brett Cook Chris Sutton
2010 Wentworthville Magpies 38 – 28 Bankstown City Bulls Brett Cook Jon Stone
2011 Cabramatta Two Blues 28 – 20 Mount Pritchard Mounties Corey Ruttle Robert Bowen
2012 Wentworthville Magpies 16 – 14 The Entrance Tigers Alex Chan Phil Henderson

Ron Massey Cup (2013–)

During the 2012/13 offseason it was announced that Bundaberg Rum had withdrawn their sponsorship, and the competition would be renamed as the Ron Massey Cup, after the great Parramatta assistant coach.

YearPremiersScoreRunners-up Minor Premiers Wooden SpoonWinning CoachReferee
2013 Wentworthville Magpies 32 – 18 Mount Pritchard Mounties Alex Chan Adam Cassidy
2014 The Entrance Tigers 22 – 18 Mount Pritchard Mounties Wentworthville Magpies Burwood North Ryde United Jamy Forbes Adam Cassidy
2015 Mount Pritchard Mounties 30 – 14 Asquith Magpies Mount Pritchard Mounties Kingsgrove Colts Chris Hutchinson Daniel Olford
2016 Mount Pritchard Mounties 36 – 16 St Marys Saints Mount Pritchard Mounties Kingsgrove Colts Mark Speechley Ryan Jackson
2017 Wentworthville Magpies 38 – 4 Auburn Warriors St Marys Saints Western Suburbs Magpies Chris Yates Ryan Jackson
2018 Wentworthville Magpies 38 – 4 St Marys Saints Wentworthville Magpies Penrith Brothers Brett Cook Darian Furner
2019 Wentworthville Magpies 32 – 14 St Marys Saints Wentworthville Magpies Penrith Brothers Brett Cook Kieron Irons
2020 Season was suspended after 1 round due to lockdowns enacted to mitigate risks of the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]
2021 Season was suspended after 16 rounds due to lockdowns enacted to mitigate risks of the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
2022 Hills District Bulls 18 – 12 Glebe Dirty Reds Hills District Bulls Western Suburbs Magpies Mick Withers Damian Brady
2023 St Marys Saints 12 – 40 Wentworthville Magpies St Marys Saints Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Darren Baker Clayton Wills

Premiership Tally
No. Club Premierships
1 Wentworthville Magpies 17 (1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1998, 1999, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019)
2 Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 6 (1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1990, 2000)
3 Newtown Jets 4 (1992, 1995, 1996, 1997)
4 St Marys Saints 4 (1993, 1994, 2001, 2023)
5 The Entrance Tigers 3 (2003, 2007, 2014)
6 Sydney Bulls 3 (2002, 2004, 2006)
7 Mount Pritchard Mounties 2 (2015, 2016)
8 Windsor Wolves 2 (2005, 2008)
9 Cabramatta Two Blues 1 (2011)
10 Guildford Owls 1 (1991)
11 Penrith Panthers 1 (1966)
12 Kingsford 1 (1963)
13 Hills District Bulls 1 (2022)

Bold means the team is still currently playing in the competition.

Timeline of Teams

The following timeline displays the participation of clubs in the Ron Massey Cup and its most recent predecessors, The Metropolitan Cup, the Jim Beam and Bundaberg Red Cups. The competitions had Top 4 final series from 1990 to 2002, Top 5 from 2003 to 2012, and Top 8 from 2013 to 2019. Three teams from the cancelled 2020 Ron Massey Cup participated in the 2020 President's Cup, two making the four team final series.

Since its establishment in 2003 the competition has both expanded and contracted in terms of numbers of sides competing. Aside from the original expansion of the Sydney-based competition into the Central Coast, the Bundaberg Red Cup has continued to expand throughout Sydney, moving away from its Western Sydney base in 2005 with the inclusion of two Northern Sydney sides: the Asquith Magpies and Belrose Eagles.

2000s

2003
2003 saw the inauguration of the new Jim Beam Cup. It featured eight teams from Sydney and four from the Central Coast.

2004
The St Mary's-Penrith Cougars left to focus on their NSW Premier League side, and were replaced by the Cabramatta Two Blues.

2005

2006
The Woy Woy Roosters withdrew.

2007
In 2007, 12 clubs competed for the Jim Beam Cup. New clubs Shellharbour, Chester Hill, Seven Hills and Mount Pritchard competed for the first time. The Newtown Jets dropped out of the competition to concentrate on their club's 2007 NSWRL Premier League campaign.

In terms of geographical spread four clubs were based in the Parramatta District (Wentworthville, Seven Hills, Cabramatta and Mount Pritchard), two on the Central Coast of NSW (Erina and The Entrance) and Canterbury-Bankstown (Chester Hill and Sydney Bulls) and one each in Penrith (Windsor Wolves), Manly-Warringah (Belrose), Illawarra (Shellharbour) and North Sydney (Asquith).

2008
In 2008, for the first time, an interstate team entered the competition, a Western Australia Rugby League representative side known as the WA Reds, with a view to developing the game in the state in order to secure a future NRL franchise in 2011–2012.[6] The Cronulla Sutherland Sharks and the Campbelltown Eagles also joined the competition. The Seven Hills Demons announced that they would not field a team in the Jim Beam Cup in Season 2008.[7] The Entrance Tigers, who had claimed the 2007 title, unfortunately pulled out of the Jim Beam Cup due to the restrictions placed on gambling and smoking in clubs and pubs.[8] The Asquith Magpies also withdrew from the competition.

2009

2010s

2010

2011
In 2011, the Kingsgrove Colts joined the competition, based in the St George catchment area. As of Round 6, the Sydney Bulls left the competition due to financial difficulties.

2012

2013

The Asquith Magpies returned, replacing the St Johns Eagles. The Guildford Owls made their return, and the Western Suburbs Magpies made their return following the merger of the NSW Cup entities.

2014

2015

The reigning premiers, The Entrance Tigers withdrew. Western Suburbs, Cabramatta and Kingsgrove missed the eight-team finals series.

2016

The Hills District Bulls and St Marys Saints joined the competition.

2017

2018

Auburn did not field a team in the competition after being liquidated.

2019

2020s

2020
For 2020 the 11 clubs in the list immediately below were included in the competition. After the first round on 14 & 15 March, the Ron Massey Cup was suspended and subsequently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[9] In that single, first round the winning teams were the Kaiviti Silktails (40-16 on their debut), Concord-Burwood-Glebe Wolves (12-4), Wentworthville (18-14), St Marys (44-32) and Blacktown Workers (30-4). Guildford had the bye.

The NSWRL subsequently arranged two men's competitions, a President's Cup and a reconfigured Sydney Shield.[10] Hills District Bulls and Wentworthville entered teams in both competitions. Glebe-Burwood Wolves fielded a team in the President's Cup.

The President's Cup comprised four teams from within the Sydney metropolitan area and five teams from other areas of the state. The Sydney teams were Glebe-Burwood Wolves (finished as runners-up), North Sydney Bears (semi-finalist), Hills District Bulls (semi-finalist) and Wentworthville Magpies (8th). The teams from regions were Maitland Pickers (Premiers[11]) from the Hunter Valley; Thirroul Butchers (5th) and Western Suburbs Red Devils (6th) from the Illawarra, Dubbo CYMS (7th) and a Western Rams representative team (9th).[12] The Western Rams played their home games in Forbes, Orange, Mudgee and Bathurst.

On 28 September 2020, the NSWRL announced their intention to expand, from the 2021 season, the Ron Massey Cup to become a statewide competition. The statement also affirmed that Kaiviti Silktails from Fiji would be part of that competition.[13][14]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Ron Massey Cup was cancelled after one round of matches.

2021

[15]

2022

See also

Sources
  • Big League
  • Daily Telegraph (Australia)
  • E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook
  • History of the Hawks 1963–2004 : a history of Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club and Ryde-Eastwood District Rugby League Football Club Inc. (2004), Chris Karas
  • Never a backward step: the story of St Mary's Rugby League Club (2008), Alan Whiticker.
  • NSWRL Annual Reports
  • Rugby League News (available on Trove)
  • Rugby League Week
  • St George & Sutherland Leader
  • Sydney Morning Herald

All of the above are available at the State Library of NSW, although some collections are incomplete.

  • NSWRL News, 2016 Grand Final edition.

References
  1. Pengilly, Adam (19 September 2016). "Rugby league tactician Ron Massey dies, aged 86". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  2. Massoud, Josh (14 November 2008). "Row over Jim Beam, Bundaberg Rum sponsorship". Herald Sun. Melbourne: News Limited.
  3. "Competition » League Unlimited". League Unlimited. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  4. "NSWRL cancels nine competitions for 2020 season". New South Wales Rugby League. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  5. "NSWRL makes tough call to abandon Major Competitions". NSWRL. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  6. Read, Brent (22 May 2008). "WA eyes return as Sydney clubs battle". The Australian. Sydney: News Limited. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
  7. "WA Wins Bid for National Team: The Journey to the NRL Begins". WA Rugby League. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2006.
  8. "The Entrance Withdraw from the 2008 Jim Beam Cup".
  9. "NSWRL cancels nine competitions for 2020 season". NSWRL. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  10. "Regional and Metro teams to meet in unique 2020 Presidents Cup". NSWRL. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  11. Harris, Kristy-Lee (27 September 2020). "Lamb finesses with a field goal to gift Maitland the trophy". NSWRL. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  12. "President's Cup 2020 - Ladder". League Unlimited. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  13. "NSWRL unveils exciting blueprint for football comps". NSWRL. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  14. Ward, Courtney (28 September 2020). "Restructure to Southern Corridor won't impact Group Seven Rugby League competition". South Coast Register. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  15. "Draw".
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