Harold_Matthews_Cup

Harold Matthews Cup

Junior rugby league competition in New South Wales

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.

Quick Facts Sport, Instituted ...

Harold Matthews Cup
Current season or competition: [[2022 Harold Matthews Cup]]

Sport	Rugby league
Instituted	1970
Inaugural season	1970
Number of teams	17
Country	Australia (16 teams) New Zealand 1 team
Premiers	New Zealand Warriors (2024)
Most titles	Parramatta Eels (20 titles)
Website	Harold Matthews Cup
Broadcast partner	NSWRL channel on facebook
Related competition	Andrew 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 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.

Balmain Tigers
Canberra Raiders
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Central Coast Roosters
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Illawarra Steelers
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Melbourne Storm
Newcastle Knights
New Zealand Warriors
North Sydney Bears
Parramatta Eels
Penrith Panthers
South Sydney Rabbitohs
St George Dragons
Sydney Roosters
Western Suburbs Magpies

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.^[3]

Harold Matthews Cup Premiers

More information Year, Age ...

Year	Age	Premiers	Runners Up	Report
1970		Parramatta Eels
1971		Parramatta Eels
1972		Parramatta Eels
1973		Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
1974		South Sydney Rabbitohs
1975		Parramatta Eels
1976	U/14s	Parramatta Eels
1977	U/14s	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
1978	U/14s	Canberra Rugby League (CRL)	Parramatta Eels	^[4]
1979	U/14s	Penrith Panthers
1980	U/14s	Group 12 (CRL)	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	^[5]
1981	U/14s	Parramatta Eels
1982	U/14s	Parramatta Eels
1983	U/14s	Group 6 Rugby League (CRL)	Penrith Panthers	^[6]
1984	U/14s	Canberra Raiders	Central Coast	^[7]
1985	U/14s	Penrith Panthers
1986	U/15s	Parramatta Eels
1987	U/15s	Illawarra Steelers
1988	U/15s	Parramatta Eels	Penrith Panthers	^[8]
1989	U/15s	Penrith Panthers
1990	U/15s	Parramatta Eels	Gold Coast Seagulls
1991	U/15s	Gold Coast Seagulls	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
1992	U/15s	Newcastle Knights	South Sydney Rabbitohs
1993	U/15s	Canberra Raiders	Parramatta Eels	^[9]
1994	U/15s	Parramatta Eels	Penrith Panthers
1995	U/15s	Canberra Raiders	Parramatta Eels	^[10]
1996	U/15s	Illawarra Steelers	Newcastle Knights
1997	U/16s	Parramatta Eels	North Sydney Bears
1998	U/16s	Parramatta Eels
1999	U/16s	Parramatta Eels	South Sydney Rabbitohs
2000	U/16s	Newcastle Knights	Penrith Panthers
2001	U/16s	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Penrith Panthers
2002	U/16s	Penrith Panthers
2003	U/15s	Parramatta Eels	St George Dragons

More information Year, Age ...

Year	Age	Premiers	Score	Runners Up	Minor Premiers	Wooden Spoon	Report
2004	U/16s	Parramatta Eels	18 – 16	Penrith Panthers	Parramatta Eels	Western Suburbs Magpies
2005	U/16s	Penrith Panthers	38 – 10	Illawarra Steelers	Illawarra Steelers	Newcastle Knights
2006	U/16s	Penrith Panthers	20 – 8	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	North Sydney Bears
2007	U/16s	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	18 – 14	Penrith Panthers	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	North Sydney Bears
2008	U/16s	Parramatta Eels	30 – 17	Penrith Panthers	Penrith Panthers	South-West Academy
2009	U/16s	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	34 – 22	Parramatta Eels	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	South-West Academy
2010	U/16s	Penrith Panthers	22 – 12	Parramatta Eels	Parramatta Eels	South-West Academy
2011	U/16s	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	13 – 12	Illawarra Steelers	Illawarra Steelers	North Sydney Bears
2012	U/16s	Parramatta Eels	39 – 32	Newcastle Knights	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Sydney Roosters	^[11]^[12]
2013	U/16s	Parramatta Eels	24 – 16	South Sydney Rabbitohs	South Sydney Rabbitohs	South-West Academy	^[13]^[14]
2014	U/16s	Newcastle Knights	34 – 4	Penrith Panthers	Newcastle Knights	North Sydney Bears	^[15]^[16]
2015	U/16s	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	30 – 16	Parramatta Eels	Parramatta Eels	Sydney Roosters	^[17]^[18]
2016	U/16s	Parramatta Eels	16 – 14	Newcastle Knights	Parramatta Eels	South-West Academy	^[19]^[20]
2017	U/16s	Newcastle Knights	26 – 20	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Newcastle Knights	Western Suburbs Magpies	^[21]^[22]
2018	U/16s	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	26 – 18	Parramatta Eels	Penrith Panthers	North Sydney Bears	^[23]^[24]
2019	U16/s	Newcastle Knights	28 – 8	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Newcastle Knights	St George Dragons	^[25]^[26]
2020	Season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[27]
2021	U17/s	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	24 – 12	Parramatta Eels	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Canberra Raiders	^[28]
2022	U17/s	Western Suburbs Magpies	42 – 16	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Western Suburbs Magpies	Central Coast Roosters	^[29]
2023	U17/s	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	32 – 6	Newcastle Knights	Penrith Panthers	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
2024	U17/s	New Zealand Warriors	34 – 16	Western Suburbs Magpies	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Balmain Tigers	^[30]

Premiership Tally

More information No., Club ...

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.

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]
"NSWRL cancels nine competitions for 2020 season". NSWRL. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
[4]
"Sport in Brief". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 24 April 1978. p. 16. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
[5]
Harrison, Ian (14 August 1980). "Group 12 wins Matthews Cup". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. p. 16. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
[6]
"Sports results, details". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 4 April 1983. p. 12. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
[7]
"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.
[8]
"Times Sport". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 14 June 1988. p. 27. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
[9]
Kirkman, Janette (2 May 1993). "Excellent U15s roll the Eels". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. p. 17. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
[10]
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.
[11]
"Eels win Harold Matthews Cup". Fairfield City Champion. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
[12]
"NSWRL 2012 Harold Matthews Cup - GRAND FINAL". OurFootyTeam. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
[13]
"2013 HMATTS Grand Final". NSWRL. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
[14]
"Under 16s Go Down in Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final in 2013". South Sydney Rabbitohs. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
[15]
"Cessnock boys star in Harold Matthews grand final". Cessnock Advertiser. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
[16]
"2014 Harold Matthews Grand Final". NSWRL. 4 May 2017 [2014]. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
[17]
"District Reps: Harold Matthews Grand Final". ParraEels. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
[18]
"Harold Matthews highlights: Grand Final". NSWRL. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
[19]
"Live Blog – Harold Matthews Grand Final vs Newcastle Knights". The Cumberland Throw. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
[20]
"Highlights - 2016 Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final". NSWRL. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
[21]
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.
[22]
"Highlights - Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final". NSWRL. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
[23]
Masterton, Simon (5 May 2018). "Sea Eagles Win First-Ever UNE Harold Matthews Cup". NSWRL. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
[24]
"Highlights - UNE Harold Matthews Grand Final". NSWRL. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
[25]
Honeysett, Stuart (4 May 2019). "Newcastle crowned Harold Matthews champions". NSWRL. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
[26]
"Highlights - UNE Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final". NSWRL. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
[27]
"NSWRL cancels nine competitions for 2020 season". New South Wales Rugby League. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
[28]
"Fainu puts on masterclass for Harold Matthews decider". NSWRL. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
[29]
Honeysett, Stuart (30 April 2022). "Magpies cap stunning season with Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final win". NSWRL. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
[30]
Micallef, Tayla (27 April 2024). "Warriors make history with UNE Harold Matthews Cup title". NSWRL. Retrieved 27 April 2024.

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