The Foxtel Cup was an annual Australian rules football club knockout cup competition involving clubs from state league competitions around Australia. The tournament was organised by the Australian Football League (AFL), and was held annually between 2011 and 2014.
The competition initially featured sixteen teams who qualified based on their finishing positions in their previous state league seasons. 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; in 2013 and 2014, matches were mostly played as stand-alone games on Tuesday nights. 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.
Victorian Football League club Williamstown won the Foxtel Cup twice, in 2011 and 2014. West Australian Football League club Claremont won the 2012 competition, and South Australian National Football League club West Adelaide won the 2013 competition.
Qualification Announced in 2010 as the Leagues Championship Cup, the competition was soon sponsored by subscription television service Foxtel as the Foxtel Cup, and was known by that name throughout its four-year history.
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.
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, citing lack of prize money, sponsorship conflicts, salary cap implications, schedule concerns and removing the focus from their SANFL premiership ambitions. Eventually, the SANFL positions in the competition were taken up by West Adelaide, North Adelaide and Port Adelaide Magpies, none of which had reached the SANFL finals in 2010. 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. 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.
Results
2011 Foxtel Cup
Grand Final
2012 Foxtel Cup
Grand Final
2013 Foxtel Cup
Grand Final
2014 Foxtel Cup
Grand Final
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 Club Guernsey Nickname Location State League Cup championships Cup appearances AinslieAinslie Football Club Official Website Tricolours Ainslie, Australian Capital Territory 0 2011–2012 AspleyAspley Australian Football Club Official Website Hornets Carseldine, Queensland 0 2014 BelconnenBelconnen Football Club Official Website Magpies Belconnen, Australian Capital Territory 0 2014 Box HillBox Hill Hawks Football Club Official Website Hawks Box Hill, Victoria 0 2014 Burnie DockersBurnie Football Club Official Website Dockers Burnie, Tasmania 0 2012–2013 ClaremontClaremont Football Club Official Website Tigers Claremont, Western Australia 1 2011–2013 ClarenceClarence Football Club Official Website Kangaroos Clarence, Tasmania 0 2011 East FremantleEast Fremantle Football Club Official Website Sharks East Fremantle, Western Australia 0 2013 East PerthEast Perth Football Club Official Website Royals Leederville, Western Australia 0 2011, 2014 Greater Western Sydney GiantsGreater Western Sydney Giants Official Website Giants Blacktown, New South Wales 0 2011 Labrador Tigers Labrador, Queensland 0 2011 LauncestonLaunceston Football Club Official Website Blues Launceston, Tasmania 0 2012 MorningsideMorningside Australian Football Club Official Website Panthers Hawthorne, Queensland 0 2011–2012 Mount GravattMount Gravatt Australian Football Club Official Website Vultures Mount Gravatt, Queensland 0 2012 North AdelaideNorth Adelaide Football Club Official Website Roosters North Adelaide, South Australia 0 2011 North BallaratNorth Ballarat Official Website Roosters Ballarat, Victoria 0 2011 Northern BullantsNorthern Bullants Official Website Bullants Preston, Victoria 0 2011 Northern Territory Thunder Darwin, Northern Territory 0 2011–2013 NorwoodNorwood Football Club Official Website Redlegs Norwood, South Australia 0 2013–2014 Port AdelaidePort Adelaide Magpies Football Club Official Website Magpies Alberton, South Australia 0 2011–2012 Port Melbourne Borough Port Melbourne, Victoria 0 2012–2013 QueanbeyanQueanbeyan Football Club Official Website Tigers Queanbeyan, New South Wales 0 2013 South AdelaideSouth Adelaide Football Club Official Website Panthers Noarlunga Downs, South Australia 0 2012 SouthportSouthport Australian Football Club Official Website Sharks Southport, Queensland 0 2013 SubiacoSubiaco Football Club Official Website Lions Subiaco, Western Australia 0 2012 Swan Districts Swans Bassendean, Western Australia 0 2011 Sydney Hills EaglesSydney Hills Eagles Football Club Official Website Eagles Rouse Hill, New South Wales 0 2011–2012 WerribeeWerribee Official Website Tigers Werribee, Victoria 0 2012–2013 West AdelaideWest Adelaide Football Club Official Website Bloods Richmond, South Australia 1 2011–2014 West PerthWest Perth Football Club Official Website Falcons Joondalup, Western Australia 0 2012, 2014 Western StormWestern Storm Football Club facebook page Storm Prospect, Tasmania 0 2014 WilliamstownWilliamstown FC Sportingpulse Website Seagulls Williamstown, Victoria 2 2011 - 2012, 2014
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
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