The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to 1908, when it began as a reserve grade competition, and is now the premier open age competition in the state. The New South Wales Cup, along with the Queensland Cup, acts as a feeder competition to the National Rugby League premiership. The competition is the oldest continuous rugby league competition in Australia.
The NSW Cup is contested by reserve squads of NSW-based NRL teams and also includes sides representing teams that once competed at the first grade level in the NSWRL Premiership but no longer field teams in the NRL competition, and teams that have not fielded teams in the NRL competition. The North Sydney Bears are the only team to have competed in every season, since the start of the competition since 1908. The South Sydney Rabbitohs have the most titles in the competition, with 21 titles.
Clubs New South Wales Cup teams
The New South Wales Cup consists of 13 teams, 1 each from Auckland and Australian Capital Territory, and 11 from New South Wales. The league operates on a single group system, with no divisions or conferences and no relegation and promotion from other leagues. A number of clubs in the New South Wales Cup have an affiliation with a team in the Australian national competition, the National Rugby League, with most of the clubs in the being reserve grade teams to the senior grade teams of the NRL.
New South Wales Cup Rugby League Club Est. Joined* Location/s Home Venue/s† Titles (Last) NRL Affiliate Canberra Raiders 1982 2021 Canberra Canberra StadiumRaiders Belconnen 1(2003) Canberra Raiders Canterbury Bulldogs 1935 2021 Sydney (Canterbury Bankstown region) Belmore OvalStadium Australia 10(2018) Canterbury Bulldogs Manly Sea Eagles 1947 1947,2014, 2025 Sydney (Northern Beaches) Brookvale Oval 5(1988) Manly Sea Eagles Melbourne Storm 1998 2010,2026 Melbourne Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 0(None) Melbourne Storm Newcastle Knights 1988 1988, 2012 Newcastle Newcastle International Sports Centre 2(2015) Newcastle Knights New Zealand Warriors 1995 2023 Auckland Mt Smart Stadium 1(2025) New Zealand Warriors Newtown Jets 1908 2014 Sydney (Marrickville region) Henson Park 9(2024) Cronulla Sharks+ North Sydney Bears 1908 1908, 2003 Sydney (North Shore) North Sydney Oval 8(1993) Perth Bears (From 2027) Parramatta Eels 1947 1947, 2020 Sydney (Parramatta) Ringrose ParkWestern Sydney Stadium 8(2007) Parramatta Eels Penrith Panthers 1966 1967, 2014 Sydney (Penrith/Blue Mountains) Penrith Stadium 4(2022) Penrith Panthers St. George Illawarra Dragons 1999 2000, 2018 Sydney (St George) Wollongong Wollongong Showground Jubilee Oval 1(2001) St. George Illawarra Dragons South Sydney Rabbitohs 1908 1908, 2019 Sydney Redfern/Lower Eastern Suburbs Redfern OvalStadium Australia 21(2023) South Sydney Rabbitohs Sydney Roosters 1908 1908, 2023 Sydney (Upper Eastern Suburbs Sydney Football StadiumWentworth Park 9(2004) Sydney Roosters Wests Magpies 1908 1908, 2018 Sydney (South Western Sydney) Campbelltown StadiumLidcombe Oval, Leichhardt Oval 3(1981) Wests Tigers
Bold indicates it is the club's highest level of competition. *: The season the team joined competition in its current form and consecutive tenure. +: Current affiliation between Cronulla and Newtown since 2015.
†:Does not include games played as NRL Curtain raisers
Uniforms
Former teams – NSW Cup Of the 26 former clubs in the 21st century, 1 was each based in Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and Victoria, 2 were based in Auckland Region and the other 23 former clubs were based in New South Wales.
New South Wales Cup Colors Club Est. First Last City/Cities Titles Last Fate Auckland Vulcans 2008 2013 Auckland Departed Balmain RydeEastwood Tigers 2005 2012 Leichhardt Departed Bankstown City Bulls 2008 2008 2009 Bankstown FoldedBlacktown Workers 2016 2017 2024 Sydney Departed* Central Coast Centurions 2010 2011 Central Coast Departed Central Newcastle Rebels 2008 2008 2008 Newcastle Departed Cronulla Cobras 2008 2008 2008 Cronulla Folded Illawarra Cutters 2012 2012 2017 Wollongong Folded Melbourne Storm 1997 2010 2010 Melbourne Departed* Mount Pritchard Mounties 1927 2012 2022 Sydney Departed New Zealand Warriors 1994 2014 2020 Auckland Departed* Shellharbour City Dragons 2009 2010 Shellharbour Departed Wentworthville Magpies 2013 2018 Wentworthville Departed Windsor Wolves 2008 2013 Windsor Departed Wyong Roos 2005 2018 Wyong Departed Central Coast Bears returned to North Sydney after the failure of the Northern Eagles joint-venture
Manly Sea Eagles ended its partnership with Blacktown Workers at the end of the 2024 season, and re-entered their own NSW Cup Team for the 2025 season.
Melbourne Storm returned to the NSW Cup in 2026.
New Zealand Warriors returned to the NSW Cup in 2023.
Former teams – Reserve Grade/First Division/Premier League
Of the 24 former clubs in the 20th century, 1 was based in Auckland Region, South Australia and Western Australia, 4 were based in Queensland and the other 20 former clubs were based in New South Wales.
New South Wales Cup Colors Club Est. First Season Last Season City/Cities Venue/Venues Titles Last Fate Enfield 1908 1908 1908 Enfield Folded Belmore 1910 1910 1910 Belmore Folded Banksia 1911 1911 1911 Banksia Folded Waverley 1912 1912 1912 Waverley Folded South Sydney Federals 1908 1910 1912 South Sydney Folded Western Sydney 1912 1912 1913 West. Sydney Folded Mosman 1910 1910 1914 Mosman Folded Redfern 1911 1911 1914 Redfern Folded Grosvenor 1911 1911 1915 Sydney Folded Marrickville 1911 1911 1915 Marrickville Folded Sydney 1908 1908 1916 Sydney Folded Randwick 1915 1915 1916 Randwick Folded Surry Hills 1912 1912/15 1912/16 Surry Hills Folded Annandale Dales 1910 1910 1920 Annandale Folded Glebe Dirty Reds 1908 1908 1929 Sydney Wentworth Park 5 1921 Folded Sydney University Students 1920 1920 1937 Sydney Departed Brisbane Broncos 1988 1988 1996† Brisbane Lang Park,QEII Stadium* Departed Western/Perth Reds 1992 1995 1996 Perth WACA Ground Folded South Queensland Crushers 1992 1995 1997 Brisbane Lang Park Folded Adelaide Rams 1996 1997 1998† Adelaide Adelaide Oval Hindmarsh Stadium Folded Auckland Warriors 1992 1995 1998† Auckland Mt Smart Stadium Departed* Gold Coast-Tweed Giants 1988 1988 1998 Gold Coast Seagulls Stadium* Folded Gold Coast Seagulls 1988 1988 1998 Gold Coast Seagulls Stadium* Folded Gold Coast Chargers 1988 1988 1998 Gold Coast Seagulls Stadium* Folded Illawarra Steelers 1982 1982 1998 Wollongong Wollongong Showground* Merger St George Dragons 1921 1921 2000 Kogarah Kogarah Oval* MergerBalmain Tigers190819081999 Leichhardt Leichhardt Oval* MergerNorth Queensland Cowboys199219922001 Townsville Willows Sports Complex* DepartedCentral Coast Bears200020002001 Central Coast Central Coast Stadium Departed²Central Coast Storm199219922001 Central Coast Morrie Breen Oval DepartedSt Marys-Penrith Cougars 20032005 Penrith,St Marys St Marys Stadium* DepartedPenrith Pumas20072007 Penrith Panthers Stadium* Departed
Gold Coast-Tweed Giants from 1988 to 1989, Gold Coast Seagulls from 1990 to 1995, Gold Coast Chargers from 1996 to 1999. † The club also competed in the second grade/reserve grade of the 1997 Super League competition
*= First grade club ground/ largest ground in the area
History The NSW Cup was known as the Reserve Grade/Presidents Cup/First Division from 1908 until 2002, and the NSWRL Premier League from 2003 to 2007, the NSW Cup from 2008 to 2015, the Intrust Super Premiership NSW from 2016 to 2018, the Canterbury Cup NSW from 2019 to 2020. The competition's lineage follows that of the NSWRL Reserve Grade from 1908 onwards.
20th century
The New South Wales Cup, run by the NSWRL, has been known by a variety of names and operated in several different ways since the inception of the NSWRL Premiership in 1908. Between 1908 and 1996, the competition was known as Reserve Grade and was competed for almost exclusively by reserve squads of each of the NSWRL Premiership Clubs, competing with that Club's name and colours. With the advent of the Super League war, and the resultant split competition in 1997, the NSWRL reconfigured the competition as the Presidents Cup. From 2002 until 2007, the competition was known as the NSWRL Premier League until it was reorganised into its present form as the New South Wales Cup in 2008.
'Stand-alone' clubs
With the competitions having merged back together, and with six NSWRL Premiership clubs having merged or became joint-ventures into three new NRL clubs (St. George Dragons and Illawarra Steelers; North Sydney and Manly; Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs) the competition became known as the First Division and included these sides competing under their original name and colours.
The inclusion of these non-NRL clubs (along with the return of the Newtown Jets in 2000) in the competition signalled a move away from the 'reserve squad' competition it had become and became increasingly differentiated from the NRL competition with games played at non-NRL venues such as North Sydney Oval, Marrickville's Henson Park and Western Weekender Stadium at St Marys.
Another trend that began during this period was the phenomenon of NRL clubs outsourcing competing teams, with several NRL clubs choosing not to field sides in this competition and rather field either merged entities (as in the St Marys Penrith Cougars and Balmain Ryde Eastwood Tigers, both formed with NSWRL Jim Beam Cup sides) or form agreements with another club to take their place in the competition, those players being eligible for NRL selection, such as the agreement between Newtown Jets and Sydney Roosters for the 2006 season.
NSW Cup Era
2007–09 Expansion In 2007, Bartercard Cup club Auckland Lions joined the competition.
In 2008 and 2009, Jersey Flegg Cup club Central Coast Storm fielded a team in the competition. The team was based on the NSW Central Coast but acted as a feeder club to the Melbourne Storm.NSWRL news Retrieved on 27 December 2006 In addition, the Panthers were replaced by the Windsor Wolves and the Sharks were replaced by the Cronulla-Sutherland Cobras. The Canberra Raiders withdrew from the competition on 1 August 2007. The Newcastle Knights also announced a joint venture with the Central Charlestown. The team used the original Central Newcastle Rebels Name.League Loaded Central Newcastle enter Premier League retrieved 19 November 2007 The Parramatta Eels also formed a joint-venture with the Wentworthville Magpies to act as their Feeder Club in the competition from 2008 onwards.Parramatta Sun Magpies in Deal with Eels retrieved 28 January 2008 The Saints decided to no longer run a Reserve Grade Side, but would use the St George District Rugby League & the Illawarra District Rugby League competitions instead as their Feeder Team/s.
Two new teams have been added to the competition. These two new teams will have both previously played in the Jim Beam Cup. The Shellharbour City Dragons, previously known as the Shellharbour Marlins, will be the St George-Illawarra Dragons feeder side. The Bankstown Bulls, who were known as the Sydney Bulls, will act as the Canterbury Bulldogs feeder side. Bankstown will still field a team in the Jim Beam Cup. The Manly Sea Eagles have withdrawn from the competition and will have a feeder team in the Queensland Cup. Newcastle had also withdrawn from the competition, discontinuing the link with the Central Newcastle Rebels.
2010–12 Seasons