TheNRL Under-20s(known commercially as theHolden Cupdue to sponsorship fromHolden) was the top league of professionalrugby leaguefor players aged 20 years or younger inAustralasia.Contested by sixteen teams, the Under-20s competition commenced in 2008 and was originally known as theToyota Cup.[1]The competition runs parallel to Australasia's professional competition, theNational Rugby League,with NYC matches played immediately prior to the NRL games.[2]Similar to the NRL, the NYC enforces asalary capand puts a heavy focus on life outside football for the players.[3]
 | |
| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 2008 |
| Inaugural season | 2008 |
| Ceased | 2017 |
| Replaced by | Jersey Flegg Cup Hastings Deering Colts |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Countries |  Australia(15 teams) New Zealand(1 team) |
| Premiers |  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles(2017) |
| Most titles |  New Zealand Warriors(3 titles) |
| Website | Official Holden Cup website |
| Broadcast partner |
|
| Related competition | National Rugby League Jersey Flegg Cup Hastings Deering Colts |
TheNew Zealand Warriorswere the most successful club in the competition's short history, with three premierships from four Grand Final appearances; in 2010, 2011 and 2014. In 2018, the NRL Under-20s was replaced by state-based under-20s competitions inNew South WalesandQueensland.[4]
History
editThe NRL Under-20s succeeded theJersey Flegg Cupin 2008, which existed from 1961 to 2007. The competition was administered by theNew South Wales Rugby Leagueas an under-19s competition, until it was changed to an under-20s competition in 1998. On October 28, 2016 it was announced that the 2017 season will be the last for the NRL Under-20s. It was to be replaced by stronger State-based competitions in NSW and QLD, these being the reformedJersey Flegg Cupin NSW and the newHastings Deering Coltsin Queensland.[5]
Teams
editPremiership winners
edit| Season | Premiers | Score | Runners-up | Referee | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Youth Competition | ||||||
| 2008 |  Canberra Raiders
|
28 – 24 |  Brisbane Broncos
|
S. Hayne | ANZ Stadium | 5 October 2008 |
| 2009 |  Melbourne Storm
|
24 – 22 |  Wests Tigers
|
G. Reynolds | ANZ Stadium | 4 October 2009 |
| 2010 | New Zealand Warriors
|
42 – 28 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs
|
G. Reynolds | ANZ Stadium | 3 October 2010 |
| 2011 | New Zealand Warriors (2)
|
31 – 30 |  North Queensland Cowboys
|
D. Munro | ANZ Stadium | 2 October 2011 |
| 2012 | Wests Tigers
|
46 – 6 | Canberra Raiders
|
G. Atkins | ANZ Stadium | 30 September 2012 |
| 2013 |  Penrith Panthers
|
42 – 30 | New Zealand Warriors
|
C. Butler
D. Munro |
ANZ Stadium | 6 October 2013 |
| 2014 | New Zealand Warriors (3)
|
34 – 32 | Brisbane Broncos
|
C. Butler
C. Sutton |
ANZ Stadium | 5 October 2014 |
| 2015 | Penrith Panthers (2)
|
34 – 18 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
|
A. Gee
P. Gough |
ANZ Stadium | 4 October 2015 |
| 2016 |  Sydney Roosters
|
30 – 28 | Penrith Panthers
|
Z Przeklasa-Adamski
D. Oultram |
ANZ Stadium | 2 October 2016 |
| 2017 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
|
20 – 18 |  Parramatta Eels
|
P. Henderson
A. Cassidy |
ANZ Stadium | 1 October 2017 |
Team performance
edit| Team | Premierships | Runners-up | Minor premierships | Wooden spoons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Season(s) | Total | Season(s) | Total | Season(s) | Total | Season(s) | |
| Brisbane Broncos
|
0 | – | 2 | 2008, 2014 | 0 | – | 0 | – |
| Canberra Raiders
|
1 | 2008 | 1 | 2012 | 2 | 2008, 2013 | 0 | – |
 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
|
0 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 2012 | 1 | 2014 |
 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
|
0 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 2017 | 1 | 2009 |
 Gold Coast Titans
|
0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 2012 |
| Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
|
1 | 2017 | 1 | 2015 | 1 | 2009 | 3 | 2011, 2013, 2016 |
| Melbourne Storm
|
1 | 2009 | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – |
| New Zealand Warriors
|
3 | 2010, 2011, 2014 | 1 | 2013 | 1 | 2011 | 1 | 2017 |
 Newcastle Knights
|
0 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 2014 | 0 | – |
| North Queensland Cowboys
|
0 | – | 1 | 2011 | 0 | – | 1 | 2008 |
| Parramatta Eels
|
0 | – | 1 | 2017 | 0 | – | 1 | 2011 |
| Penrith Panthers
|
2 | 2013, 2015 | 1 | 2016 | 2 | 2015, 2016 | 0 | – |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs
|
0 | – | 1 | 2010 | 1 | 2011 | 1 | 2015 |
 St. George Illawarra Dragons
|
0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – |
| Sydney Roosters
|
1 | 2016 | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – |
| Wests Tigers
|
1 | 2012 | 1 | 2009 | 0 | – | 0 | – |
Comprehensive regular season results
editComprehensive regular season results of theNational Youth Competitionby club.
| Team | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane Broncos |
2nd | 5th | 10th | 9th | 12th | 8th | |
| Canberra Raiders |
1st | 8th | 6th | 13th | 3rd | 1st | |
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
7th | 11th | 3rd | 6th | 1st | 4th | |
| Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
14th | 16th | 14th | 3rd | 10th | 13th | |
| Gold Coast Titans |
8th | 14th | 8th | 14th | 16th | 15th | |
| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
11th | 1st | 7th | 16th | 14th | 16th | |
| Melbourne Storm |
13th | 3rd | 13th | 4th | 9th | 9th | |
| Newcastle Knights |
12th | 10th | 12th | 8th | 11th | 12th | |
| New Zealand Warriors |
3rd | 7th | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 6th | |
| North Queensland Cowboys |
16th | 9th | 4th | 2nd | 13th | 10th | |
| Parramatta Eels |
5th | 12th | 16th | 12th | 15th | 14th | |
| Penrith Panthers |
4th | 13th | 15th | 10th | 5th | 2nd | |
| St. George Illawarra Dragons |
6th | 2nd | 11th | 11th | 8th | 11th | |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs |
10th | 6th | 1st | 15th | 6th | 7th | |
| Sydney Roosters |
15th | 15th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 3rd | |
| Wests Tigers |
9th | 4th | 9th | 7th | 4th | 5th |
Awards
editPlayer of the Year
editThe National Youth Competition Player of the Year award is the premier individual award in the National Youth Competition. The voting for the award is similar to theDally M Medalvoting, where after each National Youth Competition game 3 points are awarded to the best player on ground, 2 points to the second and 1 point to the third. As of 2017, every winner of the award has gone on to play first grade in theNRL.The inaugural winner wasBen Huntfrom theBrisbane Broncosin 2008. Hunt is also the youngest player to win the award, at age 18 years, 5 months and 13 days.
Jack Gibson Medal
editThe Jack Gibson Medal is awarded to the man of the match of the Toyota Cup grand final. The award is named after legendaryrugby leaguecoach,Jack Gibson.Gibson, who guidedEastern Suburbsto premierships in 1974 and 1975, theParramatta Eelsto three successive premierships from 1981 to 1983 and was named coach of the Team of the Century, died in 2008.
Television coverage
editAustralia
edit- Free to air:Channel 9showed the Grand Final as part of the Grand Final Coverage.[13]
- Subscription television: FOX Sports show 2 games live every weekend, live coverage of the Toyota Cup precede Fox Sports'Super Saturdayand Sunday live NRL coverage.[14]
New Zealand
edit- All New Zealand Warriors home games in the U20's competition are shown live bySky NZ.[13]Māori Televisionalso broadcastsNgāti NRL,a series that focuses on young Māori and Pacific Islanders who travel to Australia and play in the Toyota Cup.[15]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^Gallop, David(2007)."Australian Rugby Football League Annual Report 2007"(PDF).Australian Rugby League Limited. p. 6. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 13 September 2009.Retrieved15 July2009.
- ^"ARL set to approve national youth comp".The Sydney Morning Herald.12 December 2006.
- ^Toyota Cup to kick off in 2008,NRL.COM
- ^"NRL Holden Cup under-20s competition to end in season 2017".Fox Sports.28 October 2016.Retrieved23 November2016.
- ^"NRL Holden Cup under-20s competition to end in season 2017".Fox Sports.28 October 2016.Retrieved23 November2016.
- ^"Ex-Broncos under 20s coach Craig Hodges to link with Gold Coast Titans in 2017".Fox Sports.25 October 2016.Retrieved23 November2016.
- ^"High Performance Staff Update".bulldogs.com.au. 7 November 2016.Retrieved23 November2016.
- ^"NYC squad coming together".newcastleknights.com.au. 16 January 2017.Retrieved20 March2017.
- ^Becht, Richard (11 October 2016)."Coaches confirmed for ISP and NYC".warriors.kiwi.Retrieved23 November2016.
- ^"Rabbitohs Appoint Ryan Carr As NYC Coach, Pat Richards And Ben Lowe As Assistant Coaches".rabbitohs.com.au. 27 October 2016.Retrieved23 November2016.
- ^"Dragons Football Department 2017".dragons.com.au. 8 November 2016.Retrieved23 November2016.
- ^Corfe, Brock (2 December 2016)."Wests Tigers confirm ISP and Holden Cup Coaches".weststigers.com.au.Retrieved20 March2017.
- ^ab2007 Big League Annual (page 11)
- ^Fox Sports to show Toyota Cup live - NRL - Fox Sports
- ^NGATI NRL RETURNS TO MAORI TELEVISIONatmedia.maoritelevision.com