Queensland Rugby League

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Queensland Rugby League

General Information
Logo
Founded	1908, Brisbane, Australia
Previous names	Queensland Rugby Association (1908) Queensland Amateur Rugby League (1909-11)
Is in charge of:
Competitions	Wizard Cup FOGS Cup FOGS Colts Challenge Foley Shield
Representitive Sides	Queensland Maroons Queensland Residents

The Queensland Rugby League (QRL) is the governing body for the sport of Rugby league in Queensland. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and selects the members of Queensland State of Origin teams.

Today the QRL administers the rugby league through its regional divisions. It is also responsible for the Queensland Rugby League team.

Contents 1 History of the QRL 2 State of Origin 3 Rugby League in Queensland 4 Current Major Competitions 4.1 Queensland Wizard Cup 4.2 FOGS Cup & FOGS Colts Challenge 4.3 Foley Shield 5 Past Competitions 5.1 Brisbane Rugby League 5.2 Bulimba Cup 5.3 Winfield State League 6 Rivalry with NSW 7 See also 8 External links

[edit] History of the QRL

Associated Article: Brisbane Rugby League

The QRL was formed in 1908 by seven rugby union players who were dissatisfied with the administration of the Queensland Rugby Union (QRU). Discussion about breaking away from Rugby Union and forming a profession league in Queensland can be traced as far back as 1905 through the visions of then Deputy State Premier John Fihelly.

On March 14, 1908, the breakaway group was first mentioned in the local media, and a fortnight later the first official announcement was made regarding the formation of the Queensland rugby Association was made. On May 16 that year a hastily assembled Queensland team played the touring New Zealand "All Golds" side in Brisbane. Later that month there were three representative games against New South Wales, which acted as selection trials for a national team.

In 1909, club Rugby league officially began, with W. Evans scoring the inaugural try before backing up with another as North Brisbane beat Toombul 8-0 at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, although Valleys were the first premiers. Other teams that entered the competition include: Milton (1909), South Brisbane (1909), West End (1910), Natives (1912), Merthyr (1917), University (1917) and Coorparoo (1917)

[edit] State of Origin

Main Article: Queensland State of Origin Team

The Queensland State of Origin is by far Queensland's most loved football team. Purely a representative team, they play three games a year against New South Wales in the competition known as the State of Origin, known as such because players represent their state of birth or the state where they played their first senior game of football. They are currently captained by Darren Lockyer and coached by Mal Meninga.

[edit] Rugby League in Queensland

The QRL administers rugby league in Queensland through the following divisions:

• South East Division Poinsettias
• Southern Division Kookaburras
• Wide Bay Division Bulls
• Northern Division Marlins
• Central Division Capras
• South West Division Mustangs

In 2007 the Southern Division will be merged with the South East Division to form the South East Queensland Division, decreasing the number of QRL divisions from 6 to 5. [1]

[edit] Current Major Competitions

[edit] Queensland Wizard Cup

Main article: Queensland Wizard Cup

The Queensland Cup has been contested since 1996.Since 1998 the team winning the Queensland Cup is considered to have won the Premiership. (In 1996 and 1997 it was contested parallel to the BRL competition.) The Queensland Cup grew out of the Winfield State League. Since its formation in 1995, the Queensland Cup has been known as the Queensland Cup, Bundy Gold Cup, Channel 9 Cup. For sponsorship reasons it is currently known as the Queensland Wizard Cup.

[edit] FOGS Cup & FOGS Colts Challenge

Main article: FOGS Cup

The FOGS Cup & FOGS Colts Challenge are run by the Queensland Rugby League's South East Division. It is made up of 12 clubs, 7 of which play in the Queensland Wizard Cup. Generally, it is regarded as the division below the Queensland Cup. The FOGS Cup and FOGS Colts Challenge are formerly known as the Quest Cup and Mixwell Cup

[edit] Foley Shield

Main article: Foley Shield

The Foley Shield competition began in North Queensland in 1948. With the introduction of the Queensland Cup in 1996 the Foley Shield competition was scrapped, only to be reintroduced in 2000. In 2005 the Foley Shield was contested by Cairns, Mackay and Townsville, and won by Cairns, who defeated Mackay 36-32 on 31 July at the Townsville Sports Reserve.

[edit] Past Competitions

[edit] Brisbane Rugby League

Main article: Brisbane Rugby League

The Brisbane Rugby League (BRL) premiership was the premier competition in Queensland from 1909 until the establishment of the Queensland Cup in 1996. The last BRL premiership was contested in 1997.

[edit] Bulimba Cup

Main article: Bulimba Cup

The Bulimba Cup was a representative competition contested between Brisbane, Ipswich and Toowoomba. It was contested between 1925 and 1972.

[edit] Winfield State League

Main article: Winfield State League

The Winfield State League was a Queensland-wide competition that was held in a variety of formats between 1982 and 1995. This competition was supersceded by the Queensland Cup (see above).

[edit] Rivalry with NSW

The Queensland and New South Wales teams are heavily competitive. During the 1980s Queensland had the upper hand (8 out of 10 to Qld); during the 1990s, factoring in Super League which took out most of the Queensland team (through the Brisbane Broncos), the results were reasonably similar (6 out of 10 to NSW); and during the first decade of the 2000s, New South Wales has had the upper hand, but are by no means dominant (4 out of 7 to NSW, with the most recent to Qld).

[edit] See also

• Australian Rugby League
• Queensland Rugby League team
• Rugby League State of Origin

[edit] External links

• Queensland Rugby League
• Rleague's Queensland page
• Queensland Rugby League History