Queensland Rugby League

Not to be confused with Queensland Rugby Union.
Queensland Rugby League
Queensland Rugby League logo
Founded 1908, Brisbane, Australia
Formerly named Queensland Rugby Association[1] (1908)
Queensland Amateur Rugby League[1] (1909-11)
Responsibility Queensland
Headquarters Castlemaine Street, Milton, Brisbane[2]
Key people John McDonald[3] (Chair)
Competitions Queensland Cup
FOGS Cup
FOGS Colts Challenge
Foley Shield
Bulimba Cup
47th Battalion Shield
Website qrl.com.au
Queensland
As of 2 December 2009

The Queensland Rugby Football League[4] (QRL[5]) is the governing body for rugby league in Queensland. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL Commission) and selects the members of the Queensland rugby league team.

The QRL aims to "foster, develop, extend, govern and control Rugby League Football throughout the State of Queensland".[4] Today the QRL administers the rugby league through its regional divisions. It is also responsible for the Queensland Rugby League team. The QRL's headquarters are on Vulture Street, Woolloongabba in Brisbane.[2]

Previous logo until 2012

History of the QRL

The Queensland Rugby Football League was formed in 1908 by seven rugby players who were dissatisfied with the administration of the Queensland Rugby Union (QRU) as the Queensland Rugby Association.[1] Those founding fathers were Micky Dore, George Watson, Jack Fihelly, J O'Connor. E Buchanan, Alf Faulkner and Sine Boland. Discussion about breaking away from the rugby 'union' and forming a professional 'league' in Queensland can be traced as far back as 1905 through the visions of then Deputy State Premier, Michael Allison.

On 14 March 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 16 May 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) and Coorparoo (1917).

In 2012, the QRL formally joined with the NSWRL and each National Rugby League club, to form the Australian Rugby League Commission, which is the overarching governing body for all of Rugby League throughout Australia. Notwithstanding the Commission's role as supreme governing authority for the code, the QRL retains responsibility for both management of the Queensland State of Origin team in Origin series, as well as day-to-day accountability for the operations of the Queensland Cup second-tier league, and junior representative Rugby League, plus divisional leagues, throughout Queensland.

QRL Divisions

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

Central Capras

Northern Marlins

South East Queensland Poinsettias

South West Mustangs

Wide Bay Bulls

Current Major Competitions

Intrust Super Cup

Main article: Queensland Cup

The Queensland Cup has been contested since 1996. Since 1998 the team winning the Queensland Cup is considered to be the premier club team in Queensland.

FOGS Cup

The Brisbane A-Grade Rugby League, also known as the FOGS Cup, and the FOGS Colts Challenge is run by the Queensland Rugby League's South East Division. It is regarded as the division below the Queensland Cup.

The 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. Since the revamp in 2000 it has only contested by the three largest cities in North Queensland; Cairns, Mackay and Townsville.

Cyril Connell Cup & Mal Meninga Cup

The Cyril Connell & Mal Meninga Cups were introduced in 2009 to provide a pathway for young rugby league players to reach the professional levels of the game. Named after famous Queensland rugby league personalities Cyril Connell and Mal Meninga, the Cups have proved popular. Both competitions have the same structure of sixteen team split into two geographically aligned groups. Pool A contains teams from outside of Brisbane while Pool B comprises teams from the Brisbane metropolitan area and two Gold Coast Rugby League selections.

The teams are:

Pool A Pool B
Central Qld Capras Northern Suburbs Devils
Central United Souths Logan Magpies
Ipswich RL Eastern Suburbs Tigers
Mackay Cutters Western Suburbs Panthers
Northern Pride Redcliffe Dolphins
Toowoomba Clydesdales Wynnum Manly Seagulls
Townsville Stingers Gold Coast RL Gold
Sunshine Coast RL Gold Coast RL Green

See also

References

In-line

  1. 1 2 3 "Story of the QRL". Queensland Rugby League. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  2. 1 2 ARL (2007). "Australian Rugby Football League Annual Report 2007" (pdf). Australian Rugby League Limited. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  3. ↑ "Contact us". Queensland Rugby League. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  4. 1 2 QRL Constitution, 2009: 3
  5. ↑ QRL Constitution, 2009: 2

General

External links

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