NRL Schoolboy Cup

Sport	Rugby league
Instituted	1975
Country	Australia(Australian Rugby League Commission)
Holders	Palm Beach Currumbin State High School (2024)
Most titles	St Gregory's College, Campbelltown(9 titles)
Website	GIO Schoolboy Cup website
Broadcast partner	Fox Sports

TheNRL Schoolboy Cup is the premiersecondary schoolsrugby league competition inAustralia, held annually since 1975. Formerly known under such names as theAmco Shield,Commonwealth Bank Cup,Arrive Alive Cup andGIO Schoolboy Cup nearly 450 schools from throughout Australia compete in the knock-out competition.^[1]

The player of the tournament is awarded thePeter Sterling Medal, renamed in 1996 afterPeter Sterling, who won the medal in 1978, forPatrician Brothers' College, Fairfield. The competition is televised onFox Sports andThe Daily Telegraph.

The most successful school isSt Gregory's College, Campbelltown, with nine titles, followed byPatrician Brothers' College, Fairfield with six. The most recent champions arePalm Beach Currumbin State High School, who won their fourth title in 2024.

The competition was founded in 1975 as the Amco Shield. The inaugural winners werePatrician Brothers' College, Fairfield who defeatedBlacktown High School in the final, 16–8. The match was played atLeichhardt Oval as a curtain raiser to the 1975Amco Cup final betweenEastern Suburbs andParramatta.^[2]

Originally, the televised matches of the competition were played and recorded as the curtain raisers to mid weekAmco Cup games. After the midweek competitions died out, the televised matches were played prior toFriday Night Football and were shown onChannel 9 in the weeks leading up to theNRL Grand Final. The games are currently played and recorded midweek and shown onFox Sports, with commentary byAndrew Voss.

In 1978,Padua College, Brisbane were the firstQueensland school and first school from outside ofNew South Wales to make the final. They lost 19–3 toPatrician Brothers' College, Fairfield.

In 1980,St Gregory's College, Campbelltown became the first school to win back-to-back titles. They later became the first school to win three titles in a row from 1989 to 1991.

In 1982Holy Cross College, Ryde became the first school to play in four consecutive finals from 1979. They lost three of their four finals, with their only victory coming againstPatrician Brothers' College, Fairfield in 1981.

In 1996,Erindale College, Canberra became the first school from theAustralian Capital Territory to reach the final. A year later they became the first school from outside ofNew South Wales to win the competition. They won the competition again in 1998, beatingParramatta Marist High School in both years.

In 2001,Palm Beach Currumbin State High School became the firstQueensland school to win the competition. Brisbane'sWavell State High School became the second a year later in 2002.

Endeavour Sports High School won the competition three years in a row from 2004 to 2006, becoming the first school to do so since 1991.

In 2015,Townsville'sKirwan State High School became the first school fromNorth Queensland to win the competition, defeatingPatrician Brothers' College, Blacktown, who were in their fourth straight final, losing the last three in a row.

In 2016,Westfields Sports High School won the competition for the first time.

In 2017,Keebra Park State High School became first Queensland school to win the competition three times, becoming the most successful school in the state. A year later, Palm Beach Currumbin won their third title, drawing level with Keebra Park. In 2019,Kirwan State High School won the competition for the second time, making it three straight years a Queensland school has won.

In 2020 and 2021, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, no national finals were held for the first time in the competition's history.^[3]

In 2022, after a three year absence, the national final returned, withIpswich State High School defeatingPatrician Brothers' College, Fairfield to win their first title.^[4]

Due to sponsorship, the Schoolboy Cup has gone under many different names since first being held in 1975. Originally known as theAmco Shield, it has been known as theNRL Schoolboy Cup since 2018.

• Amco Shield (1975–1979)
• Commonwealth Bank Cup (1980–1996)
• Aussie Home Loans Cup (1997–1999)
• Nutri-Grain Cup (2000–2002)
• Arrive Alive Cup (2003–2009)
• National Schoolboy Cup (2010–2011)
• GIO Schoolboy Cup (2012–2017)^[5]
• NRL Schoolboy Cup (2018–present)

The competition is divided into two conferences. The Northern Conference, comprising schools fromQueensland, is further divided into smaller competitions: the Aaron Payne Cup, the Allan Langer Trophy, and the Dolphin Cup. The winners of these cups compete against each other, with the victor being crowned the Queensland Schoolboy Cup Champion. The Southern Conference, known as thePeter Mulholland Cup, includes schools fromNew South Wales, theAustralian Capital Territory andVictoria. The winners of the Queensland Schoolboy Trophy and the Peter Mulholland Cup then face off in the National Schoolboy Final, with the winner being crowned the National Schoolboy Champion.

The Peter Sterling Medal is awarded to the most outstanding player in the competition. Sterling, one of rugby league's most decorated players, won the award in 1978 while attendingPatrician Brothers' College, Fairfield. In 1996, the medal was renamed in his honour.

• Australian Schoolboys rugby league team
• Junior Kangaroos
• AFL Queensland Schools Cup

• GIO Schoolboy Cup website

• Rugby league competitions in Australia
• Junior rugby league
• Recurring sporting events established in 1975
• 1975 establishments in Australia
• High school sports in Australia
• National cup competitions

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from December 2021