 | |
| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 2014 |
| Countries |  Australia New Zealand Papua New Guinea |
| Winners |  NZ Warriors (2025) |
| Website | www.NRL.com |
| Broadcast partner |
|
| Related competition | New South Wales Cup Queensland Cup National Rugby League |
TheNRL State Championship is arugby league match contested by the premiers of the two elite second-tier competitions in Australia, theNew South Wales Cup and theQueensland Cup. The match has been played as a curtain-raiser to theNRL Grand Final atStadium Australia since it was introduced by theNational Rugby League (NRL) in 2014. The match acts asSuper Bowl-type to determine the National Reserve Grade Champions.
The origins of the NRL State Championship can be traced back to an idea from the Queensland media during the 1984Brisbane Rugby League season when two club sides had agreed to play a one-off match.[citation needed] This was when the competitions of theSydney Rugby League premiership and theBrisbane Rugby League premiership operated independently of each other with the only exception beingState of Origin time, when players crossed paths. While the New South Wales media's general consensus was always that Sydney-based NSWRL was the premier and stronger of the two major rugby league competition, all seemed to be set for the one-off match before the NSWRL hierarchy stepped in and put a stop to the proposed match.[citation needed]
The 1984Brisbane Rugby LeagueWynnum-Manly Seagulls team was unquestionably Queensland's best, the team defeated aSouthern Suburbs Districts Magpies side coached byWayne Bennett and boasting names such asGary Belcher,Mal Meninga,Peter Jackson,Bob Lindner in the 1984 Brisbane Rugby League Grand Final by a record 42–8 scoreline. Many supporters north of the border believe they were also better than the 1984 Sydney Rugby League champion team theCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. The Brisbane media were so confident about the strength of this super Wynnum side that they suggested a challenge match between the Seagulls and the Sydney Premiers Canterbury Bankstown.[citation needed]
It was an idea liked by the QRL, but if the suggestion is that the NSWRL were the roadblock, Canterbury prop Peter Tunks said the Bulldogs players and officials were just as keen to make the game happen as their northern rivals. "There was talk in the media about it and we were keen to play it because they obviously had a pretty good side with Wally, Gene Miles, Greg Dowling but we loved playing anybody back in those days", Tunks said. "We knew that it was a decent comp in Brisbane but we obviously didn't think it was as strong as the Sydney comp because this was the be-all and end-all. At Canterbury, we really loved a challenge and we would have loved the opportunity of going up against a team full of great players like they had. It's like anything, to be the best you have to beat the best and that was our attitude but unfortunately it didn't come off. I don't know where we were supposed to play but it would have been good fun."[1][2]
The NRL State Championship is marketed as "The best New South Wales club versus the best Queensland club". However, in both the New South Wales and Queensland Cups there are or were clubs based outside their respective states:
In 2014 theNorthern Pride representing theQueensland Cup defeated thePenrith Panthers representing theNew South Wales Cup in the first NRL State Championship Grand Final. The match has been played every subsequent year, with the exception of 2020 when it was not held on account of both competitions being cancelled due to the effects of theCOVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021 with the remainder of theNew South Wales Cup being cancelled also due to theCOVID-19 lockdown in Sydney.
The NRL State Championship match is acurtain-raiser to the final match onNRL Grand Final day, with the winner crowned theNRL State Champions. Between 2014 and 2017 the match was played after the now-defunctNRL Youth Grand Final and before theNRL Grand Final.[3][4] In 2018 the match was played after theNRL Women's Grand Final and before theNRL Men's Grand Final. Since 2019 it has been played before theNRL Women's Grand Final and theNRL Men's Grand Final.
In 2020 the NRL State Championship match was not played due to the cancellation of the state premierships after Round 1 caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, and wasn't played in 2021 due the COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney.
The NRL State Championship match made its return in 2022.
| NRL Season | NRL State Championship | Player of the Match | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | ||
| 2014 |  Northern Pride | 32–28 |  Penrith Panthers | Stadium Australia | Javid Bowen |
| 2015 |  Ipswich Jets | 26–12 |  Newcastle Knights | Stadium Australia | Matt Parcell |
| 2016 |  Illawarra Cutters | 54–12 |  Burleigh Bears | Stadium Australia | Drew Hutchison |
| 2017 | Penrith Panthers | 42–18 |  PNG Hunters | Stadium Australia | Kaide Ellis |
| 2018 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 42–18 |  Redcliffe Dolphins | Stadium Australia | Josh Cleeland |
| 2019 |  Newtown Jets | 20–16 | Burleigh Bears | Stadium Australia | Toby Rudolf |
| 2020 | Match was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemiclockdown inAustralia.[5] | ||||
| 2021 | Match was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemiclockdown inNew South Wales. | ||||
| 2022 | Penrith Panthers | 44–10 |  Norths Devils | Stadium Australia | J'maine Hopgood |
| 2023 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | 42–22 |  Brisbane Tigers | Stadium Australia | Tyrone Munro |
| 2024 | Norths Devils | 20–18 | Newtown Jets | Stadium Australia | Oryn Keeley |
| 2025 | NZ Warriors | 50–20 | Burleigh Bears | Stadium Australia | Tanah Boyd[6] |
| Rugby League Team | Games Played | Games Won | Games Lost | Years Played | Years Won | Years Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penrith Panthers | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2014, 2017, 2022 | 2017, 2022 | 2014 |
| NZ Warriors | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2025 | 2025 | |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2023 | 2023 | |
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2018 | 2018 | |
| Illawarra Cutters | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2016 | 2016 | |
| Ipswich Jets | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2015 | 2015 | |
| Northern Pride | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2014 | 2014 | |
| Norths Devils | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2022, 2024 | 2024 | 2022 |
| Newtown Jets | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2019, 2024 | 2019 | 2024 |
| Newcastle Knights | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2015 | 2015 | |
| Papua New Guinea Hunters | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2017 | 2017 | |
| Redcliffe Dolphins | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2018 | 2018 | |
| Brisbane Tigers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2023 | 2023 | |
| Burleigh Bears | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2016, 2019, 2025 | 2025 | 2016, 2019, 2025 |
Live television coverage for theNRL State Championship is broadcast by Australia'sFox Sports andNine (which includesNine's regional affiliatesNBN,WIN andIMP until 2015 and mid 2016)[7] while live radio coverage is broadcast by Australia'sABC Grandstand around Australia via both theABC Radio Mobile App (Digital Radio Stadion) and their network ofFM andAMLocal Radio Stations.[8]
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