Amco Cup

The Amco Cup trophy

The Amco Cup (also known by various sponsors' names including the Tooth Cup, KB Cup, National Panasonic Cup and Panasonic Cup) was a mid-week rugby league competition held in Australia between 1974 and 1989. The format was usually a straight knock-out, but various group formats were used between 1979 and 1982. It aired on Channel Ten with Ray Warren and Keith Barnes the commentators for many years. The concept was created by Colin McLennan.

History[edit]

Promoter Colin McLennan, who also brought to Australia the jazz legend Benny Goodman and comedians Dudley Moore and Peter Cook, was the man who brought the mid-week Cup to life.^[1] The competition was essentially a "made for TV" event, featuring 4 x 20-minute quarters and a penalty countback rule in the event of a draw. Matches were played under floodlights, usually on a Wednesday evening. Initially Leichhardt Oval in Sydney was the main venue, though later matches were played at Lang Park in Brisbane, Parramatta Stadium and various New South Wales country centres. The competition was scrapped after the increasingly professional clubs resented the additional burdens on their players caused by the mid-week games. In 1990 it was replaced by a preseason challenge cup played for only by the New South Wales Rugby League premiership teams.

Competitions[edit]

Teams[edit]

The number and composition of teams varied considerably over the course of the competition.

Region/Competition	Years	Teams
NSWRL Club Teams	1974–1989	Balmain Tigers, Brisbane Broncos (from 1988), Canberra Raiders (from 1982) Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs, Cronulla Sutherland Sharks, Eastern Suburbs Roosters, Gold Coast Giants (from 1988), Illawarra Steelers (from 1982), Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Newcastle Knights (from 1988), Newtown Jets (to 1983), North Sydney Bears, Parramatta Eels, Penrith Panthers, St George Dragons, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Western Suburbs Magpies.
NSW Country Divisional Teams	1974–1978	Illawarra, Monaro, Newcastle (from 1975), North Coast, Northern Division, Riverina, Southern Division, Western Division
NSW Second Division Premiers	1974–1977	Ryde-Eastwood
BRL Club Teams	1975–1978	Brothers Leprechauns, Eastern Suburbs Tigers (from 1976), Northern Suburbs Devils, Redcliffe Dolphins (from 1976), Southern Suburbs Magpies, Valleys Diehards, Western Suburbs Panthers (from 1976), Wynnum Manly Seagulls (from 1977)
New Zealand Provincial Team/s	1974–1985	Auckland (1974–1980, 1984–1985), Canterbury (1976–1977), Central Districts (1981, 1983), South Island (1982), Wellington (1978)
Australian Regional Representative Teams	1979–1989	Brisbane, NSW Country, Queensland Country (to 1984)
Australian State Teams	1977–1978, 1986–1987	Northern Territory (not 1986), South Australia (1987 only), Victoria (1987 only), Western Australia
Queensland Country Regional Teams	1975–1978	Central Queensland (from 1977), Gold Coast (1978), Ipswich, North Queensland (from 1976), Toowoomba, Wide Bay (from 1976)
Papua New Guinea team	1986–1989	Port Moresby

Winners, Runners-Up and # Teams[edit]

Year	Winners	Score	Runners-Up	Score	# Teams
1974	Western Division	6	Penrith Panthers	2	21
1975	Eastern Suburbs Roosters	17	Parramatta Eels	7	28
1976	Balmain Tigers	21	North Sydney Bears	7	35
1977	Western Suburbs Magpies	6	Eastern Suburbs Roosters	5	38
1978	Eastern Suburbs Roosters	16	St. George Dragons	4	38
1979	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	22	Combined Brisbane	5	16
1980	Parramatta	8	Balmain	5	16
1981	South Sydney	10	Cronulla-Sutherland	2	16
1982	Manly-Warringah	23	Newtown	8	18
1983	Manly-Warringah	26	Cronulla-Sutherland	6	18
1984	Combined Brisbane	12	Eastern Suburbs Roosters	11	17
1985	Balmain Tigers	14	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	12	16
1986	Parramatta Eels	32	Balmain Tigers	16	17
1987	Balmain Tigers	14	Penrith Panthers	12	20
1988	St. George Dragons	16	Balmain Tigers	8	19
1989	Brisbane Broncos	22	Illawarra Steelers	20	19