96-625: The Cyril Connell Challenge is an under-16 competition administered by the Queensland Rugby League. First run in 2021, the competition replaced the QRL Junior State Championships, which ran from 2017 to 2020. The 2020 competition was ultimately cancelled in the wake of the COVID pandemic before the tournament re-commenced in a round robin format for the 2021 season. Originally known as The Cyril Connell Cup
192-404: A try . At the end of the season he captained Australia to victory over New Zealand in the final of the 1985 - 1988 Rugby League World Cup . Australia won the game 25–12 in front of 47,363 fans at Auckland 's home of rugby union Eden Park , though Lewis broke his right forearm in the 15th minute of the game while tackling Kiwi winger Tony Iro . After receiving treatment, he bravely played on for
288-644: A "non-test" at Ninian Park in Cardiff . Playing in the Centres , Lewis was one of four try scorers in a 37–7 win for the Kangaroos, with fullback Steve Ella leading the way with four. Wally also kicked four goals with the game played in driving rain. Wally was selected at five-eighth for the first test against France on the French leg of the tour, but missed the second test after again dislocating his shoulder in
384-523: A 43–3 win over France at the SCG. At the Australian team's first training session (at Lang Park), coach Frank Stanton wasn't impressed with Lewis' fitness after he lagged behind in a set of 400 metre runs, though it was reported that Lewis wasn't alone and only lock forward Ray Price had completed the runs without too much trouble. During the game Lewis had a chance to score his first test try. Backing up
480-734: A fourth exhibition game played at the Veterans Memorial Stadium in Los Angeles . The Australians only played one test in 1987, suffering a shock 13–6 loss to New Zealand at Lang Park in July. It was the second time in succession that the Kangaroos, fresh from an unbeaten Kangaroo Tour, had lost a test to the Kiwis in Brisbane. Several New South Wales Rugby League premiership clubs had attempted to lure Wally Lewis south during
576-399: A further 20 minutes, making a number of one armed tackles despite being an obvious target in defense. Late in the first half when it became clear that with a 21–0 lead Australia would win the game, coach Don Furner replaced Lewis with Terry Lamb . Lewis won another man-of-the-match award in the second game of the 1989 State of Origin series . Lewis scored a famous try in the second half of
672-531: A grassroots level. This round usually takes place in July. Locations which have hosted Country Week games include: In addition to this round games have also been played in regional locations during regular rounds in: The eight highest placed teams at the end of the regular season compete in the finals series. The system consists of a number of games between the top eight teams over four weeks in September, until only two teams remain. These two teams then contest
768-525: A large enough offer to keep him at the Broncos, with Bennett citing the need to retain younger talent. Following the souring of his relationship with the Broncos, Lewis was unwilling to move to Sydney for family reasons and in 1991 , he joined the Gold Coast Seagulls and was appointed as captain by coach Malcolm Clift . He won his eighth and last man-of-the-match award in the first game of
864-733: A large geographical footprint. In Round 20, 2011 the Souths Logan Magpies game against the Northern Pride was relocated from the Magpies home ground in Brisbane to Yusia Ginau Oval, Bamaga on Cape York . The game attracted 2000 spectators, and was so successful that the following year QRL in partnership with the Queensland Government introduced the 'Country Week' concept and took matches to regional Queensland, country towns and cities, to engage fans at
960-449: A line break, Lewis received the ball only 15 metres out with a clear path to the line. Hearing someone closing in from behind he passed the ball to his Halfback partner Steve Mortimer to score before he could be tackled. After scoring Mortimer questioned Lewis as to why he passed as there was no French player near him. Lewis later saw a television replay which showed it was in fact the match referee who he could hear behind him. Ironically,
1056-469: A minor game between the tests which ended his tour as a player. In the first and third games of the 1983 State of Origin series , Lewis was named man-of-the-match. In 1983, Lewis also regained his test five-eighth spot from Brett Kenny for the two tests against New Zealand at Carlaw Park in Auckland , and at Lang Park. Lewis captained Queensland as they toured Papua New Guinea and England part of
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#17327983577821152-659: A partnership with the Manly Sea Eagles to develop rugby league on the Sunshine Coast. The side played as the Sea Eagles and won the premiership in their first year. In 2010, Intrust Super was announced as the new major sponsor, with the competition becoming known as the Intrust Super Cup. From 2009 to 2013, the competition featured the same twelve teams for five straight seasons. In 2014,
1248-459: A replacement for injured winger Eric Grothe (he come on to play 5/8 with Brett Kenny moving to the centres and Mal Meninga to the wing), Lewis fired a bullet-like 20 metre cut-out pass to Meninga who then scored in the corner. Although the Kangaroos had soundly beaten Great Britain until that point of the series, Lewis' pass had a psychological effect on the Lions who were left wondering just how good
1344-685: A spot was opened up and Tweed were admitted. Another inaugural club would leave the competition in 2004, with the Wests Panthers exiting, and Brothers-Valleys , a merger of Past Brothers and the Fortitude Valley Diehards , joining for a single season. In 2005, the competition became known as the Queensland Wizard Cup, after Wizard Home Loans became the major sponsor. Although the QRL had anticipated that
1440-408: Is Coming . Trinity won 5 of 10 games during Lewis's stay, including a win over St. Helens in which Lewis scored a hat-trick. After his last match on 12 February, Trinity did not win another game and were relegated to the second division. Initially, Lewis had been reluctant to sign with Wakefield after having played both club and representative football almost non-stop since the start of 1982, including
1536-416: Is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sport. A highly decorated Australian national captain, Lewis is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever players of rugby league. His time as a player and coach was followed by a career as a sports presenter for
1632-616: The Duncan Hall Medal . The medal is named in honour of ARL Team of the Century member Duncan Hall , who played 24 games for Queensland and 22 games for Australia between 1948 and 1955. Past recipients include Tony Williams and Jake Granville , who would go onto win NRL premierships shortly after their Queensland Cup success. On 21 September 2015, the QRL announced their Queensland Cup 20th Year Anniversary team. The 17-man team
1728-406: The 1983–84 Rugby Football League season . He played in their 8–6 defeat against Hull Kingston Rovers followed up by a 40–2 victory over Wigan RLFC and a 2–58 win over Leeds Rhinos . Lewis played for English First Division side Wakefield Trinity for a short spell during the 1983–84 Rugby Football League season and he remains a favourite of Trinity fans, who named their fanzine Wally Lewis
1824-929: The Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame . He achieved the greatest honour in Rugby League: the captaincy of his country, but it was his feats as Queensland skipper and playmaker in State of Origin that he achieved legendary status. He played 31 Origin games (30 as captain) and a record 8 Man of the Match awards over a 12-year period. The name Wally Lewis is synonymous with State of Origin and Queensland Rugby League and continues to be an inspiration to future generations of footballers . Wally Lewis has also appeared in numerous advertisements during and after his football playing career. Examples include promotions for XXXX beer and Burger King . During
1920-543: The Brisbane Broncos played trial matches against the Central Queensland Capras and PNG Hunters . The Queensland Cup regular season usually begins in early March and runs until late August. A round of regular season games is played every weekend for twenty-four weeks. In most rounds, matches are played on Saturday nights/afternoons and Sunday afternoons. Each team receives one bye during
2016-781: The Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland , Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fifteen teams, thirteen of which are based in Queensland , with one based in New South Wales and one in Central Province , Papua New Guinea . The competition is the present-day embodiment of Queensland's top-level club competition. It replaced
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#17327983577822112-863: The National Rugby League . As the Queensland Cup initially began as a representative competition that took over the old Winfield State League before becoming a proper club competition, many of the following clubs were "representative" sides that either withdrew (in the case of Mackay and Bundaberg) or folded ( Cairns Cyclones and Port Moresby Vipers ). The Queensland Cup pre-season typically begins in February and ends in early March. Clubs generally use this time to organise trial matches to test playing combinations. Usually, Queensland Cup teams will play each other in trials, while some face National Rugby League (NRL) sides. For example, in 2018,
2208-534: The Nine Network . Nicknamed The King and also The Emperor of Lang Park , Lewis represented Queensland in thirty-one State of Origin games from 1980 to 1991, and was captain for thirty of them. He also represented Australia in thirty-three international matches from 1981 to 1991 and was national team captain from 1984 to 1989. Lewis is perhaps best known for his State of Origin performances, spearheading Queensland's dominance in that competition throughout
2304-716: The PNG Hunters entered the competition, becoming the first Papua New Guinea based side in the competition since the Port Moresby Vipers in 1997. In their inaugural season, the side was based out of the East New Britain town of Kokopo . On 10 September 2014, QRL chairman Peter Betros announced that the Brothers Townsville-led Townsville Blackhawks bid had been successful and the side would compete in
2400-597: The Queensland Rugby Union fraternity due to his rugby league background. After being told he would no longer be selected for any representative teams if he continued to play league, he immediately decided his future lay with rugby league, playing in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership with Valleys Diehards from 1978. Also in 1978, Lewis (and another young Brisbane based lock from Wests named Paul Vautin ) turned down an offer to play in
2496-612: The State of Origin series that year, before playing both his last match for Queensland and Australia by the end of the season. He captained and coached Gold Coast during the 1992 NSWRL season but again finished the season in last place. In their last match under Lewis as captain-coach , the Gold Coast defeated Penrith, thus denying the Panthers a place in the finals play-offs. The following year he stopped playing but continued coaching
2592-723: The Thebarton Oval in Adelaide on 7 November 1992, the night before the Australian Formula One Grand Prix . Lewis also coached the Queensland State of Origin side in 1993 and 1994 but never won a series. Wally Lewis is remembered for his creative, playmaking football and great on-field confrontations, most notably one in the 1991 State of Origin series with Mark Geyer . Years before that his and Brett Kenny 's likenesses were put onto
2688-773: The Winfield State League in 1996 and accompanied the Brisbane Rugby League , before becoming the premier competition in 1998, following the disbanding of the Brisbane Rugby League . Since its inaugural season in 1922, the Brisbane Rugby League was the premier competition in the state of Queensland . Like its counterpart, the Sydney Rugby Football League , the Brisbane Rugby League was thriving, boasting big crowds and large, loyal supporter bases with their respective clubs. The clubs were constant, with new teams rarely entering
2784-545: The Wynnum-Manly club. His mother, June, was a Queensland representative netball player. When he was six years old, Lewis was playing rugby league with Cannon Hill Stars, usually at lock forward. He played in junior Queensland school teams, at times representing his state against New South Wales before a State or Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground . Lewis attended Brisbane State High School during
2880-559: The 1970s. In 1977 while still in high school, Lewis also played representative rugby union as a Centre , touring Europe and Japan with the Australian schoolboys team alongside the likes of Tony Melrose , Michael O'Connor , and all three Ella brothers Mark , Glen and Gary , all of whom went on to represent the Australia national rugby union team , while O'Connor would become a dual international when he played alongside Lewis for
2976-523: The 1980s and winning a record 8 man of the match awards. Lewis has since been inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame and in 1999 he became the sixth member of ' The Immortals '. In 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league. In February 2008, Lewis was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which
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3072-588: The 1980s, including the Bob Fulton coached Manly-Warringah which came closest to contracting him in 1986. However, the QRL, fearing they were going to lose Lewis (easily their biggest star) and possibly his Wynnum-Manly, Qld and Australian teammate Gene Miles to Manly soon after losing Souths players Gary Belcher and Mal Meninga to the Canberra Raiders , blocked the move to Sydney and Lewis stayed with
3168-595: The 2007 season at the Broncos' 20-year anniversary celebration, the club announced a list of the 20 best players to play for them to date which included Lewis. In December 2009 Lewis was inducted into the Queensland Sports Hall of Fame. In November 1984, Lewis married Jacqueline in St John's Cathedral (Brisbane) ; however, they separated in 2021. Together, they have two sons and one daughter: Mitchell, Lincoln and Jamie-Lee. Wally's son, Lincoln ,
3264-678: The 2015 season. On 5 October 2014, the Northern Pride became the first Queensland Cup side to win the NRL State Championship , defeating the heavily favoured Penrith Panthers New South Wales Cup side in the inaugural final . In 2017, the Hunters won their first Queensland Cup premiership, defeating the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Grand Final and becoming the first team outside of Australia, and
3360-729: The 2020 & 2021 NRL State Championship Matches Cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and lockdown in NSW). The Norths Devils would break the streak run winning the 2024 NRL State Championship against the Newtown Jets during the 2024 NRL Grand Final. Since 2014, The QLD Cup Grand Final Match has been played on the same day as the NSW Cup Grand Final, the weekend prior to the NRL Grand Final, allowing for
3456-465: The Australian captain and the two formed a good personal and working relationship. Although Queensland lost the 1986 State of Origin series 3–0 to NSW, the first clean sweep in Origin history, Lewis led the Australian's to a clean sweep of New Zealand in the mid-season test series , scoring a try in the 29-12 second test win at the SCG and the 32–12 win in the final game at Lang Park. Australia also won
3552-414: The Australian's really were if they could afford to leave someone on the bench who could pass like that. Those long cut-out passes (something he learned playing junior rugby union and playing backyard football with his brothers) would become a feature of Lewis' game over the next 10 years. During the tour, Lewis captained his first game for Australia in an international when the Kangaroos defeated Wales in
3648-890: The Century at five-eighth and captain. In October 2016, he became the 38th Legend of Australian Sport at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame awards. In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, Wally Lewis was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for his role as a "sports legend". In 2011, Lewis was a recipient of the Queensland Greats Awards . Lewis was born in Hawthorne, Queensland on 1 December 1959. His father, Jimmy, played first grade rugby league at wing or fullback for Brisbane clubs Wests and Souths , later becoming coach of
3744-685: The Diehards, Lewis helped Valleys to premiership victory over the Wayne Bennett -coached Souths Magpies side in the BRL Grand Final at Lang Park . Playing in the centres for the Magpies that day was a 19-year-old cadet policeman who would become a long serving Queensland and Australian teammate of Lewis in the coming decade, Mal Meninga . Lewis made the run-on side for Queensland in the inaugural State of Origin match in 1980 at lock forward alongside his hero Arthur Beetson who at
3840-792: The Grand Final, which is usually played in late September. Over the years, the Queensland Cup has used a number of different finals series systems, usually involving five to six and now eight teams. In 2019, the current eight team final series system will be adopted. The Queensland Cup Grand Final, which determines the season's premiers, is one of the state's major sporting events. It is usually contested at Suncorp Stadium , having been held there annually since 2014, although other venues have been used, such as Dolphin Stadium , North Ipswich Reserve and Sunshine Coast Stadium . The Grand Final had traditionally been played on Saturday afternoons, until moving to Sunday afternoons beginning in 2010. Since 2007,
3936-568: The Kangaroo Tour and Queensland's three game tour of England at the end of 1983, when he came to the attention of Wakefield. The club asked him to name his price and, not believing that they could afford it, Lewis told them it would cost £ 30,000 for him to play in England (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £140,100 in 2016). What he did not know was that a wealthy Wakefield businessman financially supported
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4032-463: The Kangaroos. The 1977 Australian Schoolboys Rugby Union tour of Great Britain would see the first of three times Lewis would make undefeated tours of Britain with Australian national teams. According to Lincoln Lewis, Wally and his brother Scott , who played alongside him in the BRL , are butchers by trade. Following his return to Australia from the 1977 Schoolboys tour, Lewis faced discrimination in
4128-490: The Queensland Cup once again have teams based in the northern cities of Cairns and Mackay after absences of seven and twelve years, respectively. These new teams replaced Aspley and North Queensland as part of the rationalisation of rugby league below the NRL level caused by the introduction of the NRL under 20s competition . In 2009, the Sunshine Coast Falcons rejoined the competition after thirteen-year absence, after signing
4224-664: The Queensland Cup. A sixteen-team competition returned in 1998, with the Bundaberg Grizzlies rejoining and the Gold Coast Vikings being formed. In 1999, the Grizzlies and Vikings both left the competition, as well as inaugural club Brisbane Brothers and the Townsville Stingers , who played just one season. In 2000, Bundaberg Rum began a two-year sponsorship of the competition and it
4320-405: The Queensland media and from casual fans alike. In 2018, the match of the round was televised live on the Nine Network in Queensland at 1:00pm (AEST) on Saturdays. Previously, the match of the round had been broadcast by Nine on Sunday afternoons and before that, on ABC Television on Saturday afternoons. The match is later replayed during the week on Foxtel 's Fox League channel. The match of
4416-410: The Seagulls, but departed after a third consecutive wooden spoon . In his time coaching Seagulls, the club had won just 7 games out of 44 played, losing the last 16 in a row. Wally Lewis played his last game for the Seagulls in a match against a South Australian 'Select' team (which included his longtime friend Paul Vautin , as well as St George Dragons players Ricky Walford and Jeff Hardy ) at
4512-437: The Seagulls. In 1988, Lewis finally got to play in the Sydney premiership when he was signed by the Brisbane Broncos as inaugural captain of the side upon their inception in 1988 , leading the new club to a 44–10 win over defending NSWRL premiers Manly at Lang Park in their first ever game. Lewis was the Broncos' top try-scorer in their first season and also later had the honour of scoring the club's first hat-trick . During
4608-399: The State Championship was the first of three grand finals played on the day, preceding both the NRL Women's premiership and NRL premiership, with the exception of 2020 and 2021 State Championships being cancelled due to COVID-19. The Northern Pride and Ipswich Jets became the first two QRL teams to win the State Championship with the next six championships won by the NSWRL (With the exception of
4704-420: The State of Origin winner's shield. The Wally Lewis Medal has been awarded to the Queensland player of the series in State of Origin from 1992 to 2003. Since 2004, it has been awarded to the player of the series from either side. A bronze statue of Wally was raised at the entrance to Lang Park . The statue text reads: WALLY LEWIS The Emperor of Lang Park This honour was bestowed upon Wally Lewis by
4800-401: The age of 35 was playing in his first ever game for his home state. There were some in the press who questioned his selection, claiming he should have started from the bench with well performed Brisbane Wests lock Norm Carr in the starting side. Lewis however had a hand in Queensland's first ever State of Origin try scored by Kerry Boustead . The following year a second State of Origin match
4896-499: The autocue, saying "Good evening" before seeming distressed. A scheduled report was then played, with Paige delivering the rest of the bulletin. Following these events, Lewis was given medical leave for the rest of the year. The following night, Lewis revealed that he had epilepsy . Lewis has revealed in his book that his on-air disorientation was caused by the condition. On 21 February 2007, Lewis underwent brain surgery to help his epilepsy at Austin Hospital in Melbourne. The surgery
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#17327983577824992-614: The club and was bankrolling their attempt to sign Lewis (who by the end of 1983 had been rated the best player in rugby league). Good to his word and despite being jaded and in need of a break, Lewis signed to play his only season of English club football and became the highest paid player in England at the time. Back in Australia, Lewis left Valleys and ultimately signed with the Wynnum-Manly Seagulls after initially considering an offer from Past Brothers . In 1984 Lewis captained an Oceania team's 54–4 victory over an Anglo-French selection in an exhibition match Paris, returning to Brisbane after
5088-424: The competition's fifteenth team. The Queensland Cup consists of 15 teams, 13 from Queensland , and 1 each from National Capital District of Papua New Guinea and New South Wales , and operates on a single group system, with no divisions or conferences and no relegation and promotion from other leagues. A number of clubs in the Queensland Cup have an affiliation with a team in the Australian national competition,
5184-422: The competition, which began in 2009, included the junior representative teams of Queensland Cup clubs. The competition also featured teams from Victoria and the Northern Territory . In the 2016 season, the Cyril Connell Cup consisted of sixteen clubs: fifteen based within Queensland and one in Victoria . Eleven of the sixteen clubs were junior representative teams for Queensland Cup clubs. From 2011 to 2016,
5280-401: The competition. At the end of the 2002 season, the Logan Scorpions , an inaugural club, left the competition. In 2003, the Tweed Seagulls joined the competition, becoming the first New South Wales -based side. The club had originally applied for the 2002 season but were unsuccessful. However, following a merger of the Logan Scorpions and Souths Magpies to form the Souths Logan Magpies ,
5376-463: The competition. However, in 1956, when poker machines ("pokies") were introduced in New South Wales but not in Queensland, Sydney's clubs were able to recruit the best players from Brisbane, Rugby Union and overseas . Within the space of several years, the Sydney Rugby League had come to dominate the code within Australia. In the 1980s, the NSWRFL began to further expand and supersede the Brisbane competition in popularity and media coverage. In 1982,
5472-411: The creation of the NRL State Championship which saw the QLD Cup premiers face off against the NSW Cup Premiers as a curtain raiser to the NRL Grand Final , originally following the National Youth Competition Grand Final from 2014 to 2017 and following the NRL Women's Grand Final since 2018. In 2019 the NRL State Championship was played prior the NRL Women's Grand Final. The 2020 State Championship
5568-399: The day of the final State of Origin game of the 1991 series , prompting Wally's decision to retire from Origin football following the game. Jamie-Lee is a water polo player who is currently on a scholarship to the Queensland Academy of Sport who has represented Australia , and is the first deaf person in the world to ever represent her country's national hearing team. In May 2010, Lewis
5664-490: The famed Sydney premiership with the North Sydney Bears . While Lewis would remain in Brisbane in 1979, Vautin would go on to sign with 1978 Sydney premiers the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles . In 1979 Lewis made his senior début for Queensland from the bench in games played under the old State of Residence rules, and also played for a Brisbane representative side against the touring Great Britain Lions . With former Australian halfback Ross Strudwick now captain-coach of
5760-455: The fifteen clubs were junior representative teams for Queensland Cup clubs. Tweed Heads Seagulls and Redcliffe Dolphins finished equal top of the ladder after going undefeated during their campaigns. Redcliffe would remain undefeated, topping the table in both the 2022 and 2023 editions of the tournament. Former Top-Flight Competition: Brisbane Rugby League premiership Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup , currently known as
5856-427: The first clubs based outside of Sydney, the Canberra Raiders and Illawarra Steelers , were admitted. In 1988, two Queensland-based sides, the Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Giants , along with the Newcastle Knights , another team from regional New South Wales, were formed and gained entry into the competition. The Broncos would sign Brisbane Rugby League stars like Wally Lewis , Gene Miles and Allan Langer . In
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#17327983577825952-415: The former Chairman of the Queensland Rugby League , Senator and acclaimed father of State of Origin, the late Ron McAullife, in recognition of the impact Wally had on matches played at this ground across three decades. Lewis is arguably the greatest rugby league footballer of all time. He is one of only a handful of players to be named a Rugby League Immortal and was one of the six inaugural members of
6048-407: The game played at the SFS, when he went on a 40-metre cross field run to the line where he outpaced a much younger Laurie Daley , and held off NSW fullback Garry Jack 's tackle over the last 10 metres to score in the corner. From there Lewis was captain of the Australian team for their mid-season tour of New Zealand. At the end of the 1990 season, due to salary cap restrictions, Lewis was not made
6144-430: The inaugural premiers, defeating the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Grand Final. In 1997, three teams withdrew from the competition and the Burleigh Bears joined, becoming the first Gold Coast -based side. In 1998, the competition became the top level of rugby league in the state, following the end of the Brisbane Rugby League. Channel Nine also ended their sponsorship for the 1998 season, with competition going under name,
6240-399: The match to continue playing for Wynnum-Manly. He gained the national captaincy for the first time in the 1984 Ashes series against Great Britain, winning a well publicised battle with Parramatta and NSW captain Ray Price and becoming the 12th Queenslander to captain Australia. Lewis was the first Queenslander to captain an Australian team to an Ashes victory. Wally was also named player of
6336-427: The medal was renamed after former Australian and Queensland representative Petero Civoniceva . After each game, the referees award three votes to the best player, two votes to the second-best player, and one vote to the third-best player. Previous winners include Australia and Queensland representatives Greg Inglis and Daly Cherry-Evans . Since 2007, the man of the match in the Grand Final has been awarded
6432-410: The name of Easts or Eastern Suburbs since the formation of the Queensland Cup in 1996. In November 2021, Hostplus became the naming rights sponsor of the competition for the 2022 season, replacing Intrust Super after the two merged. On July 17, the QRL announced that the Western Clydesdales, previously called the Toowoomba Clydesdales would (re)enter the competition for the 2023 season, becoming
6528-602: The opening game of the tour against Hull Kingston Rovers , Stanton chose Parramatta 's Winfield Cup Grand Final winning halves Brett Kenny and Peter Sterling (though Lewis actually played from the bench), who went about cementing their selection for the first test. Lewis was left out of the first Ashes test against Great Britain at Boothferry Park in Hull and coach Frank Stanton had been less than impressed with his attitude to training and his off-field habits which had seen him actually gain weight. Stanton then challenged him to get back into shape and force his way back into
6624-432: The opening test of the series 22–8 at Carlaw Park in Auckland . In 1987 Lewis was honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia "for service to rugby league football". Also that year King Wally , a biography of Lewis written by Adrian McGregor was published. Lewis was also inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1987. 1987 saw Lewis lead Queensland to a 2-1 Origin series win over NSW, though NSW won
6720-431: The player judged to be the man-of-the-match is awarded the prestigious Duncan Hall Medal. Teams are ranked in order of premierships won, grand final runners up then minor premierships won. To see the complete list of Queensland Cup records, see List of Queensland Cup records . Team names in bold are the teams currently playing in the Queensland Cup Notes: Since 2014, The NSW Cup Grand Final Match has been played on
6816-448: The regular season. The regular season also features a number of themed rounds, where proceeds from the games go to various charities. In 2018, these rounds included ANZAC Round, Indigenous Round, Men of League Round, Women in League Round, "Turn to Me" Round and the annual Country Week. The Queensland Cup has the largest regional footprint of any professional sporting code in Queensland, hosting regular season and trial matches over
6912-408: The role, citing health concerns, at the beginning of January 2023. During the nightly news broadcast of 16 November 2006, Lewis previewed the sports segment but was not onscreen when the program returned from the commercial break, with newsreader Bruce Paige instead presenting the sports segment. A similar event occurred two weeks later, on 30 November, when Lewis appeared onscreen and began to read
7008-530: The round returned to Sunday afternoons for the 2019 season. The non-broadcast games are recorded for highlights and judiciary and coaching purposes. From 2006 to 2013, community broadcaster Bay FM began broadcasting Wynnum Manly matches with commentators Mike Higgison and Troy Robbins. In 2015, a group of community broadcasters including Switch 1197 , Valley FM Esk and Phoenix Radio Ipswich began broadcasting matches featuring Ipswich Jets . Wally Lewis Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959)
7104-856: The same day as the QLD Cup Grand Final, the weekend prior to the NRL Grand Final, allowing for the creation of the NRL State Championship which saw the NSW Cup premiers face off against the QLD Cup Premiers as a curtain raiser to the NRL Grand Final , originally following the National Youth Competition Grand Final from 2014 to 2017 and following the NRL Women's Grand Final in their inaugural premiership year in 2018. In 2019 however,
7200-481: The same teams from 2006 would participate in the 2007 competition, it was announced on 5 December 2006 that inaugural club, the Toowoomba Clydesdales , who were the reigning minor premiers, would be withdrawing from the competition for financial reasons. Brisbane Broncos chairman Bruno Cullen said that "It didn't make sense to have this club up there running at what was looking like a $ 250,000 loss for
7296-661: The season Lewis was awarded the Harry Sunderland Medal as Australia's player of the 1988 Ashes series against Great Britain, whose 26–12 win in the dead rubber third test at the Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) was their first test victory over Australia since 1978. Lewis and teammate Sam Backo also joined Ken Irvine as the only Australian players to score a try in each test of an Ashes series. On 20 July 1988 Lewis played for Australia in their record 62-point win over Papua New Guinea , scoring
7392-619: The second from outside of Queensland to win the competition. On 27 March 2020, after round one of the season was completed, the 2020 Intrust Super Cup competition was suspended, and subsequently cancelled for the first time in its history due to the COVID-19 pandemic , with no premiers being crowned. In September 2020, the Easts Tigers were renamed as the Brisbane Tigers for the 2021 season onward. The Tigers had played under
7488-447: The series for his performance as captain of the Brisbane Rugby League team that won the 1984 National Panasonic Cup Final against Sydney's Eastern Suburbs Roosters club. Lewis was named man-of-the match in the first two games of the 1984 State of Origin series , making it three consecutive Origin man-of-the-match awards. That year, he also won the Brisbane Rugby League premiership's grand final against Souths. The following year, Lewis
7584-545: The space of one season, media coverage and match attendance for the Brisbane Rugby League dropped significantly. In 1996, the Queensland Cup was formed, replacing the Winfield State League , as new federal government laws banned cigarette companies from sponsoring sport. Originally branded the Channel Nine Cup, the 15 round regular season competition featured sixteen teams, fifteen from Queensland and one from Papua New Guinea . The Toowoomba Clydesdales were crowned
7680-458: The team, all Queenslanders, in what Queensland Rugby League boss Senator Ron McAuliffe called a "Football Assassination". The changes to the team proved to be a disaster as the Kiwis defeated a disjointed Australia 18–0. The following year, internal problems between the Seagulls club board and its head coach Des Morris saw Lewis installed as Captain-coach of Wynnum-Manly. Lewis would lead
7776-611: The team, which included rep players Colin Scott , Gene Miles and Bob Lindner , to a 14–6 win over Brothers in the 1986 BRL Grand Final at Lang Park. He then became the first Queenslander since Tom Gorman in 1929–30 to be named as captain for a Kangaroo tour . Following the successful 1986 Kangaroo tour which the Australians went through undefeated to earn themselves the nickname The Unbeatables , 1985 Australian coach Terry Fearnley wrote an article for Rugby League Week that
7872-512: The test series 2–1. The New Zealand tour was an unhappy one though, with coach Terry Fearnley , who had just led New South Wales to their first ever State of Origin series win, not getting along with captain Lewis or the other Queensland players and seemingly favoring NSW players, especially tour vice-captain Wayne Pearce . After winning the first two tests, Fearnley dropped four players from
7968-570: The test team and Lewis did just that. He began training harder to lose the weight, including jogging back from training to the team base, the Dragonara Hotel in Leeds . His form also improved and he became a vital player from the bench in the final two tests at Central Park and Headingley . Lewis' finest moment on the tour came in the second half of the second test in Wigan . After coming on as
8064-479: The try was Mortimer's first test try in what was also his début test for Australia. In the 1982 State of Origin series Lewis got his second Origin try and his first man-of-the-match award in Origin and later that year was a member of the 1982 Kangaroo tour as tour vice-captain. The 1982 Kangaroos became the first side to go through Great Britain and France undefeated, earning themselves the nickname The Invincibles . The tour raged with selection controversy as for
8160-614: The winners of the Grand Final played the winners of the New South Wales’ under-16 competition, the Harold Matthews Cup , in the National Final. The Cyril Connell Cup/Challenge was named after Cyril Connell Jr. , who played 24 games for Queensland and 2 Tests for Australia between 1952 and 1957. In 2021 The Cyril Connell Challenge comprised 15 teams from across the state split into 3 pools. Thirteen of
8256-679: The year." The following day it was announced that the Aspley Broncos would be replacing the Clydesdales, and acting as the Brisbane Broncos feeder club. The Aspley Broncos would play just a single season in the competition. The 2007 season marked the first time a team based outside of Queensland would win the competition, with the Tweed Seagulls defeating the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Grand Final. 2008 saw
8352-594: Was a full-time actor on the Seven Network television drama, Home and Away , winning a TV Week Logie Award for best male new talent. His other son, Mitchell is a presenter on the Nova FM radio station, Nova 106.9 in Brisbane as the station's sports reporter and assistant producer on the Ash, Luttsy & Nikki breakfast show. His daughter Jamie-Lee was born profoundly deaf. The family got confirmation of this on
8448-597: Was awarded the inaugural Golden Boot Award as the world's best international player in 1984. Lewis was man-of-the-match for Game II of the 1985 State of Origin series , becoming the second player, after Mal Meninga in Game 1 1982, from the losing team to win the award. He then played in Wynnum-Manly's 1985 BRL grand final loss to a Souths Magpies team which included Gary Belcher , Mal Meninga and Peter Jackson . The Australian side toured New Zealand that year , winning
8544-696: Was cancelled due to the Queensland and New South Wales competitions being cancelled after Round 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2021 State Championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney. At the end of each season at the QRL presentation night, the Petero Civoniceva Medal is awarded to the Queensland Cup player voted as the best and fairest over the entire season. Formerly known as The Courier Mail Medal, in 2018,
8640-475: Was chosen by a selection panel consisting of Brad Tallon (Queensland Rugby League statistician), Steve Ricketts (rugby league journalist), David Wright (former ABC commentator) and Mike Higgison (rugby league historian). To be eligible for selection, a player must've played a minimum of 75 games in the competition. Rick Stone , who coached the Burleigh Bears from 1997 to 2005 (winning two premierships),
8736-513: Was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Lewis went on to be named in the halves in the Kangaroos' Team of the Century . Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players. In June 2008, he was also chosen in the Queensland Rugby League's Team of
8832-405: Was highly critical of Lewis' captaincy based on his experiences during the 1985 New Zealand tour. Don Furner , who took over as Australian coach in 1986 before the mid-season test series against New Zealand, later told that while initially weary of working with Lewis based on Fearnley's public comments and Lewis' battles with Frank Stanton on the 1982 Kangaroo Tour, he encountered no problems with
8928-608: Was known as the Bundy Gold Cup. The 2000 season was also the first in which all twelve teams remained from the season prior. It would not last long though, as the Cairns Cyclones folded after the 2000 season, leaving no north Queensland representation in the competition. In 2002, the North Queensland Young Guns , a Townsville -based North Queensland Cowboys feeder club, were admitted into
9024-428: Was named coach of the side, while longtime referee Tony Maksoud was included as referee of the team. The following records are taken from the QRL 's official website and are correct as of the end of the 2019 season. Although the Queensland Cup has never had the same amount of media coverage that the pre- Brisbane Broncos Brisbane Rugby League did, in recent years it has experienced a resurgence in interest from both
9120-502: Was played, and captain-coach Arthur Beetson was a late withdrawal due to injury. In what proved to be a master stroke, Beetson coached the team from the sidelines and handed the captaincy over to 21-year-old Lewis who had moved from lock to play Five-eighth . His form for Queensland in both the two games played under the old residence system, and the one Origin game in which he scored one of four Qld tries, saw him selected to make his Test début for Australia in 1981, playing five-eighth in
9216-587: Was rushed to hospital and had his gallbladder removed. Wally Lewis completed his autobiography, Out of the Shadows: A Champion's Return to the Spotlight , in 2009. Lewis is well known as a big fan of The Phantom comic series. Following his retirement from the sport, Lewis became a television sports presenter, first on Seven Nightly News Brisbane , before moving to the higher-rating Nine News Queensland where he remained until he stepped down from
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