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58-582: For more than four decades it remained a particular focus of attention and conversation in these small communities, fostering intense local rivalries. Along with the Foley Shield , it is considered to be the most significant of the regional rugby league challenge cups played in Australia, as well as a sporting and social phenomenon. In parts of New South Wales the Maher Cup "...was to Rugby League what

116-487: A close match 6–4 in front of another record crowd of 25,000 at the Sydney Sports Ground and ended up taking away the premiership four points in front of Glebe at the end of the season. 1913 and 1914 proved to be mediocre seasons for Glebe and despite winning more games than they lost in each year, the club only managed to finish fourth and fifth respectively. In 1915, however, they came close to taking out

174-535: A club best, losing twice to Balmain. In 1917, Glebe was involved in a dispute with Annandale for fielding a player that did not reside in Glebe's district. As a result, former Newcastle player Dan Davies received a life ban from all rugby league. The entire Glebe 1st grade squad disagreed and went on strike. All Glebe 1st grade players were suspended. Three of the Burge brothers, including Frank Burge , were banned till

232-510: A club-record 24 tries in a season and in 1920, broke the club record for most points in a season with 110. Overall, he scored 137 tries and 49 goals for the club in a career spanning 16 seasons and 138 games, which were also club records. As a forward, his record tally of 146 tries (including nine later scored with St. George in 1927) remained unbroken until Steve Menzies managed to do so in 2004, almost 80 seasons after Burge had retired. The team's biggest victory

290-735: A day (and night) out. The Maher Cup was donated by Edward John (Ted) Maher in May 1920 to the Tumut Rugby Union. Maher had just arrived in Tumut, from Young, as the new licensee of the Wynyard Hotel. The Cup was rather plain and looked as though it should have a lid. It became known as 'The Old Tin Pot'. Although only Tumut and Gundagai competed in the first two years, it was an instant success. After just three challenges under union rules, it

348-537: A disciplined, fit and co-ordinated team which featured talented locals such as Eric Weissel , Bill Lesberg, and Jack Kingston . It was not designed to be a perpetual cup and 'Coota' fulfilled the conditions to win the Cup outright by end of the 1923 season. However, it had become so popular and valuable that Cootamundra put it back into play, but with new rules designed to favour the Cootamundra team, including rights to

406-572: A founding member of the Townsville Souths rugby league club, and with later Australian Prime Minister Arthur Fadden formed the North Queensland Rugby League in 1919. In 1948 the competition was structured into a Northern Zone ( Cairns , Babinda , Tully and Eacham ) and a Southern Zone ( Mackay , Ayr and Townsville ). The following year, a Central Zone ( Herbert River , Charters Towers and Home Hill )

464-520: A house blaze due to the brigade, as well as almost everyone else in town, attending the Maher Cup. Passionate Maher Cup poetry, penned by supporters, was printed in local newspapers, songs composed and fiction published. It was recorded on film by Karl Bounarder of Gundagai as early as 1923. Local newspapers swept up feelings of injustice and foul play. Radio station 2LF of Young broadcast games live into rural homes from 1938. The railways made good profits from supporters crammed into special trains for

522-481: A match against University on 19 June 1920 is not only a club record, but also the standing Australian premiership record for most tries in a game. It was in that same game that he managed to claim the club record for most points in a game, kicking four goals in addition to his eight tries for a total of 32 points. A month earlier he scored eight goals in a match against Annandale , a club record later equalled by Jack Hickey in 1927. In 1918, Frank Burge scored

580-513: A new breakaway team. The Glebe District Rugby League Football Club was formed as a result on 8 January 1908, possibly the first rugby league club to be formed in Australia. There was much support from both players and locals for the new team and this was considered an achievement in itself for the New South Wales Rugby League . As with the local rugby team, the new rugby league club chose to play in maroon-coloured jerseys;

638-489: A perpetual problem for officials. There were claims of teams being unfairly stacked with short-term imports, footballers bribed to lose, and even "ring-ins". Games were played on "ploughed paddocks" infested with rabbits, in heavy snow, and on grounds covered with six inches of water. At Gundagai in 1952 thousands of spectators needed to be rescued from rising Murrumbidgee floodwaters. Also in Gundagai, nuns needed to fight

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696-504: A road to its demise anyway. Glebe never played another match. After 87 years of non-existence, Glebe emerged from the ashes to play Rugby League again. Earlier in the year after a series of negotiations, The Concord-Burwood United side agreed to merge with Glebe to form the Concord-Burwood-Glebe Wolves . Part of the deal was that for a few games a year Glebe would wear the old jersey which has not been worn on

754-445: A tradition that had been established by other sporting clubs in the Glebe area over many years. The club therefore often got nicknamed the "Dirty Reds" as a reference to the jersey colour, although this moniker had also been used previously to label other Glebe sporting identities well before the arrival of the rugby league team. The club began their premiership campaign with an 8–5 victory over Newcastle on 20 April 1908. Throughout

812-625: A winning percentage of 55.89%. During their 22-year presence in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership , the club managed to produce 12 internationals. Those twelve players were Alex Burdon , Frank Burge , who was probably the best player they ever had, Peter Burge , Albert Conlon , Bert Gray , Arthur Halloway , Charlie Hedley , Harold Angus , Tom Gleeson , Jack Hickey , Tom McCabe , Chris McKivat , Peter Moir and Les Cubitt . A third Burge brother, former Wallaby tourist Albert Burge

870-602: Is a rugby league competition in North Queensland administered by the Queensland Rugby League . Prior to 1948 an inter-town competition known as the Carlton Cup was contested in North Queensland . This was revamped, and renamed in honour of Arch Foley , a member of the 1918 Townsville representative team that travelled north to Cairns , and south throughout Central Queensland . He was

928-605: The 1911 New South Wales Rugby Football League Grand Final is shown below. 1 Roy Algie – FB 2 Mick Muggivan – WG 3 Dave Garlick – CE 4 Tom Gleeson – CE 5 Charlie Cubitt – WG 6 Les Cubitt – FE 7 Fritz Thiering – HB 8 Sid Pert – PR 9 Tony Redmond – HK 10 Sam Griffiths – PR 11 Albert Burge – SR (c) 12 Frank Burge – SR 13 Harry Brighton – LK 14 J Farrelly – positions The side that played in

986-673: The Canterbury Cup NSW . As a result, Glebe entered into the temporary Presidents Cup competition. Glebe would go on to reach the grand final against the Maitland Pickers but were defeated 17-16 at Bankwest Stadium . For the second year running, the Ron Massey Cup competition, along with all NSWRL competitions, were halted due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and were subsequently, cancelled. In

1044-603: The New South Wales Rugby Football League 's Sydney premiership , the major competition for the sport in Sydney , from 1908 until their exit at the end of 1929. They were formed on 9 January 1908, with some sources suggesting that they may have been the first Sydney rugby league club to have been created. They were nicknamed and well known as the "Dirty Reds" due to the maroon colour of their playing jerseys. Based in Glebe, New South Wales and playing most of their home matches out of

1102-428: The "Win, Tug and Wrangle Cup" back to Fisher Park they were all sacked. Tumut bucked the trend in 1935 producing one of the most successful Maher Cup teams of all time, composed solely of young unpaid locals. In the late thirties Tumut, Temora, Young and Cowra dominated the competition. Across New South Wales in the 1920s and 1930s teams played for a number of local and regional challenge cups. Southwest examples include

1160-2124: The 'Old Tin Pot' was polished up and placed in the NSW Rugby League Museum at Moore Park, Sydney, but in 2018 it returned to Tumut where it is housed at the Tumut Bowling and Recreation Club. Some significant Maher Cup players included: Ray Beavan (Tumut), Bill Brogan (West Wyalong), Doug Cameron (Young), Len Cooper (Barmedman & West Wyalong), Ron 'Dookie' Crowe (West Wyalong and Barmedman), Mick Crowe (Grenfell), Fred de Belin (Cootamundra), Peter Diversi (Gundagai), Cec Fifield (West Wyalong & Junee); Charles 'Chook' Fraser (Gundagai), Viv 'Bluey' Freestone (Gundagai), John Graves (Cootamundra), Abe and Sid Hall (Young), Nevyl Hand (Gundagai), John 'Bronc' Jones, (Gundagai and Tumut), Joe Jorgenson (Junee), Bill Kearney (Young), John Kelly (Temora), Jack Kingston (Cootamundra & Young), Bill Kinnane (Young & Harden), Tom Kirk , (Tumut & Barmedman), Eric Kuhn (Barmedman & Harden), Bill and Jim Lawrence (Barmedman), Bill Lesberg (Cootamunda), Bill Maizey (Cowra), Reg Maker (Temora), Herb Narvo (Cootamundra), Kevin Negus (Cowra, Cootamundra & Harden), Bernie Nevin (Harden), Peter O'Connor (Harden & Young), Col Ratcliff (West Wyalong), Phil Regan (Cootamundra), Norm 'Latchem' Robinson (Cootamundra & Tumut), Wally 'Bull' Tozer (Harden), Dick Vest (West Wyalong & Barmedman), and Eric Weissel (Cootamundra & Temora) 729 Maher Cup matches were played. The following teams participated: Cootamundra (224 matches), Young (163), Gundagai (155), West Wyalong (152), Temora (148), Tumut (141), Harden-Murrumburrah (123), Barmedman (106), Junee (79), Cowra (63), Grenfell (42), Boorowa (29), Wagga (11), Wagga Kangaroos, Wamoon and Wyangala Dam (3 each), Canowindra, Gibsonvale, Turvey Park and Wagga Magpies (2 each), Bendick Murrell, Binalong, Mallee Plains, Tullibigeal and Ungarie (1 each). Foley Shield The Foley Shield

1218-908: The 2022 Ron Massey Cup season, Glebe reached the grand final against Hills District but were defeated 18-12 at Kogarah Oval . In 2023, Glebe formed a partnership with the Sydney Roosters , ending a five-year partnership with Newtown . Glebe also introduced a Sydney Shield team, and will be playing all their home games from Wentworth Park in Glebe, alongside the Sydney Roosters Knock-On Effect NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg teams. NOTE: P=Premiers, R=Runners-Ups, M=Minor Premierships, F=Finals Appearance, W=Wooden Spoons (Brackets Represent Finals Games) Played (FINALS) Won (FINALS) Drawn (FINALS) Lost (FINALS) Position As an individual, Frank Burge holds all of Glebe's records. His eight try tally in

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1276-474: The Alley and Prowse, Bancroft, Batsos, Farrar, O'Farrell, Garden of Roses, Jack Hore Memorial, Motor, Tulk and Weissel Gold cups. A successful team may hold half a dozen such cups at a time. The rise of reliable road transportation to nearby places lead to the demise of challenge cups and their replacement by regular competition schedules. The excellent rail system in the region, the large distances between towns, and

1334-539: The Anzac Day Long Weekend. In 2011, the competition moved to the 20th to 22 May to be played in Townsville, with no preliminary round played. Townsville will split into two zones, Townsville City and Townsville Country. This brings the Townsville district in line with their Juniors, who found the move successful. This has followed the lead of Cairns who split. into Cairns and Innisfail-Eacham. Also,

1392-592: The Melbourne Cup was to racing". According to the Tumut and Adelong Times in 1931: A battered, lidless trophy! If you saw it in a second-hand goods shop you wouldn't give 5/- for it. Yet it represents the ambition and the dreams of every football club in Group 9, where Rugby League is a religion, and the Maher Cup its idol. Weekly tens of thousands follow the grim battles that are waged for its possession. Interest in

1450-453: The competition. In 1909, the club again lost their final regular-season match against Balmain 10–5 and ended up missing out on a possible finals berth by virtue of the loss. In 1910, the club had a mediocre season and had little chance of ever taking the premiership out. The 1911 season was arguably the most successful in the club's history, taking out the minor premiership outright by two points and winning 11 of their 14 matches on

1508-426: The early 1950s, falling away quickly in the mid-1960s. The Maher Cup produced colourful stories - such as the Cup being placed in jail for its safekeeping, being stolen, vandalised and dumped. There were stories of referees being bribed, knocked out, attacked by women, and refusing to adjudicate due to general player mayhem. Games were often extremely violent with injuries and dismissals routine. Pitch invasions were

1566-484: The early years) would retain the gate takings. When the Cup was newly captured celebrations would normally commence as the team returned home. In the 1920s and 1930s these trips were usually by special train, returning with horn sounding, and carriages full of noisy supporters. Typically the town band would leading a cavalcade of revellers carrying the cup and players to an impromptu civic reception. Often hastily organised entertainments, such as dances, followed late into

1624-525: The end of the 1929 season at the insistence of South Sydney, the New South Wales Rugby Football League General Committee voted 13–12 to expel Glebe from the competition. One theory is that Balmain made a deal with South Sydney to remove Glebe as a means of consolidating both of their local territories. However, others suggest that the local area was changing in such a way that the club was probably on

1682-500: The end of the season. In round four, Glebe faced Eastern Suburbs in front of a record crowd of 22,000 at the Royal Agricultural Society Grounds , going down 10–2. After 10 rounds, Glebe trailed Eastern Suburbs by just two points and were to face them the following week with four rounds to go. In a match in which Glebe almost certainly had to win to stay in premiership contention, Eastern Suburbs won

1740-489: The evening. Substantial financial gifts may be placed in the Cup for the benefit of these local heroes To be a Maher Cup player was to be somebody of note in the community. About 15 to 20 challenges were usually played each year, the peak being 24 in 1953. Initially games were on Wednesday afternoons, changing in 1946 to Saturdays. From then on teams would back up, often with little enthusiasm for Sunday regular competition games. Interest in Maher Cup football probably peaked in

1798-572: The field since 1929. The main aim of the future was for Glebe to have their own stand alone team in the Ron Massey Cup and the Sydney Shield . One of the main people responsible for Glebe's rebirth was club spokesman Darren Flynn. The club would continue to play home matches at Goddard Park located in Concord, Sydney. On 5 January 2018, it was announced that Glebe would be returning to play preseason games at Wentworth Park which would be

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1856-475: The finals series was reinstated. Finishing second to runaway leaders South Sydney, Glebe were to face off against fourth-placed University for a place in the final. However, they lost this decisive match 29–3 and were sent out of the finals. In their final three seasons, Glebe struggled at the bottom of the premiership after the departure of their long-time player Frank Burge . Out of nine teams they finished eighth in 1927, seventh in 1928 and eighth in 1929. At

1914-475: The first and last challenges of each year and control of disputes and the challenge draws. The Cup remained popular during the Great Depression. Although crowds declined, protests increased in frequency and mendacity. Many clubs made considerable investments building teams of professional imports, with mixed results. In 1932 and 1935 Cootamundra invested heavily in imports. When they failed to wrest

1972-620: The first time that rugby league has been played there in 90 years. The matches also featured the Newtown Jets and the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles . For the 2018 Ron Massey Cup season, The Concord-Burwood-Glebe Wolves changed their name to the Glebe-Burwood Wolves. On 11 February, Glebe played alongside fellow foundation club Newtown at Wentworth Park in two pre-season trial matches. It

2030-477: The forces, and less promotion of sport in local newspapers, resulted in poor gates. Recommencing in June 1945, Cup football maintained, and possibly exceeded its attraction into the 1950s. The Gundagai Tigers which through the influential Gundagai Independent newspaper had long pushed for the end of the Maher Cup, developed a formidable team, winning 24 matches straight from August 1951 to September 1952. This record

2088-492: The ground with fellow foundation club, the Newtown Jets . In 2023, Glebe make their return to play home games permanently at Wentworth Oval for the first time since 1929. At the turn of the 20th century, Glebe was a working-class suburb of Sydney, situated a few kilometres to the west of the city centre. A Glebe team had played in the Sydney second grade rugby competition for a number of years and due to its high popularity

2146-484: The introduction of transfer fees; the expansion of Australian Rules football in the area and, likely, television producing greater interest in the Sydney Rugby League competition. Whereas once crack city players could be lured by Maher Cup money, the trend was now firmly in the reverse direction. The final match on 5 June 1971 at Young was won by the club to which it was originally donated - Tumut. In 2013

2204-502: The late 1950s, perhaps partially due to the over-professionalisation of local Rugby League. Maher Cup passion started to subside in the early 1960s due to a variety of factors, including the increasing emphasis on Group competition matches; the weakening of Group 9 with the breakaway of the Murrumbidgee Rugby League (of which Tumut, Gundagai and Junee were initiators); population drift, falling standards of play with

2262-525: The local Wentworth Oval , Glebe remained a highly competitive team for many years. Though they came close at times, the club was never able to secure a premiership title. After struggling towards the end of the 1920s the club was eventually voted out of the premiership. The club was revived in late 2015 and began to field teams in 2017 for the first time in 87 years. During their revival, they played their home games at Henson Park in Marrickville, sharing

2320-478: The matches is State-wide, but in the South, even the kindergarten kids are gripped with its mysterious fascination. Matches were usually rugged affairs with protests and disputes common. Games were played during floods, snow and other adverse weather conditions. Gambling was an essential element of Maher Cup culture. The winning team would have the right to contest all subsequent challenges on their home ground and (in

2378-476: The minor premiers had a "right to challenge" if they were to lose the final. In a match where Glebe were leading almost all the way, Eastern Suburbs fought back and took the lead within the final ten minutes to 11–8, giving them the premiership. Following Glebe's failure to convert their minor premiership into a premiership in 1911, the New South Wales Rugby Football League decided that no finals would be played from 1912 unless two teams were tied on equal points at

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2436-566: The popularity of the Maher Cup, delayed the establishment of such competitions in the Southwest. When cars and buses became commonplace and roads sealed, people became less dependent on rail and regular competitions easier to arrange. Although permanent competition football was established in 1938 it still played second fiddle to the Maher Cup until the 1960s. Play went into recess from 1942 to 1944, seemingly due to economic reasons rather than wartime sacrifice. Petrol rationing, loss of players to

2494-405: The premiership when they and North Sydney finished on equal points at the end of the season. In the ensuing final, North Sydney easily accounted for Glebe 35–3, again denying Glebe the elusive premiership title. From 1923 onwards, the club's form started to decline and for the first time since 1910, Glebe lost more games than they won. In 1926, they were given another shot at the premiership when

2552-517: The premiership. With four rounds remaining and equal with their local rivals, Glebe were to face the undefeated Balmain at the Sydney Sports Ground. Again, however, Glebe failed to win this crucial game, losing 12–2 in front of 20,000 people and allowed Balmain to take a one-match lead. With both teams winning their remaining games, Balmain ended up taking out the premiership. Overall in 1915, Glebe won 12 out of their 14 matches,

2610-408: The proceeds from the gate, the spending spectators contributed to the prosperity of local pubs, cafes and other businesses. Labourers, tradesmen, shop-owners, clerks, farmers and farm workers all took pride in a successful team. Cootamundra became the first club to maximise the economic value of the Cup. They signed a well known Sydney player as captain-coach, Phil Regan from Glebe . Regan created

2668-562: The re-introduction of Bowen to the Foley Shield (Formerly part of Whitsunday) who will combine with Palm Island, who play a 7 team A-Grade Competition. They will be known as Bowen-Palm Island. Mount Isa-Mid West will be known as Northern Outback, and Cape-Torres will be known as Remote Areas Rugby League. (RARL) Former Top-Flight Competition: Brisbane Rugby League premiership Glebe DRLFC The Glebe Dirty Reds are an Australian rugby league foundation club which played in

2726-493: The season they either remained close to or on top of the ladder and with one round remaining were on equal points with South Sydney and Eastern Suburbs to lead the competition. In the last regular-season match, Glebe went down 10–5 to sixth-placed Balmain and ended up running third overall, although the match ended up having no impact on who they would play in the finals a week later. In their semi final, Glebe went down 16–3 to minor premiers South Sydney and were knocked out of

2784-720: The shield, Mount Isa, with the Mid-West league, (Mount Isa-Mid West) and Innisfail-Eacham returned to the competition and Cape York/Torres Strait joined the competition, and the Shield was played as a round robin at the Townsville Sports Reserve over the Easter weekend in 2009. In 2010, the competition was moved to the Labour Day Long Weekend, with a preliminary round played in regional centres over

2842-598: The start of the 1919 season (an eighteen-month suspension), however many of these suspensions were subsequently overturned or shortened. Further implications came into the Newcastle Rugby League, where the competition was split until 1920. Glebe finished out the decade continuing to win more games than they lost each season and regularly finished within the top four, but without a finals system in place they were unable to capitalise on this relatively strong position. In 1922, they finally gained another shot at

2900-497: The table only 2 points above last placed Brothers Penrith . On 16 February, Glebe played in a pre-season trial match against fellow foundation side Newtown at Wentworth Park . It was the first time in 91 years that the two clubs had played against each other in a game. Newtown would run out comfortable 20-0 winners. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield competitions were cancelled along with

2958-414: The way. They also secured their first-ever victory over local rivals Balmain, winning 41–2 in the second last regular-season match of the season. However, they came up against an Eastern Suburbs side led by Dally Messenger who had won six matches straight. In the final in which Glebe had a chance to take away the premiership, Eastern Suburbs won 22–9, forcing the first-ever Grand Final to be played since

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3016-443: Was a 59–3 victory over North Sydney at Wentworth Oval on 17 July 1915. Its biggest ever loss was against Eastern Suburbs when they went down 36–0. Overall, Glebe are also statistically one of the most successful clubs to have played in the premiership. Out of the 33 teams who have made an appearance over the years, Glebe has the fifth-best winning percentage. From 297 games played, 163 were won, six drawn and 128 lost for

3074-475: Was added. The grand final was played in Townsville , and was a highlight of the rugby league calendar. The Foley Shield continued to be held annually until the introduction of the statewide Queensland Cup competition in 1996. In 2000 the competition was reinstated, and was contested by Cairns , Mackay and Townsville . In an attempt to re-invent the competition and renew the tradition and passion in

3132-672: Was also a Dirty Red. Alex Burdon and Chris McKivat had the honour of captaining their country, from 1908–09 and 1911–12 respectively and Les Cubitt captained an Australasian side in 1921. In 2008, to celebrate the Centenary of Rugby League in Australia, a panel commissioned by the Australian Rugby League and National Rugby League voted four Glebe players into a group of "Rugby League's 100 Greatest Players". These players were Frank Burge , Les Cubitt , Arthur Halloway , and Chris McKivat . The side that played in

3190-425: Was bettered by Harden-Murrumburrah with 29 games in a row from September 1958 to June 1960. During the 1950s many Maher Cup teams imported top ranking international footballers, often to the detriment of local talent development. Young, Cootamundra and Gundagai were particularly active importers. Rugby Union clubs, which had been completely absent from the Maher Cup towns since 1920, began to become re-established in

3248-463: Was decided to change to rugby league, a newer, faster, more entertaining form of the game which had swept through the region from 1910. By 1922 crowds of 3,000 were common. In 1923 rugby league was formally organised in the region with ' Group 9 ' being established at a meeting at the Grand Hotel, Harden. Group 9 towns became synonymous with Maher Cup towns. As well as the winning club taking all

3306-408: Was promoted to a new first grade competition which started in 1900. Glebe immediately made a big impact on the district competition, winning all three grades in the inaugural season before taking out another three first grade titles over the next seven years. When the push for the formation of a new professional rugby league competition began, Glebe was one of the areas considered for the formation of

3364-469: Was the first time in 90 years that a professional game of rugby league had been played at the ground. On 17 February Glebe returned to Wentworth Park and played in a pre-season trial against North Sydney which finished with Glebe running out winners 24–12. This was the first time Glebe had played against North Sydney in 90 years with their last meeting being in 1929. At the end of the 2019 Ron Massey Cup season, Glebe finished in second last position on

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