The Queensland Cup is the premier rugby league football competition in the State of Queensland, Australia contested by teams from South East Queensland, Cairns, Mackay and Rockhampton.
Since its formation in 1921, the Brisbane Rugby League premiership had been the premier competition in the state, enjoying large crowds and solid fan bases. The clubs were well established with new teams rarely entering the competition. Traditionally, the clubs were Valleys, Brothers, Norths, Souths, Wests, Easts, Redcliffe and Wynnum-Manly. However, changes came about when poker machines were introduced in New South Wales, but not in Queensland enabling clubs to entice players south of the Tweed with the lure of more money.
This, combined with the admission of non-Sydney teams like the Canberra Raiders and Illawarra Steelers, saw the New South Wales Rugby League competition during the 1980′s begin to supersede the Brisbane competition in popularity and media coverage. Other sports were establishing national competitions and by 1986 the admission of a Brisbane team into the NSWRL had become inevitable. The Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Giants finally gained entry in 1988.
The Queensland Cup, originally branded the Channel Nine Cup through sponsorship, began in 1996 to replace the Winfield State League and to accompany the Brisbane Rugby League. It became the premier competition in Queensland in 1998 when the BRL was disbanded after 76 years.
There are twelve teams in the competition that play each other home and away from the middle of March to the middle of August. The winner of each game is awarded two points on the League Ladder with one point each for a drawn game. At the end of the regular season, the top six teams qualify for the finals. In the event of two or more teams sharing the same number of league points, the finishing order is decided by points difference.
The six-team finals series was established in 2009 and the Grand Final is played in mid-September at Suncorp Stadium with the Duncan Hall man-of-the-match medal having been awarded since 2007.
The twelve teams are currently Burleigh Bears (Gold Coast), Central Comets (Rockhampton), Easts Tigers (Brisbane), Ipswich Jets (Ipswich), Mackay Cutters (Mackay), Northern Pride (Cairns), Norths Devils (Brisbane), Redcliffe Dolphins (Redcliffe), South Logan Magpies (Brisbane), Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles (Sunshine Coast), Tweed Heads Seagulls (Gold Coast) and Wynnum Manly Seagulls (Brisbane).
The quality of club rugby league in Queensland is of such a high standard that almost all clubs have affiliation with a team in the NRL (National Rugby League) which offers many young players the opportunity to be signed up. For example, the Brisbane Broncos are affiliated with no less than four Queensland Cup sides: Redcliffe Dolphins, Wynnum-Manly Seagulls, Norths Devils and Central Comets.
Redcliffe Dolphins hold the most titles with five, those coming in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2006.
Queensland Cup Betting
Betting on the Queensland Cup is much the same as betting on any other rugby league competition. Odds are offered on head-to-head and Line betting. As well as the more traditional betting markets, there are also opportunities to bet on winning margin, highest try scorer and highest points scorer as well as the outright competition winner. There are also a host of special bets on the six-team finals and grand final.
Queensland Cup Odds
The Queensland Cup is becoming increasing popular with rugby league fans and now receives widespread coverage with match and handicap betting opportunities available from many sportsbooks. There are betting specials for important games including half-time/full-time options, first scoring play, first player to score and total score. There are odds available on league finishing positions, points totals, six-team finals and special markets for the grand final itself including first card, highest scoring half and winning margin.
