Mid West Cup
SportRugby league
Instituted1913
Inaugural season1913
Ceased2021
Re-formed2022
Country Australia
Most recent premier Blackheath Blackcats (2023)
Most titles Carcoar Crows (13 titles)
WebsiteGroup 10 Homepage

The Mid West Community Cup is a rugby league competition in the Central West area of New South Wales. The premiers are awarded the Blayney Citizens' Cup, the oldest continuously awarded trophy in Country Rugby League, with Neville the first recipients in 1913.[1] For all intents and purposes, it is a third division competition in the Group 10/11 area.

In its last season under its original model in 2021, the competition encompassed teams from Bathurst, Kandos, Lithgow, Oberon, Orange and Portland.[2] Some of the remaining clubs in the competition merged into the Woodbridge Cup in 2022 after two incomplete seasons due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. However, the competition reformed in late 2022 under a new community cup model similar to Group 17. The three clubs that emerged from the ailing original format of the competition to join the Woodbridge Cup did not rejoin the competition as they sought a higher standard of football, paving the way for the return of other older clubs.

Current Clubs

Three clubs are currently listed as part of the Mid West Community Cup competition. The inaugural edition of the competition ran as a four-team single round robin with finals to follow, with a total four week season in 2022, and will continue in this format for 2023.

Club City/Town Home Ground No. of Titles Premierships Notes
Blackheath Blackcats Blackheath Jubilee Park 10 1980, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 2002, 2005, 2015, 2018, 2023
Carcoar Crows Carcoar Carcoar Oval 13 1931, 1949, 1950, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1994, 2022
Kandos Waratahs Kandos Waratah Park 7 1972, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1981, 2009, 2013
Portland Colts Portland Kremer Park 3 1984, 1998, 2008

Former Clubs

2021 Season Teams

Five teams competed in the 2021 season including former Group 10 side Oberon Tigers, with the women's grade having six teams (Kandos being the extra). The teams were:

Club City/Town Home Ground No. of Titles Premierships Notes
CSU Mungoes Bathurst Diggings Oval 5 1975, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2021 Joined Woodbridge Cup
Kandos Waratahs‡ Kandos Waratah Park 7 1972, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1981, 2009, 2013 Competed in League Tag only, joined new Community Cup
Lithgow Bears Lithgow Tony Luchetti Showground 2 2010, 2011 Disbanded
Oberon Tigers Oberon Oberon Sports Ground 2 2003, 2020 Joined Woodbridge Cup
Portland Colts‡ Portland Kremer Park 3 1984, 1998, 2008 Joined new Community Cup
Orange United Warriors Orange Wade Park 0 N/A Joined Woodbridge Cup

‡ indicates active participant in the Mid West Community Cup

Former Teams (1913–2022)

More than 40 teams have reportedly featured in the Mid West Cup over the course of its history.[3] They include:

Club No. of Premierships Premiership Years Moved to
Barry 1 1932 Amalgamated with Neville
Barry-Neville 2 1952, 1953 Disbanded
Binnaway Bombshells 0 NA Castlereagh Cup
Burrangong Bears 0 None Disbanded
Blayney Bears 3 1922, 1970, 2006 Group 10 Rugby League
Blayney Blues 1 1923 Disbanded
Blayney Institute 1 1948 Disbanded
Blayney Militia 2 1924, 1925 Disbanded
Blayney Waratahs 2 1926 Disbanded
Browns Creek 2 1927, 1928 Disbanded
Canobolas 0 NA Disbanded
Coolah Kangaroos 0 NA Group 14 Rugby League
CSU Bathurst Mungoes 5 1975, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2021 Joined Woodbridge Cup
Cullen Bullen 0 NA Disbanded
Dunedoo Swans 0 NA Castlereagh Cup
Gulgong Terriers 5 1987, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2007 Castlereagh Cup
Lithgow Bears 2 2010, 2011 Disbanded
Mandurama 1 1918 NA
Manildra Rhinos 0 NA Woodbridge Cup
Merriwa Magpies 0 NA Group 14 Rugby League
Mitchell College 1 1975 Disbanded
Mudgee Tigers 1 1996 Disbanded
Millthorpe 1 1951 Disbanded
Neville 1 1913 Amalgamated with Barry
Newbridge 1 1914 Disbanded
Oberon Tigers 2 2003, 2020 Joined Woodbridge Cup
Orange Barbarians 0 NA Disbanded
Orange Old Boys/Our Boys 0 NA Disbanded
Orange United Warriors 0 N/A Joined Woodbridge Cup
Rockley 1 1956 Disbanded
Villages United 1 2015 Disbanded
Wallerawang Warriors 6 1976, 1977, 1991, 2000, 2001, 2017 Disbanded
Woodstock 1 1983 Disbanded

History

The Mid West Cup was originally organised as a rugby union competition but made the switch to rugby league after the First World War. The first winner of the competition was Neville and the club awarded the Blayney Citizens' Cup, the oldest trophy still in regular use in Country Rugby League.[4]

While the competition was traditionally based in around the Blayney region, in the 1950s it expanded into Rockley, Carcoar and Cullen Bullen before it was absorbed in the Group 10 Rugby League and renamed the Group 10 Second Division in 1970. It adopted its current name of the Mid West Cup in 1990. The competition only featured four teams in 2019, including CSU Mungoes, Lithgow Bears, Orange Barbarians and Portland Colts, but will expand to eight in 2020 with the inclusion of the reformed Blackheath Blackcats and Kandos Waratahs, Oberon Tigers (who have been relegated from Group 10) and the newly-formed Orange United.

The competition's last season under its original model was in 2021, and encompassed teams from Bathurst, Kandos, Lithgow, Oberon, Orange and Portland. The three remaining clubs in the competition (CSU, Oberon and Orange United) merged into the Woodbridge Cup in 2022 after two incomplete seasons due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. However, the competition reformed in late 2022 under a new community cup model similar to Group 17. The three clubs that emerged from the ailing original format of the competition to join the Woodbridge Cup did not rejoin the competition as they sought a higher standard of football, paving the way for the return of other older clubs such as Carcoar, as well as the introduction of Burrangong for the first time. Burrangong returned to the George Tooke Shield for 2023, with Blackheath rejoining the competition in their place.

Premierships

  • 1913: Neville
  • 1914: Newbridge
  • 1918: Mandurama
  • 1922: Blayney Bears
  • 1923: Blayney Blues
  • 1924: Blayney Milita
  • 1925: Blayney Milita
  • 1926: Blayney Waratahs
  • 1927: Browns Creek
  • 1928: Browns Creek
  • 1931: Carcoar
  • 1932: Barry
  • 1948: Blayney Institute
  • 1949: Carcoar
  • 1950: Carcoar
  • 1951: Milthorpe
  • 1952: Barry-Neville
  • 1953: Barry-Neville
  • 1956: Rockley
  • 1957: Carcoar
  • 1958: Carcoar
  • 1959: Carcoar
  • 1960: Carcoar
  • 1961: Cullen Bullen
  • 1962: Carcoar
  • 1966: Carcoar
  • 1967: Carcoar
  • 1968: Carcoar
  • 1969: Carcoar
  • 1970: Blayney Bears
  • 1971: Carcoar
  • 1972: Kandos
  • 1973: Carcoar
  • 1974: Kandos
  • 1975: Mitchell College
  • 1976: Wallerawang
  • 1977: Wallerawang
  • 1978: Rylstone-Kandos
  • 1979: Rylstone-Kandos
  • 1980: Blackheath
  • 1981: Rylstone-Kandos
  • 1982: Carcoar
  • 1983: Woodstock
  • 1984: Portland
  • 1985: Carcoar
  • 1986: Blackheath
  • 1987: Gulgong
  • 1988: Carcoar
  • 1989: Blackheath
  • 1990: Blackheath
  • 1991: Wallerawang
  • 1992: Blackheath
  • 1993: Blackheath
  • 1994: Carcoar
  • 1995: Lithgow Bears
  • 1996: Mudgee
  • 1997: Gulgong
  • 1998: Portland
  • 1999: Gulgong
  • 2000: Wallerawang
  • 2001: Wallerawang
  • 2002: Blackheath
  • 2003: Oberon
  • 2004: Gulgong
  • 2005: Blackheath
  • 2006: Blayney Bears
  • 2007: Gulgong
  • 2008: Portland
  • 2009: Kandos
  • 2010: Lithgow Bears
  • 2011: Lithgow Bears
  • 2012: CSU Blue
  • 2013: Kandos
  • 2014: CSU Yellow
  • 2015: Blackheath
  • 2016: Villages United
  • 2017: Wallerawang
  • 2018: Blackheath
  • 2019: CSU
  • 2020: Oberon
  • 2021: CSU
  • 2022: Carcoar

See also

References

  1. ↑ 100 years of Lithgow football
  2. ↑ Mid West New Era Cup to feature eight and possibly nine clubs in 2020 in Western Advocate, 4 December 2019
  3. ↑ 100 years of Lithgow football
  4. ↑ Stanbridge, Gwende (2019). The Blayney Citizens' Cup 1913-2019.
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