The 2016 Queensland Cup season was the 21st season of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

's top-level statewide

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

competition run by the

Queensland Rugby League The Queensland Rugby Football League QRL Constitution, 2009: 3 (QRL QRL Constitution, 2009: 2) is the governing body for rugby league in Queensland. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL Commission) and selects the membe ...

. The competition, known as the Intrust Super Cup due to sponsorship from Intrust Super, featured 14 teams playing a 29-week long season (including finals) from March to September. The

Burleigh Bears The Burleigh Bears are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Gold Coast, Australia. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. Since their admission to the competition in 1997, the ...

won their third premiership after defeating the

26–16 in the Grand Final at

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

Mackay Cutters The Mackay Cutters are a semi-professional rugby league football club based in Mackay, Queensland, Mackay, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Queensland Cup i ...

' Josh Chudleigh was named the competition's Player of the Year, winning the Courier Mail Medal.

Teams

In 2016, the lineup of teams remained unchanged for the second consecutive year.

Ladder

Final series

Grand Final

Burleigh returned to the finals for the first time in 11 years after finishing the regular season in 2nd. After their first week bye, they defeated Redcliffe 40–24 in the major semi final to qualify for their fifth Grand Final, their first since 2005. Redcliffe finished the regular season as minor premiers and qualified for the finals for the first time since 2012. After losing to Burleigh in the major semi final, they defeated the Sunshine Coast in the preliminary final and booked a spot in their 10th Grand Final, their third against Burleigh.

First half

Burleigh got the scoring underway in the 12th minute when fullback

Kurtis Rowe Kurtis Rowe (born 12 November 1993) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Burleigh Bears in the Queensland Cup. He plays as a and and previously played for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League. Bac ...

sliced through the Dolphins' defence and ran 35 metres to score. It took just four minutes for Redcliffe to hit back when winger

Jonus Pearson Jonus Pearson (born 28 May 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Central Queensland Capras in the Queensland Cup. He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos, Gold Coast Titans and St George Il ...

scored following some slick offloading close to the line. In the 23rd minute, Rowe recorded his second try of the contest when he muscled his way over to extended Burleigh's lead to eight. A penalty goal converted from right in front pushed the Bears' lead to 10 before Redcliffe scored through Tyson Cleal to cut margin to four in the 33rd minute.

Second half

The Bears again scored the first points of the half, this time through centre

Sami Sauiluma Sami Sauiluma (born 14 February 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who has played in the National Rugby League. He primarily plays at and , but can also fill in at and previously played for the Canberra Raiders and Cr ...

in the 49th minute. Halfback

Jamal Fogarty Jamal Fogarty (born 13 December 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League, NRL. He previously played for the Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby League ...

converted the try from out wide to give Burleigh a 10-point lead. The Dolphins got back into the game in the 57th minute thanks to a try to halfback Darren Nicholls, as they trailed by just four points. In the 71st minute, the Bears sealed the win when five-eighth

Cameron Cullen Cameron Cullen (born 9 September 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Intrust Super Cup. He plays as a and . He previously played for the Gold Coast Titans. Background Born in ...

scored and gave his side an unassailable 10-point lead. The victory was Burleigh's third Grand Final triumph, making them the second most successful club in the competition. Cullen was awarded the Duncan Hall Medal for man of the match for his performance.

NRL State Championship

After winning the Grand Final, the

qualified for the

NRL State Championship The NRL State Championship is a rugby league match contested by the premiers of the two elite second-tier competitions in Australia, the New South Wales Cup and the Queensland Cup. The match has been played as a curtain-raiser to the NRL Grand F ...

NRL Grand Final The NRL Grand Final determines the champions of the National Rugby League club competition. It is a major sport event in Australia. Since 1999, it has been contested at Stadium Australia in Sydney. The first year it was held at Stadium Australia ...

day. They were defeated by the

Illawarra Cutters The Illawarra Rugby League Football Club were an Australian rugby league football club based in Illawarra formed in 2012. Originally known as the Illawarra Cutters, they became known as the Illawarra RLFC before the 2017 Intrust Super Premiershi ...

, the

New South Wales Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

premiers, 54–12.

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of the season (including finals).

Leading try scorers

Leading point scorers

QRL awards

* Courier Mail Medal (Best and Fairest): Josh Chudleigh (

) * Coach of the Year:

Jim Lenihan Jim Lenihan (born 16 May 1973) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the assistant coach for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL and a former professional rugby league footballer. A or er, he played for the Gold Coast Seagulls ...

(

) * Rookie of the Year:

(

Redcliffe Dolphins The Redcliffe Dolphins are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Redcliffe, Queensland, Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1947, they were accepted into the Brisbane Rugby League premiership (rugby league competition), Brisba ...

) * Representative Player of the Year:

Jai Arrow Jai Arrow (born 12 July 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er, and for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby Le ...

(

Queensland Residents The Queensland Residents rugby league team is a representative rugby league team consisting of players who compete in the Intrust Super Cup (Queensland Cup) competition. They currently play an annual fixture against NSW Cup Representative Team, ...

Norths Devils The Northern Suburbs Devils, or North Brisbane Devils, or often simply referred to as Norths for short, are a rugby league club representing the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. The team colours are sky blue, navy blue and gold. They pl ...

) * XXXX People's Choice Award:

Justin Olam Justin Olam (born 23 December 1993) is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL), and Papua New Guinea at international level. He is a NRL premiership-wi ...

(

PNG Hunters The Papua New Guinea Hunters (PNG Hunters) are a professional rugby league football club based in Papua New Guinea. They were formed in December 2013 and currently compete in the Queensland Rugby League, currently called the Hostplus Cup, a sec ...

)

Team of the Year

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Queensland Cup season 2016 2016 in Australian rugby league Queensland Cup