The New South Wales Under-18's rugby league team, also known as

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Under-18's or New South Wales U18, represents

in the sport of

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 ...

at an under-18 age level. Since 2008, the team has played an annual fixture against the Queensland Under-18's team as a curtain raiser to a State of Origin game. The team features players selected from New South Wales's premier under-18 rugby league competition, the S.G. Ball Cup. They are administered by the New South Wales Rugby League.

History

Prior to 2008, junior interstate matches were contested at under-17 and under-19 levels. In 2008, with the advent of the National Youth Competition, the age levels switched to an under-16 and under-18 format to keep in line with the NSWRL's existing

SG Ball Cup The S. G. Ball Cup is a junior rugby league football competition played predominantly in New South Wales, between teams made up of players aged under 19. Teams from Canberra and Melbourne (Victoria Thunderbolts) also participate. Prior to the C ...

and

Harold Matthews Cup The NSWRL Harold Matthews Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales between teams made up of players aged under 16. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). The competition is made up o ...

competitions and the QRL's Mal Meninga Cup and

Cyril Connell Cup 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 ca ...

competitions, which would begin in 2009. New South Wales saw success in the first four under-18 Origin fixtures, winning every game until 2012. New South Wales would win another two more fixtures in 2013 and 2014 before picking up their second lose in 2015, losing to Queensland 22-18 at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

. Since 2015 New South Wales have won every under-18 Origin fixture, in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Players

Players selected for the New South Wales under-18 team are usually contracted with a National Rugby League (NRL) side but play in either the S.G. Ball Cup,

Holden Cup The NRL Under-20s (known commercially as the Holden Cup due to sponsorship from Holden) was the top league of professional rugby league for players aged 20 years or younger in Australasia. Contested by sixteen teams, the Under-20s competition co ...

Intrust Super Premiership 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 ...

competitions. Each pre-season the New South Wales Rugby League will select an under-18 squad featuring players in contention for the mid-season fixture.

Notable players

Since 2008, fifteen former New South Wales under-18 players have gone onto represent

at State of Origin level: *

Josh Dugan Joshua Dugan (born 10 May 1990) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a and for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL and Australia at international level. He previously played for the Canberra R ...

* Wade Graham *

William Hopoate William Hopoate (born 9 May 1992), also known as Viliami in Tongan, also known by the nickname of "Hoppa", is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a and on the for the St Helens in the Super League. He played for the ...

* Aaron Woods * David Klemmer *

Jake Trbojevic Jake Trbojevic (born 18 February 1994) also known as “Jurbo” is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and Australia at international level. Trbojevic has playe ...

Jack Bird Jack Bird (born 20 March 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and forward for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL. Bird previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sha ...

Latrell Mitchell Latrell Mitchell (''né'' Goolagong; born 16 June 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL, and has represented both New South Wales in the State of Origin series and ...

Tom Trbojevic Thomas Peter Trbojevic (born 2 October 1996), also nicknamed "Tommy Turbo", is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a as well as a wing and centre for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and plays for Austra ...

Nick Cotric Nikola Cotric (; born 18 November 1998) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League (NRL), and Australia at international level He previously played for the ...

Payne Haas Payne Haas (born 2 December 1999) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level. He has played for the New South Wales in ...

* Cameron Murray *

Jack Wighton Jack Wighton (born 4 February 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL and Australia at international level. He has played at representative level for the Indigenous All ...

* Dale Finucane *

Clint Gutherson Clinton Gutherson (born 9 September 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. He previously played for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League, ...

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