The Outback Rugby League Cup is a NSW Rugby League (NSWRL) Group Competition which is based in

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

in the far west of

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 ...

and surrounding districts such as

Wilcannia Wilcannia is a small town located within the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia. Located on the Darling River, the town was the third largest inland port in the country during the river boat era of the mid-19th ce ...

and

Menindee Menindee (frequently but erroneously spelled "Menindie" ) is a small town in the far west of New South Wales, Australia, in Central Darling Shire, on the banks of the Darling River, with a sign-posted population of 980 and a population of 551. ...

. The competition folded in 1998 but was revived in 2007.

Teams

Former Clubs

* Broken Hill Cowboys * Broken Hill Geebungs * Broken Hill Saints * Wilcannia Boomerangs * Wilcannia Tigers * Menindee Yabbies The founding clubs of the competition were: * Broken Hill Cowboys * Wilcannia Boomerangs * Wilcannia Tigers * Menindee Yabbies

History

The Outback Rugby League was formed in 2007 after a long absence of regular A-Grade rugby league from Broken Hill. The last regular rugby league competition in the area was in 1997 as the Group 12 competition which also included clubs from Broken Hill, Menindee & Wilcannia. The new competition features clubs from the same areas. A new club was formed before the opening season, the Wilcannia Tigers. The inaugural competition saw a total of 266 registered players across all grades, from under-sixes up. Broken Hill is traditionally dominated by

Australian Rules Football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

. The 2007 Grand final was a close game between Wilcannia Tigers and Menindee Yabbies. The Yabbies eventually won by one point, 36–35, at Lamb Park in Broken Hill in front of 1,000 spectators. Recently, for the 2008 Outback Rugby League Season,

CFMEU The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU, though most commonly still referred to as CFMEU) is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry, maritime, mining, energy, textile, clothing and footwear producti ...

(the major sponsor of such teams as the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

) has signed on to become the competition's major sponsor from 2008 and beyond. This will be a massive boost for the competition, financially speaking.

First grade premiership

The premiers of the group competition since 1980:

References

External links