The Queensland Under-20 rugby league team, also known as

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_ ...

Under-20s or Queensland U20, 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-20 age level. Since 2012, the team has played an annual fixture against the New South Wales Under-20s team for the

Darren Lockyer Darren James Lockyer (born 24 March 1977) is an Australian television commentator and former professional rugby league footballer. Lockyer was an Australian international and Queensland State representative captain, who played his entire profes ...

Shield. The team features players selected from the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

Intrust Super Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...

Canterbury Cup NSW 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 reserv ...

Hastings Deering Colts The Hastings Deering Colts is a junior rugby league competition based in Queensland, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition is administered by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL), and is contested by fourteen t ...

and

Jersey Flegg Cup The Jersey Flegg Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), and is named for Easte ...

competitions. They are administered 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 ...

History

Prior to the advent of the National Youth Competition, junior

interstate The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

matches were contested at under-17 and under-19 levels. In 2008, the age levels switched to an under-16 and under-18 format but no under-20 game was held until 2012. In March 2012, the first under-20 Origin match was announced by the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

. The NRL had been looking into running the match for more than 18 months. In 2007, then-

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...

managing director Michael Searle suggested an under-20 Origin series as a curtain raiser to the three senior State of Origin games. Former

representative and

Origin coach

Kevin Walters Kevin David Walters (born 20 October 1967) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the Head Coach of the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL and a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a premiership-winning ...

was named as inaugural coach of the Queensland under-20 team. From 2012 to 2014, the under-20 Origin fixture was held in April, on the Representative Weekend. In 2015, the game was moved to July as a curtain-raiser to State of Origin. In April 2017,

legend

Justin Hodges Justin Hodges (born 25 May 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative , Hodges started his career in the Natio ...

was named as head coach of the side. In 2018, they recorded their first win in the fixture, defeating New South Wales 30–12 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 ...

. On 16 November 2018, assistant coach and former

representative

Scott Prince Scott Prince (born 27 February 1980) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative, he played club footba ...

took over as co-head coach, alongside former

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

women's head coach Paul Dyer, after Hodges was elevated to assistant coach of the senior Queensland side.

Players

Players selected for the Queensland under-20 team are under contract with a

(NRL) side and play in either the

competitions. Since 2013, the QRL has selected a pre-season under-20 squad featuring players in contention for the mid-season fixture. The squad participates in a weekend camp at the

Queensland Academy of Sport The Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) is an elite sports institute set up in 1991 by the Queensland Government to support athletes in the state of Queensland. Its headquarters are currently located at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in ...

2020 squad

The 24-man training squad selected for the 2020 season:

Results

2012

2013

Played as a curtain raiser to the

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

Pacific Rugby League test match.

2014

Played as a curtain raiser to the

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

Pacific Rugby League test match.

2015

Played as a curtain raiser to Game III of the 2015 State of Origin series.

2016

Played as a curtain raiser to Game III of the 2016 State of Origin series.

2017

Played as a curtain raiser to Game I of the 2017 State of Origin series.

2018

Played as a curtain raiser to Game III of the 2018 State of Origin series.

2019

Played as a curtain raiser to Game III of the

2019 State of Origin series The 2019 State of Origin series was the 38th annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams. Before this series, Queensland had won 21 times, NSW 14 times, with two series drawn. For just the second t ...

References

{{Rugby League in Australia links Res Rugby League State of Origin Rugby league representative teams in Queensland