Tarsha Gale Cup

Harvey Norman Tarsha Gale Cup
Current season or competition:
2023 New South Wales Rugby League
SportRugby league
Instituted2017
Inaugural season2017
Number of teams13
Country Australia
Premiers Illawarra Steelers (2024)
Most titles Sydney Roosters Indigenous Academy
Illawarra Steelers (2 titles)
WebsiteTarsha Gale Cup
Related competitionNRL Women's Premiership
NSWRL Women's Premiership

The Tarsha Gale Cup is an elite under-19s Women's rugby league competition in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The competition was named after former captain of Australia and current NRLW commentator, Tarsha Gale, in honour of her impact on Women's rugby league as a pioneer of the sport.

In 2017, the New South Wales Rugby League announced the creation of a nine-a-side under-18s women's league, named the Tarsha Gale Nines after the former Australian Jillaroos and New South Wales captain of the 1990s.[1][2][3]

The tournament changed to eleven-a-side in the 2019.[4]

Since 2020, the tournament has been played as a full 13-a-side game.[5][6]

In the 2021 season, the age group changed from under under-18s to under-19s. The equivalent competition for males, the S.G. Ball Cup, was also changed from under-18s to under-19s at this time.

The Tarsha Gale Cup is the main bridge between juniors and the NSWRL Women's Premiership in the state of New South Wales.

History

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Clubs

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The Tarsha Gale Cup operates on a single table system, with no divisions, conferences nor promotion and relegation from other leagues. In 2018, the St. George Dragons and the Newcastle Knights entered teams into the competition for the first time.

Current clubs

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Club Established City Stadium
Canberra Raiders 1981 Canberra, ACT Raiders Club, Belconnen
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 1934 Belmore, NSW Belmore Sports Ground
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 1967 Woolooware, NSW PointsBet Stadium
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 1946 Brookvale, NSW 4 Pines Park
Illawarra Steelers 1981 Wollongong, NSW Collegians Sporting Complex, Figtree
Sid Parrish Park, Figtree
Newcastle Knights 1987 Newcastle, NSW Maitland Sports Ground
Cessnock Sports Ground
Kurri Kurri Sports Ground
North Sydney Bears 1908 North Sydney, NSW North Sydney Oval
Parramatta Eels 1947 Cabramatta, NSW New Era Stadium
Penrith Panthers 1967 Penrith, NSW BlueBet Stadium,
Windsor Sporting Complex
South Sydney Rabbitohs 1908 Redfern, NSW Ironmark High Performance Centre
St George Dragons 1921 Kogarah, NSW Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Mascot Oval
Sydney Roosters
Indigenous Academy 		1908 Marrickville Henson Park
Mascot Oval
Morry Breen Oval, Kanwal
Wests Tigers 1999* Concord, NSW Leichhardt Oval
Kirkham Oval, Camden
Wests Tigers Centre of Excellence

Venues

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Main article: List of Australian rugby league stadiums

Players

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Season structure

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Pre-season

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Prior to the commencement of the home-and-away season teams are paired off to play an exhibition trial match. In 2017 these matches took place during varying weeks of January.

Premiership season

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Grand final

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Main article: Grand final

The two highest-place teams at the conclusion of the home-and-away season will qualify for the grand final. The winner of this match is determined the competition's premier.

Results by year

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Year Age Premiers Score Runners-up Minor Premiers Wooden Spoon Notes
2017 U18s Penrith Panthers 26 – 18 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Wests Tigers [7]
2018 U18s Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 36 – 22 Newcastle Knights Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs [8]
2019 U18s Illawarra Steelers 24 – 12 Newcastle Knights Illawarra Steelers Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs [9]
2020 U18s Season began in February but was cancelled in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No premiership was awarded.
2021 U19s St George Dragons 30 – 4 Sydney Roosters Indigenous Academy Newcastle Knights Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs [10]
2022 U19s Sydney Roosters Indigenous Academy 12 – 10 Newcastle Knights Sydney Roosters Indigenous Academy South Sydney Rabbitohs [11]
2023 U19s Sydney Roosters Indigenous Academy 26 - 24 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Wests Tigers [12]
2024 U19s Illawarra Steelers 24 – 12 Newcastle Knights Illawarra Steelers St George Dragons [13][14]

Premiership tally

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No. Club Seasons
1 Indigenous Academy 2 (2022, 2023)
1 Illawarra Steelers 2 (2019, 2024)
3 St George Dragons 1 (2021)
3 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 1 (2018)
3 Penrith Panthers 1 (2017)

Bold means the team still currently plays in the competition.

Awards

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The following major individual awards and accolades are presented each season

Player of the Series

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Year Player Club Ref
2018 Madison Higgins-Ashby Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks [15]
2019 Maddison Weatherall Illawarra Steelers [16]
2020 Not Awarded
2021 Fatafehi Hanisi St George Dragons [17]
2022 Otesa Pule Indigenous Academy Sydney Roosters [18]
2023 Alexis Tauaneai Canterbury Bulldogs [19]
2024 Kasey Reh Illawarra Steelers [20]

Grand Final Player of the Match

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Year Player Club Ref
2017 Ashlee Harrison Penrith Panthers [21]
2018 Madison Higgins-Ashby Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks [15]
2019 Teagan Berry Illawarra Steelers
2020 Not Awarded
2021 Rayven-Jodeci Boyce St George Dragons [17]
2022 Otesa Pule Indigenous Academy Sydney Roosters [18]
2023 Tavarna Papalii Canterbury Bulldogs
2024 Indie Bostock Illawarra Steelers [20]

Top scorers

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Tries

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Year Excluding Finals Including Finals
Player Club Matches Tries Player Club Matches Tries
2017 Tayla Preston Sharks 8 12 Tayla Preston Sharks 11 16
Page McGregor Bulldogs 4 12 Lilly-Rose Bennett Steelers 7 16
2018 Maddison Weatherall Steelers 9 19 Faith Nathan Sharks 7 26
2019 Maddison Weatherall Steelers 8 13 Maddison Weatherall Steelers 12 17
Mareva Swann Dragons 9 13
2020 Teagan Berry Steelers 4 11 No Finals Series
Bienne Terita Dragons 5 11
2021 Teagan Berry Steelers 8 11 Teagan Berry Steelers 9 11
2022 Otesa Pule Roosters 7 12 Otesa Pule Roosters 9 13
2023 Mia-Rose Walsh Steelers 8 9 Mia-Rose Walsh Steelers 10 10
Litia Fusi Bulldogs 8 9
2024 Indie Bostock Steelers 7 13 Indie Bostock Steelers 9 15

Notes:

  • Players' tries and matches were tallied offline from match statistics for seasons 2018 to 2024 available on the NSWRL website and sorted to determine the top try scorers.
  • For the 2017 season, tries were collated from scores published on the NSWRL and League Unlimited websites. For example: Round 2 on League Unlimited and Round 3 on NSWRL.

Points

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Year Excluding Finals Including Finals
Player Club M T G FG Points Player Club M T G FG Points
2017 Page McGregor Bulldogs 4 12 16 0 80 Page McGregor Bulldogs 5 14 16 0 88
2018 Quincy Dodd Sharks 8 12 55 0 158 Quincy Dodd Sharks 10 13 63 0 178
2019 Sereana Naitokatoka Dragons 8 5 29 0 78 Sereana Naitokatoka Dragons 10 6 37 0 98
2020 Bienne Terita Dragons 5 11 3 0 50 No Finals Series
2021 Ruby Smith Roosters 8 3 16 0 44 Ruby Smith Roosters 11 3 19 0 50
Teagan Berry Steelers 8 11 0 0 44
2022 Alysha Bell Eels 6 2 24 0 56 Alysha Bell Eels 7 2 25 0 58
2023 Ally Bullman Roosters 8 7 18 0 64 Ally Bullman Roosters 10 7 18 0 64
2024 Lara Cosgrove Raiders 7 6 20 0 64 Chelsea Savill Steelers 10 3 31 0 74

Media coverage

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Television

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TBA

Online

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Selected games each week via NSWRL TV.

Corporate relations

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Sponsorship

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Westpac is the league's current naming rights partner.

Merchandising

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Official match day attire together with other club merchandise is sold through the NRL's stores and website as well through the clubs and through some retailers.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "New comp a 'gamechanger' for women". 24 August 2016.
  2. ^ Media, NRL Digital (24 August 2016). "NSWRL Announces Tarsha Gale Nines".
  3. ^ "NSWRL targets elite women's competition".
  4. ^ "Tarsha Gale Cup GRAND FINAL Newcastle KNIGHTS v Illawarra Steelers". Our Footy Team Archives. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Teams: : NSWRL U18 Harvey Norman Tarsha Gale Cup - 2020 Round 1". League Unlimited. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Harvey Norman Tarsha Gale Cup - Raiders v Eels". NSWRL. 8 February 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  7. ^ Shamon, John (6 May 2017). "TG Cup Panthers make history". Penrith Panthers. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  8. ^ Buxton, Matt (5 May 2018). "Sharks Hold off Knights to win Harvey Norman Tarsha Gale Cup". NSWRL. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  9. ^ Honeysett, Stuart (4 May 2019). "Illawarra win the Tarsha Gale Cup". NSWRL. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Dragons too strong for Roosters in Tarsha Cup GF". NSWRL. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  11. ^ Honeysett, Stuart (30 April 2022). "Pule brilliance helps Roosters to Tarsha Gale Cup Grand Final glory". NSWRL. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Roosters make history with back-to-back Tarsha Gale Cups". NSWRL. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  13. ^ Beatton, Joel (27 April 2024). "Tarsha Gale Cup: Perfect Steelers march to Grand Final glory". Dragons.com.au. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Reh steers Steelers to Tarsha Gale Cup Grand Final glory". NSWRL. 27 April 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  15. ^ a b Konstantopoulos, Mary (10 May 2018). "Mary's Wonder Women: The Sharks are Tarsha Gale premiers". The Roar. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  16. ^ "Harvey Norman NSW Women's Under-18s Origin Team Named". NSWRL. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Dragons too strong for Roosters in Tarsha Cup GF". NSWRL. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  18. ^ a b Honeysett, Stuart (30 April 2022). "Pule brilliance helps Roosters to Tarsha Gale Cup Grand Final glory". NSWRL. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  19. ^ "Tauaneai Awarded 2023 NSWRL Tarsha Gale Player of the Year". Bulldogs.com.au. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Reh steers Steelers to Tarsha Gale Cup Grand Final glory". NSWRL. 27 April 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  21. ^ Teuma, Sean (6 May 2017). "Panthers claw their way to inaugural Tarsha Gale Cup Premiership". League Unlimited. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
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