NRL Schoolboy Cup


The NRL Schoolboy Cup is the premier secondary schools rugby league competition in Australia, held annually since 1975. Formerly known under such names as the Amco Shield, Commonwealth Bank Cup, Arrive Alive Cup and GIO Schoolboy Cup nearly 450 schools from throughout Australia compete in the knock-out competition.
The player of the tournament is awarded the Peter Sterling Medal, renamed in 1996 after Peter Sterling, who won the medal in 1978, for Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield. The competition is televised on Fox Sports and The Daily Telegraph.
The most successful school is St Gregory's College, Campbelltown, with nine titles, followed by Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield with six. The most recent champions are Palm Beach Currumbin State High School, who won their fourth title in 2024.

History

The competition was founded in 1975 as the Amco Shield. The inaugural winners were Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield who defeated Blacktown High School in the final, 16–8. The match was played at Leichhardt Oval as a curtain raiser to the 1975 Amco Cup final between Eastern Suburbs and Parramatta.
Originally, the televised matches of the competition were played and recorded as the curtain raisers to mid week Amco Cup games. After the midweek competitions died out, the televised matches were played prior to Friday Night Football and were shown on Channel 9 in the weeks leading up to the NRL Grand Final. The games are currently played and recorded midweek and shown on Fox Sports, with commentary by Andrew Voss.
In 1978, Padua College, Brisbane were the first Queensland school and first school from outside of New South Wales to make the final. They lost 19–3 to Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield.
In 1980, St Gregory's College, Campbelltown became the first school to win back-to-back titles. They later became the first school to win three titles in a row from 1989 to 1991.
In 1982 Holy Cross College, Ryde became the first school to play in four consecutive finals from 1979. They lost three of their four finals, with their only victory coming against Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield in 1981.
In 1996, Erindale College, Canberra became the first school from the Australian Capital Territory to reach the final. A year later they became the first school from outside of New South Wales to win the competition. They won the competition again in 1998, beating Parramatta Marist High School in both years.
In 2001, Palm Beach Currumbin State High School became the first Queensland school to win the competition. Brisbane's Wavell State High School became the second a year later in 2002.
Endeavour Sports High School won the competition three years in a row from 2004 to 2006, becoming the first school to do so since 1991.
In 2015, Townsville's Kirwan State High School became the first school from North Queensland to win the competition, defeating Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown, who were in their fourth straight final, losing the last three in a row.
In 2016, Westfields Sports High School won the competition for the first time.
In 2017, Keebra Park State High School became first Queensland school to win the competition three times, becoming the most successful school in the state. A year later, Palm Beach Currumbin won their third title, drawing level with Keebra Park. In 2019, Kirwan State High School won the competition for the second time, making it three straight years a Queensland school has won.
In 2020 and 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no national finals were held for the first time in the competition's history.
In 2022, after a three year absence, the national final returned, with Ipswich State High School defeating Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield to win their first title.
In 2025, Keebra Park State High School defeated Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown extending the Blacktown side’s run of heartbreak with an eighth finals defeat and only one victory to show for it.

Naming rights

Due to sponsorship, the Schoolboy Cup has gone under many different names since first being held in 1975. Originally known as the Amco Shield, it has been known as the NRL Schoolboy Cup since 2018.
  • Amco Shield
  • Commonwealth Bank Cup
  • Aussie Home Loans Cup
  • Nutri-Grain Cup
  • Arrive Alive Cup
  • National Schoolboy Cup
  • GIO Schoolboy Cup
  • NRL Schoolboy Cup

    Format

The competition is divided into two conferences. The Northern Conference, comprising schools from Queensland, is further divided into smaller competitions: the Aaron Payne Cup, the Allan Langer Trophy, and the Dolphin Cup. The winners of these cups compete against each other, with the victor being crowned the Queensland Schoolboy Cup Champion. The Southern Conference, known as the Peter Mulholland Cup, includes schools from New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. The winners of the Queensland Schoolboy Trophy and the Peter Mulholland Cup then face off in the National Schoolboy Final, with the winner being crowned the National Schoolboy Champion.
SeasonChampionsScoreRunners-up
1975Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield16–8Blacktown Boys High School
1976Blacktown Boys High School16–7Ashcroft High School
1977Ashcroft High School16–3Parramatta Marist High School
1978Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield19–3Padua College, Brisbane
1979St Gregory's College, Campbelltown16–14Holy Cross College, Ryde
1980St Gregory's College, Campbelltown11–9Holy Cross College, Ryde
1981Holy Cross College, Ryde15–11Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield
1982Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield18–15Holy Cross College, Ryde
1983Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield14–2St Gregory's College, Campbelltown
1984St Gregory's College, Campbelltown16–10Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham
1985Ashcroft High School13–6Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield
1986St Gregory's College, Campbelltown26–0Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham
1987Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield21–0Keebra Park State High School
1988Parramatta Marist High School14–6Holy Cross College, Ryde
1989St Gregory's College, Campbelltown12–10Holy Cross College, Ryde
1990St Gregory's College, Campbelltown18–4St John's College, Woodlawn
1991St Gregory's College, Campbelltown28–12Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield
1992Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield17–16Harristown State High School
1993St Gregory's College, Campbelltown27–6Wavell State High School
1994John Paul II Senior High School, Marayong34–4Eagle Vale High School
1995Parramatta Marist High School24–0McCarthy Catholic Senior High School
1996John Paul II Senior High School, Marayong12–6Erindale College, Canberra
1997Erindale College, Canberra26–12Parramatta Marist High School
1998Erindale College, Canberra27–14Parramatta Marist High School
1999Terra Sancta College16–14Palm Beach Currumbin State High School
2000St Gregory's College, Campbelltown16–0St Francis Xavier's College, Hamilton
2001Palm Beach Currumbin State High School16–4St Gregory's College, Campbelltown
2002Wavell State High School22–20Terra Sancta College
2003St Dominic's College, Penrith28–0Endeavour Sports High School
2004Endeavour Sports High School16–7Patrician Brothers' College Blacktown
2005Endeavour Sports High School20–10Keebra Park State High School
2006Endeavour Sports High School16–7Keebra Park State High School
2007Matraville Sports High School32–10Patrician Brothers' College Blacktown
2008Palm Beach Currumbin State High School24–22Matraville Sports High School
2009Keebra Park State High School18–12Matraville Sports High School
2010The Hills Sports High School18–14Keebra Park State High School
2011The Hills Sports High School22–20Matraville Sports High School
2012Patrician Brothers' College Blacktown32–6Endeavour Sports High School
2013Keebra Park State High School28–4Patrician Brothers' College Blacktown
2014Endeavour Sports High School22–12Patrician Brothers' College Blacktown
2015Kirwan State High School28–10Patrician Brothers' College Blacktown
2016Westfields Sports High School26–24Keebra Park State High School
2017Keebra Park State High School25–12Westfields Sports High School
2018Palm Beach Currumbin State High School20–12Patrician Brothers' College Blacktown
2019Kirwan State High School16–10Westfields Sports High School
2022Ipswich State High School32–6Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield
2023Westfields Sports High School38–4Palm Beach Currumbin State High School
2024Palm Beach Currumbin State High School18–16Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown
2025Keebra Park State High School20-12Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown