National Rugby League reserves affiliations explained

The National Rugby League (NRL) is the top league of professional rugby league clubs in Australasia. Run by the Australian Rugby League Commission, however, there has not been a league-wide Reserve Grade competition since 1988, when the former New South Wales Rugby League expanded interstate to make the first attempt at a national competition, with the NRL Reserve Grade competition being shut down at the end of the 2002 season.

As a result, NRL-listed players who are not selected in their senior teams are made eligible to play in one of the second-tier state leagues: the New South Wales Cup or the Queensland Cup. The system used to accommodate NRL-listed players within these leagues varies considerably from state to state.

Current affiliations

In the 2024 season, the seventeen National Rugby League clubs will have the following reserves arrangements.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

NRL club	Reserves arrangement	Affiliated club	Affiliated league	Affiliated location
	Club affiliation (split)	Burleigh Bears	Queensland Cup	Miami (Gold Coast), Qld
	Club affiliation (split)	Souths Logan Magpies	Queensland Cup	West End (Brisbane), Qld
	Club affiliation (split)	Wynnum Manly Seagulls	Queensland Cup	Manly West (Brisbane), QLD
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Stand-alone reserves team	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	New South Wales Cup	Belmore, NSW
Canberra Raiders	Stand-alone reserves team	Canberra Raiders	New South Wales Cup	Canberra, ACT
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Club affiliation	Newtown Jets	New South Wales Cup	Marrickville (Sydney), NSW
	Club affiliation (split)	Central Queensland Capras	Queensland Cup	Rockhampton, Qld
	Club affiliation (split)		Queensland Cup	Nundah (Brisbane), Qld
	Club affiliation (split)		Queensland Cup	Moreton Bay, Qld
Gold Coast Titans	Club affiliation (split)	Ipswich Jets	Queensland Cup	Ipswich, Qld
	Club affiliation (split)	Tweed Heads Seagulls	Queensland Cup	Tweed Heads, NSW
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Club affiliation	Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles	New South Wales Cup	Arndell Park (Sydney), NSW
Melbourne Storm	Club affiliation (split)	Brisbane Tigers	Queensland Cup	Coorparoo (Brisbane), Qld
	Club affiliation (split)	Sunshine Coast Falcons	Queensland Cup	Kawana Waters (Sunshine Coast), Qld
	Club affiliation (split)	North Sydney Bears	New South Wales Cup	North Sydney, NSW
Newcastle Knights	Stand-alone reserves team	Newcastle Knights	New South Wales Cup	Newcastle, NSW
New Zealand Warriors	Stand-alone reserves team	New Zealand Warriors	New South Wales Cup	Auckland, New Zealand
North Queensland Cowboys	Club affiliation (split)	Mackay Cutters	Queensland Cup	Mackay, Qld
	Club affiliation (split)	Northern Pride	Queensland Cup	Cairns, Qld
Parramatta Eels	Stand-alone reserves team	Parramatta Eels	New South Wales Cup	Parramatta (Sydney), NSW
Penrith Panthers	Stand-alone reserves team	Penrith Panthers	New South Wales Cup	Penrith (Sydney), NSW
South Sydney Rabbitohs	Stand-alone reserves team	South Sydney Rabbitohs	New South Wales Cup	Redfern (Sydney), NSW
	Club affiliation	Townsville Blackhawks	Queensland Cup	Townsville, Qld
St George Illawarra Dragons	Stand-alone reserves team	St George Illawarra Dragons	New South Wales Cup	Wollongong, NSW &''<br />Carlton (Sydney), NSW
Sydney Roosters	Stand-alone reserves team	Sydney Roosters	New South Wales Cup	Sydney, NSW
	Club affiliation	Ipswich Jets	Queensland Cup	Ipswich, Qld
Wests Tigers	Stand-alone reserves team	Western Suburbs Magpies	New South Wales Cup	Leumeah (Sydney), NSW &''<br />Leichhardt (Sydney), NSW

• The PNG Hunters and Western Clydesdales in the Queensland Cup are currently the only clubs in either state-based competition without an NRL affiliation.^[7]

Participating clubs by season

NSWRL First Division/Queensland Cup (Bundy Gold Cup 2000-2002)
Year/Club	Canberra Raiders		Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs		Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles/Northern Eagles		Newcastle Knights		NSW /QLD Cup Unaffliated			Parramatta Eels	Penrith Panthers	South Sydney Rabbitohs		Sydney Roosters		Wests Tigers(2000-)		St. George Illawarra Dragons			New Zealand Warriors		Melbourne Storm			Dolphins(2023-)			Gold Coast Titans/ Gold Coast Chargers			Brisbane Broncos							North Queensland Cowboys
1998	Canberra Raiders		Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs		Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles		Newcastle Knights		Toowoomba Clydesdales	North Sydney	Brisbane Brothers	Parramatta Eels	Penrith Panthers	South Sydney		Sydney City Roosters		Balmain Tigers	Western Suburbs	Illawarra Steelers	St. George Dragons	St. George-Illawarra Dragons									Gold Coast Vikings					Redcliffe Dolphins		Logan Scorpions	Wynnum Seagulls	Wests Brisbane Panthers	North Queensland Cowboys	Cairns Cyclones		Townsville Stingers
1999																																			Toowoomba Clydesdales
2000							North Sydney			Newtown Jets	Central Coast Bears						Sydney Roosters				St. George-Illawarra Dragons
2001											North Sydney
2002																																										North Queensland Young Guns
NSWRL Premier League/Queensland Cup (Queensland Wizards Cup 2005-)
2003	Canberra Raiders		Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs		Cronulla Sharks	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles		Newcastle Knights		Newtown Jets	North Sydney	Brothers-Valleys	Parramatta Eels	St Mary's-Penrith Cougars	South Sydney		Sydney Roosters		Balmain Tigers	Western Suburbs	St. George-Illawarra Dragons					Northern Suburbs Devils									Toowoomba Clydesdales		Redcliffe Dolphins		Wynnum Seagulls		Wests Brisbane Panthers	North Queensland Young Guns
2004
2005																			Balmain Ryde Eastwood Tigers								North Sydney												Wynnum Manly Seagulls
2006					Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
2007	Canberra Raiders	Souths Logan Magpies												Penrith Pumas	Eastern Suburbs Tigers	North Sydney								Auckland Lions								Burleigh Bears	Tweed Heads Seagulls	Ipswich Jets	Aspley Broncos										Central Comets
NSW Cup/Queensland Wizards Cup (Intrust Super Cup 2010-)
2008	Souths Logan Magpies		Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs		Cronulla Cobras	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Sunshine Coast Falcons	Central Newcastle Rebels		Newtown Jets			Wentworthville Magpies	Windsor Wolves	Norths Sydney				Balmain Ryde Eastwood Tigers	Western Suburbs				Auckland Vulcans		Central Coast Storm						Burleigh Bears	Tweed Heads Seagulls	Ipswich Jets	Central Comets	Ipswich Jets	Northern Suburbs Devils	Redcliffe Dolphins	Eastern Suburbs Tigers	Wynnum Manly Seagulls		Mackay Cutters		Northern Pride
2009			Bankstown City Bulls		Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Sunshine Coast Falcons															Shellharbour City Dragons						Eastern Suburbs Tigers
2010								Central Coast Centurions																		Melbourne Storm							Tweed Heads Seagulls		Central Queensland Capras				Souths Logan Magpies
2011			Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs			Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles																				Eastern Suburbs Tigers
2012	Mount Pritchard Mounties							Newcastle Knights													Illawarra Cutters						Sunshine Coast Falcons
2013																	Wyong Roos		Wests Tigers
2014														Penrith Panthers										New Zealand Warriors																				Northern Pride RLFC	Townsville Blackhawks
2015					Newtown Jets					PNG Hunters
Intrust Super Premiership NSW/Intrust Super Cup
2016	Mount Pritchard Mounties		Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs		Newtown Jets	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles		Newcastle Knights		PNG Hunters			Wentworthville Magpies	Penrith Panthers	North Sydney		Wyong Roos		Wests Tigers		Illawarra Cutters			New Zealand Warriors		Eastern Suburbs Tigers	Sunshine Coast Falcons					Burleigh Bears	Tweed Heads Seagulls		Central Queensland Capras	Ipswich Jets	Northern Suburbs Devil	Redcliffe Dolphins	Souths Logan Magpies	Wynnum Manly Seagulls		Mackay Cutters		Northern Pride	Townsville Blackhawks
2017						Blacktown Workers																											Tweed Heads Seagulls	Central Queensland Capras	Ipswich Jets
2018										PNG Hunters	Central Queensland Capras								Western Suburbs		St. George Illawarra Dragons												Tweed Heads Seagulls
Canterbury Cup NSW/Intrust Super Cup
2019	Mount Pritchard Mounties		Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs		Newtown Jets	Blacktown Workers		Newcastle Knights		PNG Hunters	Central Queensland Capras		Wentworthville Magpies	Penrith Panthers	South Sydney		North Sydney		Western Suburbs		St. George Illawarra Dragons			New Zealand Warriors		Eastern Suburbs Tigers	Sunshine Coast Falcons					Burleigh Bears	Tweed Heads Seagulls		Ipswich Jets		Northern Suburbs Devil	Redcliffe Dolphins	Souths Logan Magpies	Wynnum Manly Seagulls		Mackay Cutters		Northern Pride	Townsville Blackhawks
2020								Newcastle Knights	Ipswich Jets				Parramatta Eels											New Zealand Warriors	Redcliffe Dolphins	Brisbane Tigers									Central Queensland Capras	Norths Devil		Souths Logan Magpies
The Knock-on Effect NSW Cup/Intrust Super Cup (Hostplus Cup 2022-)
2021	Canberra Raiders		Mount Pritchard Mounties		Newtown Jets	Blacktown Workers		Newcastle Knights	Ipswich Jets	PNG Hunters	Central Queensland Capras		Parramatta Eels	Penrith Panthers	South Sydney		North Sydney		Western Suburbs		St. George Illawarra Dragons			Redcliffe Dolphins		Brisbane Tigers	Sunshine Coast Falcons					Burleigh Bears	Tweed Heads Seagulls		Central Queensland Capras	Norths Devil		Souths Logan Magpies		Wynnum Manly Seagulls		Mackay Cutters		Northern Pride	Townsville Blackhawks
2022			Mount Pritchard Mounties	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs																															Norths Brisbane Devils			Souths Brisbane Logan Magpies
2023			Western Clydesdales					Newcastle Knights		Papua New Guinea Hunters	North Sydney Bears						Ipswich Jets	Sydney Roosters						New Zealand Warriors					Central Queensland Capras	Redcliffe Dolphins	Norths Brisbane Devils
2024										Papua New Guinea Hunters																	Sunshine Coast Falcons	North Sydney Bears				Ipswich Jets			Burleigh Bears

Bold=NSW Cup

Underline=Qld Cup

See also

• NSWRL Reserve Grade (1908 - 2002)

References

1. Web site: NSW Cup Clubs . 2024-02-14 . New South Wales Rugby League . en.
2. Web site: Teams . 2024-02-14 . Brisbane Broncos . en.
3. http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport/nrl/gold-coast-titans-welcome-twoyear-partnership-with-new-feeder-club-central-queensland-capras/news-story/23aa6ef9b198fe2bd784ffd7f00c0a7c 2017 Titan Feeder Clubs
4. Web site: 2016-03-08 . Rd.2 Feeder Team Announcement . 2024-02-14 . Melbourne Storm . en.
5. Web site: 2014-09-10 . New feeder club for Toyota Cowboys . 2024-02-14 . North Queensland Cowboys . en.
6. News: Capras: Titans have missed big chance. 2018-02-01. en.
7. Web site: Feeder club cut ties with Bulldogs, aiming to link up with new team. 1 May 2024. zerotackle.com.