1979 Amco Cup

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1979 NSWRFL Midweek Cup
NSWRFL Amco Cup
Tournament details
Dates28 March - 15 August 1979
Teams16
Venue5 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsCronulla-Sutherland (1st title)
Runners-upBrisbane
Tournament statistics
Matches played27
← 1978
1980 →

The 1979 Amco Cup was the 6th edition of the NSWRFL Midweek Cup, a NSWRFL-organised national club Rugby League tournament between the leading clubs and representative teams from the NSWRFL, the BRL, the CRL, the QRL and the NZRL.

A total of 16 teams from across Australia and New Zealand played 27 matches in a round-robin group format with the winners of each group advancing to a knockout stage, with the matches being held midweek during the premiership season.

Qualified Teams

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Team Nickname League Qualification Participation (bold indicates winners)
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles NSWRFL Winners of the 1978 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership 6th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks NSWRFL Runners-Up in the 1978 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership 6th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
Western Suburbs Magpies NSWRFL Third Place in the 1978 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership 6th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
Parramatta Eels NSWRFL Fourth Place in the 1978 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership 6th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs NSWRFL Fifth Place in the 1978 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership 6th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
Eastern Suburbs Roosters NSWRFL Sixth Place in the 1978 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership 6th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
South Sydney Rabbitohs NSWRFL Seventh Place in the 1978 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership 6th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
St. George Dragons NSWRFL Eighth Place in the 1978 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership 6th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
Balmain Tigers NSWRFL Ninth Place in the 1978 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership 6th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
Penrith Panthers NSWRFL Tenth Place in the 1978 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership 6th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
North Sydney Bears NSWRFL Eleventh Place in the 1978 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership 6th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
Newtown Jets NSWRFL Twelfth Place in the 1978 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership 6th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
Brisbane Poinsettias BRL League Representative Team 1st
NSW Country Kangaroos CRL Country Representative Team 1st
Queensland Country Maroons QRL Country Representative Team 1st
Auckland Falcons NZRL Winners of the 1978 New Zealand Rugby League Inter-District Premiership 6th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)

Venues

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Sydney Brisbane Lismore Griffith
Leichhardt Oval Penrith Park Lang Park Oakes Oval West End Stadium
Capacity: 23,000 Capacity: 22,500 Capacity: 45,000 Capacity: 12,000 Capacity: 10,000

Group A

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Date Winner Score Loser Score Venue
28/03/79 Eastern Suburbs 19 Manly-Warringah 7 Leichhardt Oval
2/05/79 Combined Brisbane 13 St George 10 Lang Park
30/05/79 Eastern Suburbs 12 St George 6 Leichhardt Oval
27/06/79 Combined Brisbane 13 Manly-Warringah 10 Leichhardt Oval[1]
18/07/79 St George 7 Manly-Warringah 4 Griffith
25/07/79 Combined Brisbane 17 Eastern Suburbs 8 Lang Park
Club Played Won Lost Drawn For Against Diff. Points
Combined Brisbane 3 3 0 0 43 28 15 6
Eastern Suburbs 3 2 0 1 39 30 9 4
St George 3 1 0 2 23 29 -6 2
Manly-Warringah 3 0 0 3 21 39 -18 0

Group B

[edit]
Date Winner Score Loser Score Venue
4/04/79 Cronulla-Sutherland 22 Canterbury-Bankstown 8 Leichhardt Oval
11/04/79 Penrith 12 Auckland 5 Leichhardt Oval
9/05/79 Penrith 18 Cronulla-Sutherland 10 Penrith Park
30/05/79 Canterbury-Bankstown 12 Auckland 3 Leichhardt Oval
4/07/79 Canterbury-Bankstown 18 Penrith 10 Leichhardt Oval
11/07/79 Cronulla-Sutherland 30 Auckland 10 Leichhardt Oval
Club Played Won Lost Drawn For Against Diff. Points
Cronulla-Sutherland 3 2 0 1 62 36 26 4
Penrith 3 2 0 1 40 33 7 4
Canterbury-Bankstown 3 2 0 1 38 35 3 4
Auckland 3 0 0 3 18 54 -36 0

Group C

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Date Winner Score Loser Score Venue
19/04/79 Parramatta 44 North Sydney 10 Leichhardt Oval
15/05/79 QLD Country 16 Newtown 14 Lang Park
13/06/79 Newtown 15 Parramatta 13 Leichhardt Oval
21/06/79 QLD Country 12 North Sydney 5 Lang Park
4/07/79 QLD Country 18 Parramatta 9 Lang Park
12/07/79 North Sydney 35 Newtown 13 Leichhardt Oval
Club Played Won Lost Drawn For Against Diff. Points
QLD Country 3 3 0 0 46 28 18 6
Parramatta 3 1 0 2 66 43 23 2
North Sydney 3 1 0 2 50 69 -19 2
Newtown 3 1 0 2 42 64 -22 2

Group D

[edit]
Date Winner Score Loser Score Venue
25/04/79 Western Suburbs 22 Balmain 11 Leichhardt Oval
23/05/79 South Sydney 25 NSW Country 10 Leichhardt Oval
6/06/79 NSW Country 14 Western Suburbs 11 Leichhardt Oval
20/06/79 Balmain 5 South Sydney 3 Leichhardt Oval
11/07/79 Balmain 25 NSW Country 11 Leichhardt Oval
18/07/79 South Sydney 9 Western Suburbs 7 Leichhardt Oval
Club Played Won Lost Drawn For Against Diff. Points
South Sydney 3 2 0 1 37 22 15 4
Balmain 3 2 0 1 41 36 5 4
Western Suburbs 3 1 0 2 40 34 6 2
NSW Country 3 1 0 2 35 61 -26 2

Semi finals

[edit]
Date Winner Score Loser Score Venue
1/08/79 Cronulla-Sutherland 13 South Sydney 9 Leichhardt Oval
8/08/79 Combined Brisbane 8 QLD Country 5 Lang Park

Final

[edit]
15 August 1979
Cronulla-Sutherland 22–5 Combined Brisbane
Tries: Gary Cameron (3), Rick Bourke
Goals: Steve Rogers (5) 		Try: Norm Carr
Goal: Mal Meninga
Leichhardt Oval
Attendance: 15,800[2]
Referee: Greg Hartley
Player of the Match: Gary Cameron

Player of the Series

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Golden Try

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Sources

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Canberra Times". No. 28 June 1979. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  2. ^ Curran, Brian (16 August 1979). "Cronulla all the way in Cup final". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 April 2011.