1977 Amco Cup Explained

The 1977 Amco Cup was the 4th 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, the NZRL, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

A total of 37 teams from across Australia and New Zealand played 36 matches in a straight knock-out format, with the matches being held midweek during the premiership season.

Qualified teams

Team	Nickname	League	Qualification	Participation (bold indicates winners)
Enter in Round 2
Manly-Warringah	Sea Eagles	NSWRFL	Winners of the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th
Parramatta	Eels	NSWRFL	Runners-Up in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th
Canterbury-Bankstown	Berries	NSWRFL	Third Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th
St. George	Dragons	NSWRFL	Fourth Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th
Eastern Suburbs	Roosters	NSWRFL	Fifth Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th
Balmain	Tigers	NSWRFL	Sixth Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th
Western Suburbs	Magpies	NSWRFL	Seventh Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th
Cronulla-Sutherland	Sharks	NSWRFL	Eighth Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th
Penrith	Panthers	NSWRFL	Ninth Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th
South Sydney	Rabbitohs	NSWRFL	Tenth Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th
North Sydney	Bears	NSWRFL	Eleventh Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th
Newtown	Jets	NSWRFL	Twelfth Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th
Western Suburbs	Panthers	BRL	Winners of the 1976 Brisbane Rugby League Premiership	2nd
Eastern Suburbs	Tigers	BRL	Runners-Up in the 1976 Brisbane Rugby League Premiership	2nd
Past Brothers	Leprechauns	BRL	Third Place in the 1976 Brisbane Rugby League Premiership	3rd
Southern Suburbs	Magpies	BRL	Fourth Place in the 1976 Brisbane Rugby League Premiership	3rd
Redcliffe	Dolphins	BRL	Fifth Place in the 1976 Brisbane Rugby League Premiership	2nd
Wynnum-Manly	Seagulls	BRL	Sixth Place in the 1976 Brisbane Rugby League Premiership	1st
Fortitude Valley	Diehards	BRL	Seventh Place in the 1976 Brisbane Rugby League Premiership	3rd
Northern Suburbs	Devils	BRL	Eighth Place in the 1976 Brisbane Rugby League Premiership	3rd
Illawarra	Flametrees	CRL	Winners of the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	4th
Western Division	Rams	CRL	Runners-Up in the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	4th
Riverina	Bulls	CRL	Third Place in the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	4th
North Queensland	Marlins	QRL	Queensland Country Regional Team	2nd
Toowoomba	Clydesdales	QRL	Queensland Country Regional Team	3rd
Auckland	Falcons	NZRL	Winners of the 1976 New Zealand Rugby League Inter-District Premiership	4th
Canterbury	Reds	NZRL	Runners-Up in the 1976 New Zealand Rugby League Inter-District Premiership	2nd
Enter in Round 1
Northern Division	Tigers	CRL	Fourth Place in the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	4th
Monaro	Colts	CRL	Fifth Place in the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	4th
Southern Division	Bulls	CRL	Sixth Place in the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	4th
Newcastle	Rebels	CRL	Seventh Place in the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	3rd
North Coast	Dolphins	CRL	Eighth Place in the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	4th
Central Queensland	Capras	QRL	Queensland Country Regional Team	1st
Ipswich	Diggers	QRL	Queensland Country Regional Team	3rd
Wide Bay	Bulls	QRL	Queensland Country Regional Team	2nd
Northern Territory	Bulls	NTRL	State Representative Team	2nd
Western Australia	Black Swans	WARL	State Representative Team	1st

Venues

Sydney		Brisbane	Newcastle	Queanbeyan	Rockhampton	Toowoomba	Ipswich	Perth
Leichhardt Oval	Redfern Oval	Lang Park	Newcastle International Sports Centre	Seiffert Oval	Browne Park	Athletic Oval	North Ipswich Reserve	Lathlain Park
Capacity: 23,000	Capacity: 20,000	Capacity: 45,000	Capacity: 33,000	Capacity: 20,000	Capacity: 10,000	Capacity: 10,000	Capacity: 10,000	Capacity: 20,000

Round 1

Date	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	Venue	Canberra Times
27/03/77		23		18	Perth
30/03/77	Central Queensland	7		7		Result[1]
27/04/77	Northern Division	26		17		Result[2]
4/05/77	North Coast	40		22
11/5/77		18	Southern Division	15		Report[3]

Round 2

Date	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	Venue	Canberra Times
30/03/77		16		15
30/03/77		22		12		Results
30/03/77		31		13	Athletic Oval
6/04/77		75		3		Short Report[4]
6/04/77		19		10
13/04/77		60		0
20/04/77		21		7		Result[5]
27/04/77		36		5		Short Report[6]
4/05/77		19		10		Results[7]
4/05/77		16		8	Leichhardt Oval
11/05/77		39		10		Result[8]
18/05/77		20	North Coast	7		Result[9]
25/05/77		21		18		Preview[10] Report[11]
25/05/77		32		3		Result
25/05/77	Northern Division	23		2
4/05/77		20		12

Round 3

Date	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	Venue	Canberra Times
1/06/77		18		17		Results[12]
1/06/77		13		9
8/06/77		25		15		Results[13]
8/06/77		20		2
15/06/77		12		3		Preview[14] Reports[15] [16]
22/06/77		18		16
29/06/77	Northern Division	34		20		Report[17]
29/06/77		19		2

Quarter finals

Date	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	Venue	Canberra Times
6/07/77		27		7		Report[18]
13/07/77		17	Northern Division	10		Report[19]
20/07/77		35		2		Result[20]
27/07/77		33		10		Preview[21] Report[22]

Semi finals

Date	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	Venue	Canberra Times
3/08/77		18		7		Preview[23] Report[24]
10/08/77		8		7		Preview[25] Report[26]

Final

• *- Advanced on penalty count-back

Awards

Player of the Series

• Graeme O'Grady (Western Suburbs)

Golden Try

• Steve Rogers (Cronulla-Sutherland)

Notes and References

1. News: Saints upset Balmain in Amco Cup game. . Canberra . 31 Mar 1977 . 27 May 2020 . 32 . National Library of Australia.
2. News: Newcastle beaten in Amco Cup. . Canberra . 28 Apr 1977 . 28 May 2020 . 36 . National Library of Australia.
3. News: Garry Thomas kicks six for Monaro. . Canberra . 19 May 1977 . 27 May 2020 . 1 . National Library of Australia. Pike. Kevin.
4. News: Amco Cup scoring record. . Canberra . 7 Apr 1977 . 27 May 2020 . 18 . National Library of Australia.
5. News: Parramatta 21-7. . Canberra . 21 Apr 1977 . 27 May 2020 . 36 . National Library of Australia.
6. News: Newcastle beaten in Amco Cup. . Canberra . 28 Apr 1977 . 27 May 2020 . 36 . National Library of Australia.
7. News: Easts Defeats Manly Again. . Canberra . 5 May 1977 . 27 May 2020 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
8. News: Rugby League. . Canberra . 19 May 1977 . 27 May 2020 . 27 . National Library of Australia.
9. News: Canterbury had to struggle. . Canberra . 19 May 1977 . 27 May 2020 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
10. News: Monaro given more work. . Canberra . 24 May 1955 . 27 May 2020 . 1 . National Library of Australia. Pike. Kevin.
11. News: Monaro 21-18 in Qld. . Canberra . 26 May 1977 . 27 May 2020 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
12. News: Panthers win back Challenge Cup. . Canberra . 2 Jun 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
13. News: French hooker is out for Saturday. . Canberra . 9 Jun 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
14. News: Rugby League Amco Cup. . Canberra . 15 Jun 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 1 . National Library of Australia. Pike. Kevin.
15. News: Rugby League - Monaro beats South Sydney. . Canberra . 16 Jun 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
16. News: Furner's Tactics Pay Off. . Canberra . 17 Jun 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 25 . National Library of Australia. Quayle. John.
17. News: Parramatta Beaten By East In Cup. . Canberra . 30 Jun 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
18. News: Wests surprise Saints 27-7. . Canberra . 7 Jul 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 28 . National Library of Australia.
19. News: Penrith moves to Amco Cup semi-final. . Canberra . 14 Jul 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 24 . National Library of Australia.
20. News: AMCO CUP. . Canberra . 21 Jul 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 24 . National Library of Australia.
21. News: Canterbury Loses McCarthy, Hage. . Canberra . 26 Jul 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 16 . National Library of Australia.
22. News: Canterbury jolts Monaro 33-10. . Canberra . 28 Jul 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 22 . National Library of Australia. Pike. Kevin.
23. News: Penrith hopeful of semi-final. . Canberra . 3 Aug 1966 . 26 May 2020 . 52 . National Library of Australia.
24. News: East Moves Into Amco Cup Final. . Canberra . 4 Aug 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 24 . National Library of Australia.
25. News: Hughes in clear for Amco Cup. . Canberra . 10 Aug 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 34 . National Library of Australia.
26. News: Field Goal Puts Wests In Amco Cup Final. . Canberra . 11 Aug 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 24 . National Library of Australia.
27. News: Easts Camp confident. . Canberra . 17 Aug 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 41 . National Library of Australia.
28. News: Missed goal cost East Amco Cup. . Canberra . 18 Aug 1977 . 26 May 2020 . 28 . National Library of Australia.