2026 Ron Massey Cup & Sydney Shield

[MountainMan]

Trials:

SS
St Marys drew with Brothers 6 tries each

RMC
Newcastle Division 68 Glebe 10
Wests beat Ryde Eastwood 6 tries to 3
Mounties 38 Melbourne 26

Was it Melbourne Flegg or Cup do you know? The vision from BarTv looks a very young team

 

[rightleftin]

Was it Melbourne Flegg or Cup do you know? The vision from BarTv looks a very young team

Like a lot of the NRL clubs, Melbourne has revealed absolutely nothing about who was playing he these trials, but Mounties would not be expecting to play a Flegg team as 7 Mounties SS players played Flegg for the Storm last week before backing up against Monaro Division the following day.

 

[rightleftin]

I have found out that 8 of the Storm players are still eligible for Flegg - 4 of them played in the "NRL" preseason game against Canberra the previous week . Most of their GF team from last year were under 20, so the Storm may have a lot of younger players in NSW Cup this year.

 

[Sharkie Army Gorilla]

Trials scheduled for this weekend.

Saturday 28th February

Three way Sydney Shield Trial between St Marys, Mounties & Moorebank Rams kicking off at 10am. Played at St Marys Stadium

Others Shield Trials

Blacktown Workers v Penrith Brothers. 3pm @ HE Laybutt
Wentworthville Magpies v Hills Bulls. 2pm @ Ringrose Park

Ron Massey Trials

St Marys v Canterbury Bulldogs. 11:45am @ St Marys Stadium
Blacktown Workers v Penrith Brothers. 5pm @ HE Laybutt
Wentworthville Magpies v Hills Bulls. 4pm @ Ringrose Park

I believe draws will be released at the end of this week.

Glebe have signed a former NRL player with over 150 NRL games to his name.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

Sad to see where the Illawarra league is. Stretching to Sutherland to bring a 6th team isn't feasible. You have areas in the gong such as Helensburgh (who withdrew), you have Avondale, Berkeley and Figtree in lower grades, the vintage WARILLA GORILLAS, it's just the playing depth just isn't there anymore.

The depth is definitely there, it's actually pretty strong. It's just the structure of the comps.

It has lead to 3-4 clubs (Dapto, Wests, Collies, Thirroul and maybe Corrimal) being strong enough (due to resources), to be competitive in a SS/RM comp.

3 of these clubs have massive leagues clubs supporting them.

While some of the smaller clubs (Helensburgh, Avondale which are pretty new, and potentially a new Port/Berkeley combined club. Warilla isn't in the Illawarra comp) are still quite strong, in a country footy comp sense. But are stuck in the comp playing reserves (but wouId be very competitive in any NSW country first grade comp). They just don't have the support of leagues clubs.

The solution probably isn't that hard to fix, but lots of politics involved.

 

[League Unlimited News]

 

[League Unlimited News]

Ron Massey Cup

Competition » League Unlimited

leagueunlimited.com

Sydney Shield

Competition » League Unlimited

leagueunlimited.com

 

[League Unlimited News]

The Leagues Clubs Australia Ron Massey Cup will move to a 10-team competition in 2026 with the inclusion of Manly Leagues being after winning the Sydney Shield in an epic Grand Final last year.

The Leagues Clubs Australia (10 teams) and Sydney Shield (nine teams) will kick off on Saturday 21 March and be played over 18 rounds before a top five finals series for both competitions. The Leagues Clubs Australia Ron Massey Cup is the state’s second-tier Rugby League competition which feeds into The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup while Sydney Shield is third-tier.

Manly Leagues scored a memorable 25-24 win over Wentworthville United in last year’s Grand Final with the match going to extra-time and then golden-point before being decided by a field goal from Manly utility Tamoko Berryman-Duff in the 96th minute.

They will start their campaign at Ringrose Park on Saturday 21 March against Wentworthville Magpies, the most successful club with seven titles since it was rebranded as the Ron Massey Cup in 2009.

Other opponents they will face in 2026 include St Marys Saints, who won the Minor Premiership last year before going on to beat the Magpies in the decider; Ryde-Eastwood Hawks, who are still chasing their first title; and 2024 Premiers Glebe Dirty Reds.

The Grand Final rematch between St Marys Saints and Wenty Magpies, who have a fierce rivalry after contesting four Grand Finals (2018-19, 2023, 2025) with the honours split at 2-all, will be played on Saturday 2 May at St Marys Leagues Stadium.

Other highlights include the Leagues Clubs Australia Ron Massey Cup Magic Round which will feature all five matches from the round to be played at St Marys Leagues Stadium on Saturday 20 June, with the first game kicking off at 11am and the final match at 7pm.

In the Sydney Shield, Wentworthville Magpies will start the season with a bye but will be hoping to go one better after just falling short in the decider against Manly Leagues last year.


Wentworthville claimed the Minor Premiership in 2025 after finishing five points clear of their nearest opponent, Manly Leagues, and will be looking to regroup and claim their first Sydney Shield since 2015.

The Shield has proven to be fiercely competitive with no club ever managing back-to-back premierships and only three clubs – East Campbelltown (2014, 16, 18), Wentworthville (2012, 15) and St Marys (2017, 22) – claiming multiple titles.

Manly Leagues to make mark in Ron Massey Cup

Manly Leagues will step up into the Leagues Clubs Australia Ron Massey Cup in 2026 after their epic grand final victory last year.

www.nswrl.com.au

 

[Ashburn]

I heard that three Illawarra teams wanted to join SS/RMC this season but it was knocked back.

They are fed up with the Illawarra league, so we may see them in 2027 in SS/RMC

Which clubs?

 

[MountainMan]

Trials scheduled for this weekend.

Saturday 28th February

Three way Sydney Shield Trial between St Marys, Mounties & Moorebank Rams kicking off at 10am. Played at St Marys Stadium

Others Shield Trials

Blacktown Workers v Penrith Brothers. 3pm @ HE Laybutt
Wentworthville Magpies v Hills Bulls. 2pm @ Ringrose Park

Ron Massey Trials

St Marys v Canterbury Bulldogs. 11:45am @ St Marys Stadium
Blacktown Workers v Penrith Brothers. 5pm @ HE Laybutt
Wentworthville Magpies v Hills Bulls. 4pm @ Ringrose Park

I believe draws will be released at the end of this week.

Glebe have signed a former NRL player with over 150 NRL games to his name.

Any results ?

 

[rightleftin]

Blacktown beat Brothers 24-18 in RMC and 42-16 in SS
Wenty and Hills had a 6 tries each draw in RMC and won 5 tries to 1 in SS
St Marys beat Canterbury 7 tries to 3 in RMC

SS 3 way (30 minutes each)
St Marys 14 beat Mounties 10
St Marys beat Moorebank 4 tries to 1
Mounties 3rd Grade beat Moorebank SS 5 tries to 1

 

[Sharkie Army Gorilla]

LCA Ron Massey Cup & Sydney Shield Trials.

Saturday 7th March

Mounties v Hills Bulls @ Aubrey Keech Reserve. SS - 3pm, RMC - 5pm
St Marys v Glebe Dirty Reds @ St Marys Stadium. SS - 4pm, RMC - 6pm
Blacktown Workers v Manly Leagues @ HE Laybutt SC. RMC - 3pm

Sunday 8th March

Wentworthville v Ryde Eastwood Hawks @ Ringrose Park. SS - 2pm, RMC - 4pm

 

[rightleftin]

LCA Ron Massey Cup & Sydney Shield Trials.

Saturday 7th March

Mounties v Hills Bulls @ Aubrey Keech Reserve. SS - 3pm, RMC - 5pm
St Marys v Glebe Dirty Reds @ St Marys Stadium. SS - 4pm, RMC - 6pm
Blacktown Workers v Manly Leagues @ HE Laybutt SC. RMC - 3pm

Sunday 8th March

Wentworthville v Ryde Eastwood Hawks @ Ringrose Park. SS - 2pm, RMC - 4pm

Canterbury vs Brothers at Hammondville 5pm, Moorebank vs Brothers 3pm.

 

[PJConsidine]

LCA Ron Massey Cup & Sydney Shield Trials.

Saturday 7th March

Mounties v Hills Bulls @ Aubrey Keech Reserve. SS - 3pm, RMC - 5pm
St Marys v Glebe Dirty Reds @ St Marys Stadium. SS - 4pm, RMC - 6pm
Blacktown Workers v Manly Leagues @ HE Laybutt SC. RMC - 3pm

Sunday 8th March

Wentworthville v Ryde Eastwood Hawks @ Ringrose Park. SS - 2pm, RMC - 4pm

Wenty vs Ryde Eastwood 2pm Sat 7th start.

 

[PJConsidine]

Hawks won both games against Wenty by a try or two.
Quite competitive.
A lot of handling errors by all four sides.

 

[Stagger eel]

Hawks won both games against Wenty by a try or two.
Quite competitive.
A lot of handling errors by all four sides.

any idea on the make up of the Wenty side?

 

[Sharkie Army Gorilla]

Glebe have signed a former NRL player with over 150 NRL games to his name.

James Segeyaro played in the trial for Glebe over the weekend.

 

[PJConsidine]

any idea on the make up of the Wenty side?

From what I understand the majority of the Wenty sides were the same. I'm only learning faces as my son has just signed on this year. Scores in both games two'd and frow'd as players came on and off.

 

[rightleftin]

RMC
St Marys 50 Glebe 14
Canterbury 26 Brothers 24
Mounties 22 Hills 14
Ryde 30 Wenty 18
Blacktown 34 Manly 16

SS
St Marys 50 Glebe 10
Brothers 30 Moorebank 12
Mounties 22 Hills 22
Ryde beat Wenty 6 tries to 5.

 

[League Unlimited News]

Melbourne Storm partner with Mounties | NSWRL

The Melbourne Storm have partnered with Mounties Rugby League ahead of the 2026 season to strengthen the Club’s Pathways and development programs.

www.nswrl.com.au