# 1979 Amco Cup

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

| 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

| Sydney | 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

| 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 |
| 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

| 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

| 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

| 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

| 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

* 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 Referee: Greg Hartley Player of the Match: Gary Cameron

### Player of the Series

* Kurt Sorensen (Cronulla-Sutherland)

### Golden Try

* Robert Laurie (South Sydney)

## Sources

* ↑ Curran, Brian (16 August 1979). "Cronulla all the way in Cup final". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 April 2011.