1977 Amco Cup

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.

1977 NSWRFL Midweek Cup

NSWRFL Amco Cup
Tournament details
Dates	27 March - 17 August 1977
Teams	37
Venue(s)	9 (in 8 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Western Suburbs (1st title)
Runners-up	Eastern Suburbs
Tournament statistics
Matches played	36

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 (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Parramatta	Eels	NSWRFL	Runners-Up in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Canterbury-Bankstown	Berries	NSWRFL	Third Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
St. George	Dragons	NSWRFL	Fourth Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Eastern Suburbs	Roosters	NSWRFL	Fifth Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Balmain	Tigers	NSWRFL	Sixth Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Western Suburbs	Magpies	NSWRFL	Seventh Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Cronulla-Sutherland	Sharks	NSWRFL	Eighth Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Penrith	Panthers	NSWRFL	Ninth Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
South Sydney	Rabbitohs	NSWRFL	Tenth Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
North Sydney	Bears	NSWRFL	Eleventh Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Newtown	Jets	NSWRFL	Twelfth Place in the 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Western Suburbs	Panthers	BRL	Winners of the 1976 Brisbane Rugby League Premiership	2nd (Previous: 1976)
Eastern Suburbs	Tigers	BRL	Runners-Up in the 1976 Brisbane Rugby League Premiership	2nd (Previous: 1976)
Past Brothers	Leprechauns	BRL	Third Place in the 1976 Brisbane Rugby League Premiership	3rd (Previous: 1975, 1976)
Southern Suburbs	Magpies	BRL	Fourth Place in the 1976 Brisbane Rugby League Premiership	3rd (Previous: 1975, 1976)
Redcliffe	Dolphins	BRL	Fifth Place in the 1976 Brisbane Rugby League Premiership	2nd (Previous: 1976)
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 (Previous: 1975, 1976)
Northern Suburbs	Devils	BRL	Eighth Place in the 1976 Brisbane Rugby League Premiership	3rd (Previous: 1975, 1976)
Illawarra	Flametrees	CRL	Winners of the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Western Division	Rams	CRL	Runners-Up in the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Riverina	Bulls	CRL	Third Place in the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
North Queensland	Marlins	QRL	Queensland Country Regional Team	2nd (Previous: 1976)
Toowoomba	Clydesdales	QRL	Queensland Country Regional Team	3rd (Previous: 1975, 1976)
Auckland	Falcons	NZRL	Winners of the 1976 New Zealand Rugby League Inter-District Premiership	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Canterbury	Reds	NZRL	Runners-Up in the 1976 New Zealand Rugby League Inter-District Premiership	2nd (Previous: 1976)
Enter in Round 1
Northern Division	Tigers	CRL	Fourth Place in the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Monaro	Colts	CRL	Fifth Place in the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Southern Division	Bulls	CRL	Sixth Place in the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Newcastle	Rebels	CRL	Seventh Place in the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	3rd (Previous: 1975, 1976)
North Coast	Dolphins	CRL	Eighth Place in the 1976 Country Rugby League Championship	4th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976)
Central Queensland	Capras	QRL	Queensland Country Regional Team	1st
Ipswich	Diggers	QRL	Queensland Country Regional Team	3rd (Previous: 1975, 1976)
Wide Bay	Bulls	QRL	Queensland Country Regional Team	2nd (Previous: 1976)
Northern Territory	Bulls	NTRL	State Representative Team	2nd (Previous: 1976)
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	Western Australia	23	Northern Territory	18	Perth
30/03/77	Central Queensland*	7	Wide Bay	7	Browne Park	Result[1]
27/04/77	Northern Division	26	Newcastle	17	Newcastle ISC	Result[2]
4/05/77	North Coast	40	Ipswich	22	North Ipswich Reserve
11/5/77	Monaro	18	Southern Division	15	Seiffert Oval	Report[3]

Round 2

Date	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	Venue	Canberra Times
30/03/77	Brothers	16	Wynnum-Manly	15	Lang Park
30/03/77	St George	22	Balmain	12	Leichhardt Oval	Results[1]
30/03/77	Toowoomba	31	North Queensland	13	Athletic Oval
6/04/77	Cronulla-Sutherland	75	Central Queensland	3	Leichhardt Oval	Short Report[4]
6/04/77	Redcliffe	19	Wests BRL	10	Lang Park
13/04/77	Western Suburbs	60	Norths BRL	0	Lang Park
20/04/77	Parramatta	21	North Sydney	7	Leichhardt Oval	Result[5]
27/04/77	Penrith	36	Western Division	5	Leichhardt Oval	Short Report[6]
4/05/77	Fortitude Valley	19	Illawarra	10	Lang Park	Results[7]
4/05/77	Eastern Suburbs	16	Manly-Warringah	8	Leichhardt Oval
11/05/77	South Sydney	39	Western Australia	10	Leichhardt Oval	Result[8]
18/05/77	Canterbury-Bankstown	20	North Coast	7	Leichhardt Oval	Result[9]
25/05/77	Monaro	21	Easts BRL	18	Lang Park	Preview[10] Report[11]
25/05/77	Newtown	32	Riverina	3	Leichhardt Oval	Result[11]
25/05/77	Northern Division	23	Auckland	2	Leichhardt Oval
4/05/77	Souths BRL	20	Canterbury NZ	12	Lang Park

Round 3

Date	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	Venue	Canberra Times
1/06/77	St George	18	Cronulla-Sutherland	17	Leichhardt Oval	Results[12]
1/06/77	Fortitude Valley	13	Brothers	9	Lang Park
8/06/77	Canterbury-Bankstown	25	Toowoomba	15	Athletic Oval	Results[13]
8/06/77	Western Suburbs	20	Redcliffe	2	Leichhardt Oval
15/06/77	Monaro	12	South Sydney	3	Leichhardt Oval	Preview[14] Reports[15][16]
22/06/77	Penrith	18	Newtown	16	Leichhardt Oval
29/06/77	Northern Division	34	Souths BRL	20	Lang Park	Report[17]
29/06/77	Eastern Suburbs	19	Parramatta	2	Leichhardt Oval

Quarter finals

Date	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	Venue	Canberra Times
6/07/77	Western Suburbs	27	St George	7	Leichhardt Oval	Report[18]
13/07/77	Penrith	17	Northern Division	10	Leichhardt Oval	Report[19]
20/07/77	Eastern Suburbs	35	Fortitude Valley	2	Lang Park	Result[20]
27/07/77	Canterbury-Bankstown	33	Monaro	10	Leichhardt Oval	Preview[21] Report[22]

Semi finals

Date	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	Venue	Canberra Times
3/08/77	Eastern Suburbs	18	Penrith	7	Leichhardt Oval	Preview[23] Report[24]
10/08/77	Western Suburbs	8	Canterbury-Bankstown	7	Leichhardt Oval	Preview[25] Report[26]

Final

Date	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	Venue	Canberra Times
17/08/77	Western Suburbs	6	Eastern Suburbs	5	Leichhardt Oval	Preview[27] Report[28]

• *- Advanced on penalty count-back

Awards

Player of the Series

• Graeme O'Grady (Western Suburbs)

Golden Try

• Steve Rogers (Cronulla-Sutherland)

References

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