Foxtel Cup
# Foxtel Cup

The Leagues Championship Cup, officially branded under the sponsor's name as the Foxtel Cup, was an annual Australian rules football club knockout cup competition involving clubs from the various state league competitions from around Australia. The tournament was organised by the Australian Football League (AFL), and was held annually between 2011 and 2014.

The competition was first held in 2011, featuring sixteen teams from around the country who qualified based on their finishing positions in their previous state league season. In 2011 and 2012, matches were played mostly as curtain-raisers to AFL Saturday night games, or occasionally as a stand-alone game in the same timeslot; in 2013 and 2014, matches were mostly played as stand-alone games on Tuesday nights. In both cases, matches were televised on subscription television provider and competition naming rights sponsor Foxtel; and clubs played matches on or adjacent to bye weeks in their respective state league fixtures. Total annual prize money for the competition was about $250,000, with $40,000 going to the winner.

Williamstown was the inaugural Foxtel Cup champions when it defeated Claremont by 21 points in the 2011 Grand Final. Claremont went one better the following year to become 2012 Foxtel Cup Champions defeating Werribee by 44 points. West Adelaide defeated East Fremantle by four points in the 2013 Grand Final. Williamstown won its second Foxtel Cup championship in 2014 by beating West Perth by 63 points.

## Qualification

For the inaugural Foxtel Cup in 2011, the AFL invited the highest three ranked teams from the South Australian National Football League, the Victorian Football League and the West Australian Football League; the top two teams from the Queensland Australian Football League; and the top team from AFL Sydney and the Tasmanian Football League – based on those leagues' 2010 seasons. The Greater Western Sydney Giants (which was playing in the NEAFL in 2011 as preparation for entering the Australian Football League in 2012), and the Northern Territory Football Club received special invitations.

However, despite the SANFL signing on to be part of the Cup competition, its top three clubs – Central District, Norwood and Woodville-West Torrens – all rejected their invitations to compete, citing lack of prize money, sponsorship conflicts, salary cap implications, schedule concerns and removing the focus from their SANFL premiership ambitions. Eventually, the SANFL positions in the competition were taken up by West Adelaide, North Adelaide and Port Adelaide Magpies, none of whom even reached the SANFL finals in 2010. In 2013 it was announced that the SANFL's top three teams of the 2012 season, Norwood, West Adelaide and North Adelaide, had committed to play in the Foxtel Cup in 2014. At the time of the announcement midway through the 2013 SANFL season the three teams were again the top three on the SANFL premiership ladder, showing that among South Australian clubs, the Foxtel Cup was gaining recognition.

In 2013 and 2014, the scale of the competition was reduced from sixteen teams to nine or ten. In those seasons, the WAFL, SANFL and VFL each contributed two teams to the competition, who entered the competition at the quarter-final stage; and the remaining teams came from the NEAFL and TFL, who contested pre-qualifying rounds before entering the quarter-finals.

The AFL announced on 1 August 2011 that public interest and television audiences well-supported the inaugural year of the Foxtel Cup and as a result the competition would continue for the next five years. However, following the heavy burden of playing mid-week games on the competing clubs, the decision was made to cease the Foxtel Cup after its fourth season, 2014.

## Coles Medal

The Coles Medal was awarded to the best player onfield in the Foxtel Cup Grand Final.

| Year | Coles Medallist | Club |
| - | - | - |
| 2011 | Ben Jolley | Williamstown Football Club |
| 2012 | Thomas Lee | Claremont Football Club |
| 2013 | Chris Schmidt | West Adelaide Football Club |
| 2014 | Ben Davies | Williamstown Football Club |

## List of participants

| Club | Nickname | Location | State League | Cup championships | Cup appearances |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ainslie Football Club | Tri-colours | Ainslie, Australian Capital Territory | NEAFL Eastern Conference | 0 | 2011–2012 |
| Aspley Football Club | Hornets | Carseldine, Queensland | NEAFL Northern Conference | 0 | 2014 |
| Belconnen Football Club | Magpies | Belconnen, Australian Capital Territory | NEAFL Eastern Conference | 0 | 2014 |
| Box Hill Hawks Football Club | Hawks | Box Hill, Victoria | Victorian Football League | 0 | 2014 |
| Burnie Dockers Football Club | Dockers | Burnie, Tasmania | Tasmanian Football League | 0 | 2012–2013 |
| Claremont Football Club | Tigers | Claremont, Western Australia | West Australian Football League | 1 | 2011–2013 |
| Clarence Football Club | Kangaroos | Clarence, Tasmania | Tasmanian Football League | 0 | 2011 |
| East Fremantle Football Club | Sharks | East Fremantle, Western Australia | West Australian Football League | 0 | 2013 |
| East Perth Football Club | Royals | Leederville, Western Australia | West Australian Football League | 0 | 2011, 2014 |
| Greater Western Sydney Giants | Giants | Blacktown, New South Wales | Australian Football League Expansion club | 0 | 2011 |
| Labrador Australian Football Club | Tigers | Labrador, Queensland | NEAFL Northern Conference | 0 | 2011 |
| Launceston Football Club | Blues | Launceston, Tasmania | Tasmanian Football League | 0 | 2012 |
| Morningside Australian Football Club | Panthers | Hawthorne, Queensland | NEAFL Northern Conference | 0 | 2011–2012 |
| Mount Gravatt Football Club | Vultures | Mount Gravatt, Queensland | NEAFL Northern Conference | 0 | 2012 |
| North Adelaide Football Club | Roosters | North Adelaide, South Australia | South Australian National Football League | 0 | 2011 |
| North Ballarat Football Club | Roosters | Ballarat, Victoria | Victorian Football League | 0 | 2011 |
| Northern Bullants Football Club | Bullants | Preston, Victoria | Victorian Football League | 0 | 2011 |
| Northern Territory Football Club | Thunder | Darwin, Northern Territory | NEAFL Northern Conference NT representative | 0 | 2011–2013 |
| Norwood Football Club | Redlegs | Norwood, South Australia | South Australian National Football League | 0 | 2013–2014 |
| Port Adelaide Football Club | Magpies | Alberton, South Australia | South Australian National Football League | 0 | 2011–2012 |
| Port Melbourne Football Club | Borough | Port Melbourne, Victoria | Victorian Football League | 0 | 2012–2013 |
| Queanbeyan Football Club | Tigers | Queanbeyan, New South Wales | NEAFL Eastern Conference | 0 | 2013 |
| South Adelaide Football Club | Panthers | Noarlunga Downs, South Australia | South Australian National Football League | 0 | 2012 |
| Southport Australian Football Club | Sharks | Southport, Queensland | NEAFL Northern Conference | 0 | 2013 |
| Subiaco Football Club | Lions | Subiaco, Western Australia | West Australian Football League | 0 | 2012 |
| Swan Districts Football Club | Swans | Bassendean, Western Australia | West Australian Football League | 0 | 2011 |
| Sydney Hills Eagles Australian Football Club | Eagles | Rouse Hill, New South Wales | NEAFL Eastern Conference Sydney AFL representative | 0 | 2011–2012 |
| Werribee Football Club | Tigers | Werribee, Victoria | Victorian Football League | 0 | 2012–2013 |
| West Adelaide Football Club | Bloods | Richmond, South Australia | South Australian National Football League | 1 | 2011–2014 |
| West Perth Football Club | Falcons | Joondalup, Western Australia | West Australian Football League | 0 | 2012, 2014 |
| Western Storm Football Club | Storm | Prospect, Tasmania | Tasmanian State League | 0 | 2014 |
| Williamstown Football Club | Seagulls | Williamstown, Victoria | Victorian Football League | 2 | 2011 - 2012, 2014 |

## Stadiums

| Adelaide | Adelaide | Blacktown | Darwin |
| - | - | - | - |
| Football Park Capacity: 51,224 | Adelaide Oval Capacity: 53,000 | Blacktown ISP Oval Capacity: 10,000 | Marrara Oval Capacity: 15,000 |
| Geelong | Gold Coast | Hobart | Launceston |
| Kardinia Park Capacity: 33,500 | Carrara Stadium Capacity: 25,000 | Bellerive Oval Capacity: 16,200 | York Park Capacity: 20,000 |
| Melbourne | Melbourne | Perth | Sydney |
| Docklands Stadium Capacity: 56,347 | Melbourne Cricket Ground Capacity: 100,018 | Subiaco Oval Capacity: 43,500 | Sydney Cricket Ground Capacity: 46,000 |
