Payne Cup 2022 season reboot now set to include Dolphins Cup

Payne Cup changes: What it means for the elite schoolboy rugby league season and how the Dolphins will be involved.

The elite schoolboy rugby league Payne Cup will be altered to expand the number of participating teams and include NRL new chums The Dolphins as a third naming rights competition sponsor.

The Aaron Payne Cup will now be restricted exclusively to North Queensland featuring six teams - three from Mackay, two from Townsville and one from Mareeba.

The new six team Dolphins Cup competition will be a six team competition for Rockhampton and Bundaberg schools. Previously the Payne Cup incorporated school teams from Rockhampton and Bundaberg.

The Dolphins Cup will incorporate St Brendan’s College, The Cathedral College, Emmaus College, Rockhampton Grammar School, Shalom College and, for the first time, Bundaberg SHS.

Shalom College versus Mackay State High. August 11, 2021.

The Langer Trophy, an eight team competition played in south east Queensland, will remain unchanged.

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The changes also mean more matches will be livestreamed by News Corp across the Langer, Payne and Dolphins’ competitions in 2022.

Will Shears and Jesse Wallace were stars last season from the Mackay district. Pictures: Matthew Forrest

At the end of the Payne Cup and Dolphin Cup competitions, the respective winners will play to see who confronts the Langer Trophy winner in the state final, Phil Hall Cup.

St Brendan’s Yeppoon First XIII coach Scott Minto said the new format would be an opportunity to “spread the code’’.

“While we won’t be playing the Kirwan’s or Ignatius Park’s, it will be friendly for school systems and team’s won’t have to travel as much,’’ Minto said.

“It also offers an opportunity for other schools to be involved.’’

St Brendan's College open team after their Aaron Payne Cup semi-final win over Ignatius Park.

The three new schools involved at the elite schoolboy level for the first time will be Bundaberg SHS (Dolphins Cup), Mareeba SHS (Payne Cup) and Mirani SHS (Payne Cup).

Queensland State Schools Rugby League Executive head Andrew Peach said the revamp would allow the Cowboys to continue to support schools from Sarina north, while the Dolphins would support school competitions from Rockhampton south.

Heartbreak for Ignatius Park in the Aaron Payne Cup. Picture: Matthew Forrest

“The QSSRL would like to thank the North Queensland Cowboys for their support and dedication in building and developing the school’s competition to the stage where the number of high-quality participants has forced us to separate the competitions to cover the vast area from Bundaberg to Mareeba in 2022,’’ Peach said.

He said the success of the Payne Cup and Cowboys Challenge had “led to the expansion and this would not have occurred without the ongoing support from the Cowboys.’’

In both the Payne and Dolphins Cups, five rounds will be played, leading into a semi-final and grand final.

Both competitions will involve Year 10 and open teams.

The news is a huge off-field boost to the Dolphins, who come into the NRL next season as the 17th team.

The club is looking to expand its branding and foot print beyond Caboolture and the Sunshine Coast, and having an elite schoolboy competition named after the club in the rugby league rich Burnett, Bundaberg and Central Queensland region is a coup.