A brief history of sponsors of the AFL pre-season and night competitions
The AFL pre-season competition will have a new name next year after JLT was taken over by insurance giant Marsh. Will it become as iconic as the Ansett Cup, NAB Challenge or Escort Cup?
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The AFL pre-season competition has had another name change.
The JLT Community Series is no more. Say hello to the Marsh Community Series.
The latest name change is a result of a corporate merger after insurance giant Marsh took over JLT Group earlier this year.
No doubt fans will get used to the new moniker, as they did the 15 previous names for the practice match series.
The pre-season competition and its forerunner, the old VFL night series, have a special place in the hearts of fans — especially St Kilda supporters, who can at least cling to some form of recent silverware after premierships in 1996, 2004 and 2008.
It has also had a number of diverse and occasionally bizarre names. Join us on a trip down memory lane.
JLT COMMUNITY SERIES 2017-19
Pre-season matches were staged in Shepparton, Lismore, Casey Fields, Morwell, Townsville and Colac as the AFL took the official practice matches to the fans.
NAB CHALLENGE 2014-16
The death of the pre-season grand final with no trophy awarded as teams play a series of practice matches with modified rules including the nine-point super goal.
NAB CUP 2006-13
The AFL tried a series of formats to keep the competition viable in this period, including dividing the competing teams into pools of three who each played two half-length games in one night (three games altogether) for week one.
The trophy was a silver cup with players jumping for a mark carved into the side of it.
Geelong was the most successful team of the NAB Cup era, claiming the title in 2006 and 2009. Brisbane claimed the last NAB Cup, defeating Carlton in the 2013 Grand Final.
WIZARD HOME LOANS CUP 2002-05
This was one of the stranger trophies in Australian sport, resembling a giant metal vase.
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas clearly wasn’t a fan, judging by his reaction after the Saints won it in 2004, although that may have also been due to his belief his players shouldn’t get carried away with a pre-season victory.
Carlton’s win the next year is memorable because the Blues went on to win the wooden spoon after the home-and-away season.
Wizard won’t be coming back as a sponsor — it was bought out by Aussie Home Loans in 2009.
ANSETT CUP 1995-2001
The previous sponsor had a similarly troubled history, with the AFL deal failing to lift the airline out of the financial doldrums. It was placed into administration at the end of 2001 and went belly-up the next year.
Before that St Kilda, led by young tyros Aussie Jones and Tony Brown, won its first pennant since 1996 with a rousing grand final win against Carlton in 1996.
Port Adelaide claimed its first AFL silverware in 2001 before going back-to-back against Richmond the next year in the Wizard Cup.
A round-robin format was introduced in 2000. The trophy itself looked more like the standard AFL premiership cup but with a lid.
FOSTER’S CUP 1990-94
Not sure the AFL would promote a brand of beer like this today, but no one questioned it in the early 90s.
Essendon and Hawthorn split the four cups 2-2, with a crazy crowd of 75,553 cramming into Waverley to see the Bombers defeat a resurgent Richmond in the ’93 decider.
The trophy was similar to the Ansett Cup but smaller with a Foster’s “F” on the base.
PANASONIC CUP 1988-89
The first incarnation of the pre-season competition, modified from a midyear night comp (see below).
Geelong won the first pre-season premiership in a three-point thriller against Hawthorn.
NATIONAL PANASONIC CUP 1987
National is a now-defunct brand name that was used by electronics company Panasonic to sell home appliances including TVs and fans (entertainer Peter Allen was the face of their ads - see below)
The final was played on April 28 at Waverley with Melbourne claiming an emotional four-point win against Essendon. In a forerunner to the 2016 year’s Luke Beveridge-Bob Murphy tribute, injured captain Robert Flower was invited onto the dais to lift the cup and was also chaired from the ground. The Dees reportedly won $60,000 in prizemoney.
CUB CUP 1985-86
Foster’s had an earlier crack at sponsorship rights back in the memorable era when matches featured not only VFL teams but the top sides from South Australia and Western Australia as well.
This created the first issue of clubs being forced to wear clash jumpers when they played against an interstate team that wore the same colours.
STERLING CUP 1983-84
Carlton won its first night premiership in 1983, with a team led by acting captain Wayne Johnston defeating Richmond. Essendon defeated Sydney the next year.
Sterling is a US cigarette brand but we can’t confirm they were the naming rights holder — Sterling is the name of a number of brands including a US jeweller, a Nigerian bank and a Danish low-cost airline. If anyone remembers, let us know!
ESCORT CUP 1979-82
It sounds bad but the cup was named after the brand of cigarettes. So yes, it is bad.
Teams from Tasmania, NSW, Queensland and the ACT also competed in this phase of the competition.
Collingwood, North Melbourne, Essendon and the Sydney Swans won the four flags, with the Roos’ 1980 win — with Kerry Good kicking the goal well after the siren sounded to defeat Collingwood — one of the most famous in night series history.
AMCO-HERALD CUP 1977-78
For two years the comp was sponsored by Amco petrol and, presumably, the Herald newspaper.
Hawthorn and Fitzroy won these two titles.
Amco and Panasonic also sponsored mid-season night competitions in the NRL in the 70s and 80s.
HEINZ CUP 1971
In 1971 the night premiership was a knockout tournament featuring the eight teams that missed the finals.
Games were staged at Lake Oval — the only venue with lights. Melbourne defeated Fitzroy by 16 points in the final on the Monday night after the VFL Grand Final.
Official records are hard to find but we can only assume it was sponsored by the baked beans company.
The series drew poor crowds and was abandoned until it was revived in 1977.
RADIANT CUP 1970
OK, now we’re officially stumped. A laundry detergent, perhaps?
The format was the same as the Heinz Cup, with teams that missed the finals competing under lights in September. Footscray downed Melbourne in the final.
GOLDEN FLEECE CUP 1965-69
Older fans may remember the yellow sheep that was the hallmark of Golden Fleece petrol stations. The company was bought out by Caltex but the signs remain at some roadhouses.
Anyway, they sponsored the night series in the 60s — the first naming rights sponsor of the competition which started in 1956.
South Melbourne won the first Golden Fleece Cup — sadly, we have no record of what that trophy looked like.