Harold Matthews Cup (under-17) /

The Harold Matthews Cup (under-19) is a short-form New South Wales Rugby League competition which runs concurrently with the SG Ball Cup (under-19).

It’s provides a key step up the development ladder with the prospect of advancing to the SG Ball Cup and beyond the following season.

Like the SG Ball Cup and the Jersey Flegg Cup, the Harold Matthews – which runs from February-April - has a rich history of developing countless top-class footballers at the highest levels in the Test, State of Origin and NRL arenas.

The One New Zealand Warriors entered the under-17 competition for the first time in 2024, upsetting all predictions by becoming the first club in the competition's history to win the premiership on debut.

And then they repeated the achievement by taking out the title again in 2025.

In 2024, the Warriors pulled together a squad from across the country including a number of players from rugby union backgrounds.

After beginning the season indifferently with a heavy loss to Parramatta (6-34) followed by another to the Sydney Roosters (18-28), the Warriors rallied with a last-minute 22-17 victory over South Sydney which sparked a run of four consecutive wins.

A 10-40 defeat by Cronulla Sutherland put another dent in their hopes of making the top six but fate intervened in the final regular season round.

The sixth-placed Manly Warringah stumbled with a draw against the Central Coast Roosters on the Saturday to leave the door open for the Warriors in the final match of the round a day later. All they needed was to beat St George and they were in, which they did with a thumping 46-10 victory.

What followed was the stuff of dreams as the TJ Ashford-coached side first avenged their season-opening loss to the vaunted Eels with a stunning 30-20 triumph.

A week later they were back across the Tasman and held on to shut out Canterbury Bankstown 12-10 in grim conditions to hand them a third consecutive Trans-Tasman trip for the grand final against Western Suburbs at CommBank Stadium.

After conceding two tries in the first six minutes, the Warriors went on a rampage with five unanswered tries en route to an outstanding 34-16 win, so creating history by becoming the first club to win the premiership on debut since the competition’s inaugural season in 1970.

A total of 30 players were used during the campaign.

In 2025, the Warriors became the hunted following their debut success in 2024.

They were very much masters of their own destiny as they won six of their first seven matches and were on course to claim the minor premiership. However, a round nine defeat by the Sydney Roosters saw them finish the regular season in third with the Roosters taking second spot.

The two rivals shaped up again a week later in the opening round of matches in the finals and the Warriors weren't to be denied as they claimed a 20-4 victory to advance directly to the preliminary finals. 

Crossing the Tasman yet again, they had a 10-4 halftime advantage over the Rabbitohs which was reduced to just 10-8 early in the second half - but then the Warriors took control as fullback Jeremiah Lemana iced a hat-trick in a 28-8 win.

That set up a title decider against Newcastle, an occasion which didn't begin well as the Knights leapt to a 12-0 lead only to see it wiped out as the imposing Bishop Neal scored two powerhouse tries to have the teams level at 12-12 at halftime.

The Knights went back in front 16-12 three minutes into the second half but the Warriors' power game took over with tries to Hinckley Ioka, Krushil Koteka and Lucian Mikaele seeing the Warriors through to a convincing 30-16 triumph and a second straight premiership.

Harold Matthews Cup performances

2025 | 3rd (won premiership)

2024 | 6th (won premiership)