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State league
A state league is a level of competition in Australian sport directly below that of a national league. Most of these competitions are based in a single state or territory, and from this the term originates. State leagues are generally semi-professional and of a lower playing standard compared to national leagues. Several state leagues act as quasi-reserves competitions for teams that also compete in national leagues, while others are entirely separated from their national counterparts.
History
The Australian federation consists of six states and two territories. Historically, the highest level of club-based sports were the various leagues based in each state and territory. The change to national leagues began in 1977 when the National Soccer League was formed with clubs in most capital cities. Australian football and rugby leagues followed suit during the 1980s when the Victorian and New South Welsh leagues began to admit clubs from other states.
State leagues by sport
Association football (soccer)
The state league system in men's association football (soccer) is generally underpinned by the National Premier Leagues (NPL), which administers individual competitions in eight state-based member federations. Each of the state league competitions represent the second tier in the Australian soccer league system. Following the imminent introduction of the National Second Division in 2024, the premier NPL competitions will shift down to level 3 in the system. The term 'state league' is also used as a divisional name in several member federations' lower-tier competitions.
In women's soccer, the state league system is largely operated by National Premier Leagues Women's, which currently consists of seven state-based member federations.
| State or territory | Men's state league | Women's state league | Australian Capital Territory | New South Wales | Northern Territory | Queensland | South Australia | Tasmania | Victoria | Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NPL Men's Capital Football | NPL Women's Capital Football | |||||||||
| NPL NSW Men's | NPL NSW Women's | |||||||||
| NPL Men's Northern NSW | NPL Women's Northern NSW | |||||||||
| Women's Premier League | ||||||||||
| NPL Queensland Men's | NPL Queensland Women's | |||||||||
| NPL South Australia Men's | Women's NPL South Australia | |||||||||
| NPL Tasmania | Women's Super League | |||||||||
| NPL Victoria Men's | NPL Women's Victoria | |||||||||
| NPL Western Australia Men | NPL Western Australia Women |
Australian rules football
| State or territory | Men's state league | Women's state league | Australian Capital Territory | New South Wales | Northern Territory | Queensland | South Australia | Tasmania | Victoria | Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFL Canberra Men | AFL Canberra Women | |||||||||
| AFL Sydney Men's | AFL Sydney Women's | |||||||||
| Northern Territory Football League | Women's Premier League | |||||||||
| Queensland Australian Football League | QAFL Women's | |||||||||
| South Australian National Football League | SANFL Women's League | |||||||||
| Tasmanian State League | ||||||||||
| Victorian Football League | VFL Women's | |||||||||
| West Australian Football League | WAFL Women's |
Rugby league
| State or territory | Men's state league | Women's state league | Australian Capital Territory | New South Wales | Northern Territory | Queensland | South Australia | Tasmania | Victoria | Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canberra Raiders Cup | Katrina Fanning Shield | |||||||||
| NSW Cup | NSWRL Women's Premiership | |||||||||
| NRL NT Men's | NRL NT Women's | |||||||||
| Queensland Cup | QRL Women's Premiership | |||||||||
| NRL SA Metro | NRL SA Women's | |||||||||
| Storm Premiership Men's | Storm Premiership Women's | |||||||||
| NRL WA Premiership | NRL WA Women's Premiership |
Rugby union
| State or territory | Men's state league | Women's state league | Australian Capital Territory | New South Wales | Northern Territory | Queensland | South Australia | Tasmania | Victoria | Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John I Dent Cup | Premier Women's 15s | |||||||||
| Shute Shield | ||||||||||
| Hospital Challenge Cup | Women's Premier Rugby | |||||||||
| Rugby Union SA Premier Grade | Rugby Union SA Women's Grade | |||||||||
| Dewar Shield | Lindroth Cup | |||||||||
| RugbyWA Premier Grade | RugbyWA Women's Premier Grade |
Netball
State leagues in women's netball form the third tier of competition in Australia, below the elite Super Netball and the second-tier Australian Netball Championships (ANC). However, unlike the ANC – which has been reduced to a week-long series of matches held largely between Super Netball reserves and academy sides – state league netball competitions operate throughout the winter months and provide consistent pathways to players aiming to reach a higher level in the sport.
While men's netball is growing in popularity, the sport is yet to establish a strong history of state league competitions. Half of the current men's state leagues are branded under the M-League name and are operated by the various state-based men's and mixed netball associations.
| State or territory | Men's state league | Women's state league | Australian Capital Territory | New South Wales | Northern Territory | Queensland | South Australia | Tasmania | Victoria | Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netball ACT State League Men's League | Netball ACT State League | |||||||||
| Netball NSW Men's Metro League | Netball NSW Premier League | |||||||||
| QLD M-League Men's | Sapphire Series | |||||||||
| SA M-League Men's | Netball SA Premier League | |||||||||
| Tasmanian Netball League | ||||||||||
| VIC M-League Men's | Victorian Netball League | |||||||||
| West Australian Netball League Men's | West Australian Netball League |
Cricket
State leagues in cricket are traditionally referred to as grade cricket, with most state-based organisations now operating competitions under the Premier Cricket name following a move by Cricket Australia in 2016 to standardise branding. These leagues form the third tier of Australian cricket, below the elite Sheffield Shield and Women's National Cricket League for men and women respectively, and the second-tier Second XI competition for men.
| State or territory | Men's state league | Women's state league | Australian Capital Territory | New South Wales | Northern Territory | Queensland | South Australia | Tasmania | Victoria | Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACT Premier Cricket Men's | ACT Premier Cricket Women's | |||||||||
| NSW Premier Cricket Men's | NSW Premier Cricket Women's | |||||||||
| Queensland Premier Cricket Men's | Queensland Premier Cricket Women's | |||||||||
| South Australian Premier Cricket Men's | South Australian Premier Cricket Men's | |||||||||
| Cricket Tasmania Premier League Men's | Cricket Tasmania Premier League Women's | |||||||||
| Victorian Premier Cricket Men's | Victorian Premier Cricket Women's | |||||||||
| Western Australian Premier Cricket Men's | Western Australian Female Premier Cricket |
Tennis
State leagues in tennis in Australia are operated by the governing tennis organisation for that state. These leagues provide an opportunity for local and international tennis players to play quality matches. Most Australian pro players begin their careers playing in their respective state league competitions. These leagues represent the highest level of inter-club tennis competition within their respective regions.
| State or territory | Men's state league | Women's state league | Australian Capital Territory | — | New South Wales | Northern Territory | — | — | Queensland | South Australia | Tasmania | — | — | Victoria | Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales Premier League | |||||||||||||||
| Queensland State Leagues | |||||||||||||||
| Tennis SA State League Men's | Tennis SA State League Women's | ||||||||||||||
| Tennis Victoria League Championships | |||||||||||||||
| Tennis West Men's State League | Tennis West Women's State League |
References
References
- (2016-08-08). "Australian Premier Cricket: Club Accreditation Scheme (CAS-02) – Season 2016{{!}}17".
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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