This is a record of inter-school Rugby League and Rugby Union competitions that take place in the Darwin region of the Northern Territory. This page is being researched and still under development. To provide corrections or further information, please contact info@mackillopsaints.com.
Rugby League
Schools Rugby League in the Northern Territory is administrated by NRL NT, and at the national level it is administrated by Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League. Over the years, the Northern Territory schools competition has also been supported by partnerships with various National Rugby League clubs, including the Newcastle Knights, the Parramatta Eels, and now the Dolphins. The NT Titans schoolboys representative Rugby League team have been playing as an organised entity since at least the 1970s, and organised regular competitions between schools date back to at least the inaugural Knights Cup game, played in 2007. The sport itself has likely been played in schools in the Northern Territory since a much earlier time.
The Knights Cup, sponsored by the Newcastle Knights, was the main competition prior to the Eels Cup, and continues as an independent competition.
U14 Boys Knights Cup
Inaugural Game
2007
Prize
Perpetual Trophy
Participating Teams
- Open to all
Champions
- 2007 – St Johns (Over O’Loughlin 32-4 (Inaugural)
- 2008 – O’Loughlin (Over St Johns)
- 2009 – St Johns (Over O’Loughlin)
- 2010 – O’Loughlin (Over St Johns)
- 2011 – St Johns (Over O’Loughlin)
- 2012 – O’Loughlin (Over St Johns)
- 2013– St Johns (Over O’Loughlin)
- 2014 – St Johns (Over O’Loughlin)
- 2015 – MacKillop (Over St Johns 28-24)
- 2016 – MacKillop
- 2017 – MacKillop
- 2018 – St Johns
- 2019 – MacKillop
- 2020 –
- 2021 –
- 2022 –
- 2023 –
- 2024 –
- 2025 –
- 2026 –
U16 Boys Catholic Cup
Inaugural Game
2012
Prize
Perpetual Trophy
Participating Teams
- St Johns Catholic College
- O’Loughlin Catholic College
- St Josephs Catholic College
- MacKillop Catholic College
Champions:
- 2012 – O’Loughlin (Inaugural)
- 2013 – St Johns
- 2014 – St Josephs
- 2015 – MacKillop
- 2016 – MacKillop
- 2017 – MacKillop
- 2018 – MacKillop
- 2019 – MacKillop
- 2020 – MacKillop
- 2021 – MacKillop
- 2022 – MacKillop
- 2023 – MacKillop
- 2024 – MacKillop def. O’Loughlin (24-4)
- 2025 –
- 2026 –
U16 Boys Eels Cup
Inaugural Game
2015
Prize
Perpetual trophy, Parramatta Eels medals, Man of the Match medals.
Participating Teams
- Open to all
Champions
- 2015 – Katherine High def. Casuarina
- 2016 – Katherine High
- 2017 – Katherine High
- 2018 – Game removed from record (MacKillop vs CSC)
- 2019 – Taminmin def. Palmerston
- 2020 – MacKillop def. SEDA 24-4
- 2021 – MacKillop def. Palmerston 36-4
- 2022 – Taminmin def. MacKillop
- 2023 – MacKillop def. Taminmin 16-10
- 2024 –
- 2025 –
U16 Girls Eels Cup
Inaugural Game
2018
Prize
Perpetual trophy, Parramatta Eels medals, Woman of the Match medals.
Participating Teams
- Open to all
Champions
- 2018 – CSC def. MacKillop
- 2019 – MacKillop (As Meg Ward Cup)
- 2020 –
- 2021 –
- 2022 – Katherine def. MacKillop
- 2023 – Katherine def. Casuarina
- 2024 –
- 2025 –
U16 Boys Palmerston Cup
Inaugural Game
2016
Prize
Perpetual Trophy
Participating Teams
- MacKillop Catholic College
- Palmerston High
Champions:
- 2016 – MacKillop (28-0)
- 2017 – Palmerston (48-10)
- 2018 – Palmerston (22-18)
- 2019 – MacKillop (18-16)
- 2020 – Palmerston (38-30)
- 2021 – MacKillop (36-14)
- 2022 – MacKillop (38-8)
- 2023 – MacKillop
- 2024 – Palmerston (20-8)
- 2025 – MacKillop (26-6)
U14 Boys Palmerston Cup
Inaugural Game
2022
Prize
No current prize for this age group.
Participating Teams
- MacKillop Catholic College
- Palmerston High
Champions
- 2022 – MacKillop (28-4)
- 2023 –
- 2024 –
- 2025 –
U16 Girls Palmerston Cup
Inaugural Game
2022
Prize
No current prize for this age group.
Participating Teams
- MacKillop Catholic College
- Palmerston High
Champions
- 2022 – MacKillop (30-12)
- 2023 –
- 2024 –
- 2025 –
U14 Boys PARRS Rugby League
Inaugural Game
2018
Prize
Flags
Participating Teams
- Open to all
Champions:
- 2018 – MacKillop
- 2019 – MacKillop
A competition intended to be played in Katherine every second year between schools from Darwin and Katherine.
U14 Boys Top End Shield
Inaugural Game
?
Prize
Perpetual Trophy
Participating Teams
- Open to all
Champions
- 2018 – MacKillop
- 2019 – Katherine High
- 2020 –
- 2021 –
- 2022 –
- 2023 –
- 2024 –
- 2025 –
U14 Girls Top End Shield
Inaugural Game
?
Prize
Perpetual Trophy
Participating Teams
- Open to all
Champions
- 2018 – MacKillop
- 2019 –
- 2020 –
- 2021 –
- 2022 –
- 2023 –
- 2024 –
- 2025 –
The Academy Cup is a bilateral annual Rugby League tournament between MacKillop Catholic College and Taminmin.
U16 Boys Academy Cup
Inaugural Game
2019
Prize
Perpetual Trophy
Participating Teams
- MacKillop Catholic College
- Taminmin
Champions:
- 2019 – Taminmin 20-16
- 2020 –
- 2021 – Taminmin
- 2022 – MacKillop
- 2023 –
- 2024 –
- 2025 –
Year 9 and 10 Boys
Inaugural Game
2020
Prize
The Jack Cox Commemorative Shield
Participating Teams
- MacKillop Year 9
- MacKillop Year 10
Champions:
- 2020 – Year 10 (Inaugural)
- 2021 – Year 10
- 2022 – Year 9
- 2023 – Year 10
- 2024 – Year 10
- 2025 –
TtTtDetails to be added.
The Ross-Bryers Bowl is named after two significant figures in the history of Rugby League at MacKillop and in Katherine.
Jasen Bryers established the Saints gym programme and was on staff from 2018 to 2023 and also played for the Saints in a number of senior games.
Mr Ross is a Katherine High Rugby League VIP.
The Ross-Bryers Bowl was played for for once in 2024, with Katherine the winner.
Details to be added
Details to be Added.
Perpetual Trophies:
- Tiger Honorary Claret Pewter Jug
- Father Tom English Cup
Rugby Union
Since the dissolution of the NTSRU board in 2024, school-based Rugby Union competitions in the Northern Territory have been directly administrated by Northern Territory Rugby Union. NTSRU was formally established in 1979. The NT has been fielding representative Rugby Union teams in the national schools competition since at least the 1980s, known as the Mosquitos or Mozzies. At the national level, Schools Rugby Union in Australia is administered by Australian Schools Rugby Union (ASRU).
