Manly Leagues will be out to make a big impact in their debut match in the Ron Massey Cup on Saturday, March 21.
The Ron Massey Cup is the state’s second-tier competition that feeds into the NSW Cup.
With the inclusion of Manly Leagues, the Ron Massey Cup is now a 10-team competition that will be played over 18 rounds before a top five finals series.
2026 RON MASSEY CUP
Round 1: Wenty Magpies vs Manly Leagues
6:00pm Saturday 21 March, Ringrose Park
Manly Leagues have been promoted to the Ron Massey Cup in 2026 following their premiership success last year in the third tier Sydney Shield competition.
The Sea Eagles beat Wentworthville Magpies 25-24 in an epic golden point grand final.
It was a tremendous achievement by Manly Leagues in just their second year in the Sydney Shield and a real testament to the enormous amount of hard work put in from the beginning.
Manly Leagues kicks off their campaign at Ringrose Park (6pm) against Wentworthville Magpies, the most successful club with seven titles since it was rebranded as the Ron Massey Cup in 2009.
In a positive development sign, the Sea Eagles team includes 11 Manly juniors combined with a mixture of their Sydney Shield players from the past two seasons.
Nicholas Bilsborough, who captained the premiership winning Sydney Shield side, said there was a good level of confidence within the new team under coach John Faiumu.
“There is a good mixture of players. Some of the Sydney Shield grand final boys also got the chance to play for the Sea Eagles in the NSW Cup pre-season trials, which was awesome,’’ Bilsborough said.
We have got some bigger middles this year which is going to help with the extra size in the Ron Massey Cup.
Nicholas Bilsborough
“Once the SG Ball season is over, we will get a few extra players coming up too which will add to the depth of our squad.”
Two players in Braith Alexander and Antonio Taufua have already played NSW Cup for the Sea Eagles in the opening two rounds.
“When you a see player like Braith, who played half-back in our premiership winning Shield side, step up to play NSW Cup and train with the NRL squad, it really motivates the boys to play as hard as they can,’’ Bilsborough added.
“It rewards them after putting in a lot of effort over the past two years in the Sydney Shield. It’s a real pathway this year and we feel we're an important part of the Sea Eagles club.
“We feel we'll be very competitive in the Ron Massey Cup this year.”
Ron Massey Cup 2026 Squad
Christian Abal, Braith Alexander, Lachlan Armstrong, Munga Baruani, Nick Bilsborough, James Borges, Justin Burt, Lachlan Burt, Will Cannavo, Jermayne Cook, Miles Edler, Nick Ferris, Dallas Halo, Finnley Harding, Johnathan Ibrahim, Patrick Lavemai, Orlando Levi, Kylan Mafoa, Daniel Manu, Joshua Maree, Reuben Moyle, Lachoneus Paki, Mitchell Reeve, Khye Russell, Khan Symonds-Magee, Antonio Taufa, Tali Toetu'u, Jerome Van Der Heide
